Recognized Charlotte leader Susan Patterson to collaborate with Library
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is creating a Community Fellow program to build on its recent successful community engagement efforts. This is a one-year leadership role filled by a community leader who is volunteering his or her time to deepen the Library’s engagement with the community. Susan Patterson, the Knight Foundation’s former Charlotte-based program director, will serve as the Library’s inaugural Community Fellow.
Patterson will assist the Library’s ongoing community engagement activities, serve as a thought leader, coordinate community-oriented projects and share her skills, knowledge and experience. She will begin her residency in June.
“Associating Susan’s talents and passion with the Library through this position is a terrific opportunity for our organization," says Library CEO Lee Keesler. "She will challenge us in a positive way and it will be fun to have her around.”
Patterson is no stranger to the Charlotte community or the Library. She was the 2015 Charlotte Woman of the Year and is past chair of the Women’s Impact Fund. Her list of community investments while at the Knight Foundation includes the Carolina Thread Trail, the Cultural Facilities Campaign and Knight Theatre, Crossroads Charlotte, laptops for elementary students in the Project Lift zone, the Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte and the expansion of Charlotte Center City Partners’ work in Historic West End.
Patterson and the Knight Foundation have provided funding for several Library initiatives, such as the Job Help Center and Idea Box makerspace at Main Library. Patterson is widely regarded for her creativity and innovation, collaboration, risk-taking, inclusiveness and community-building.
“Susan’s energy, creativity and innovative spirit will inspire the Library staff and benefit our patrons and the community in ways we can’t yet imagine,” says Library Board Chair Jennifer Appleby, President and Chief Creative Officer at Wray Ward.The Community Fellow program will operate much like executive-in-residence, writer-in-residence, artist-in-residence, fellowship and other residency programs. The Community Fellowship is unpaid, other than a small honorarium at the conclusion of the year-long residency.
About the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library:
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is one of America’s leading urban public libraries, serving a community of more than one million citizens in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Through 20 locations, targeted outreach and online, the Library delivers exceptional services and programs, with a mission to create a community of readers and empower individuals with free access to information and the universe of ideas. For more, visit cmlibrary.org.
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Media Contact: Cordelia Anderson Director of Marketing & Communications Charlotte Mecklenburg Library 704-416-0712 canderson@cmlibrary.org
Media Resources:
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library newsroom: http://news.cision.com/charlotte-mecklenburg-library
Link to news release with images: http://news.cision.com/charlotte-mecklenburg-library
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