2026 Trustee Candidates

Meet the 2026 candidates for the Board of Trustees.

Candidate order on the actual ballot will be randomly determined by drawing.

Abigail Joffrain Trustee & Co-Chair of the Renovation Committee	Abbie Joffrain, current Library Board of Trustees President, was appointed in 2021 and elected the following year, serving first as treasurer, then as president since 2022. Abbie has served for 3.5 years on the renovations committee, ensuring it meets the needs of our entire community now and in the future, while preserving the library’s charm and history. Abbie has a Masters in Linguistics and Bachelors in both Linguistics and Government from the University of Texas and worked and volunteered in a variety of libraries, including at UT. As a trustee, Abbie has attended Texas Library Association Conventions around Texas to learn more about issues facing libraries today and learn from librarians with recent construction projects. She traveled to over 40 libraries researching for the renovation. She represented our library in the panel discussion of The Librarians at St. Andrews. She attends the annual TLA Legislative Day to learn and advocate for our library and stay informed on recent legislation. She attended the Texas Special District Leadership Forum, and the Library District Discussion Group for Open Meetings and Public Information Acts training. Abbie would be honored to serve another term putting her experience in libraries, in government, and with community organizing to use for our library and Wells Branch.
Elizabeth Martin Trustee & Co-Chair of the Landscape Committee	Elizabeth Martin currently serves as a Trustee for the Wells Branch Community Library, supporting the library as it grows and evolves. She helped envision the library’s new mascot, Professor Ponder, and its refreshed branding, and currently serves on the Landscaping Committee, helping shape plans for the future of the library grounds. During the library remodel, Elizabeth also helped reallocate furniture and other materials the library no longer needed to local schools, keeping these resources in use within the community. A Wells Branch resident since 2012, Elizabeth has a background in elementary education and is proudly raising her family in Wells Branch. She serves as PTA President at Wells Branch Elementary, works part-time as the school’s Library Assistant, and has supported the school garden for several years. Her work with schools, libraries, and gardens reflects her love for cultivating spaces where the Wells Branch community can learn, connect, and grow. If reelected, Elizabeth is committed to continuing her work on the Landscaping Committee and helping ensure the library grounds grow into a beautiful, family-friendly space that celebrates Texas native plants and feels distinctly at home in Wells Branch.
Rudolf Valenti, PhD	Education: PhD in Sociology/Social Work, in Budapest University (ELTE), Hungary. Also worked as a Librarian, serving students of the University's 'Semmelweis Medical School ' for six years. In the US, I got a BA in Journalism, in Cal State LA. Loved California, but had to return to Hungary when my father died to help my mother. Work: Came back to the US and specifically to Austin, TX, in 2005. Worked 11 years at Austin State Hospital, retired in 2016. Actually it is 'semi-retirement' now, for I keep going back to work for large Austin non-profits (Caritas, etc.) and/or keep finding part-time work as a Caregiver to the elderly. Volunteer work: Spent one month in Cambodia in 2024, helping needy children, and then one month in Guatemala, in 2025, in animal protection. Hobbies: My family, my Hungarian wife (also works for the State of Texas), and our - by now two adult - sons, 23 and 29. Reading, 'everything,' and we all just love Wells Branch; the parks, the pools, the football (and soccer!) fields, the little lake and, of course, the Library. It's all home now.
Paul Wadehra	I’ve called Wells Branch home since 1992, and I’ve spent much of that time volunteering in ways that keep this community close-knit. I founded and ran the WatchDogs program at Wells Branch Elementary, giving dads a chance to spend a day volunteering at their kids’ school. I also served on the board of the Wells Branch Armada swim team as Circuit Rep, President, and Meet Director, helping keep this neighborhood institution strong for the families who count on it every summer. I remember when our library was built, and I’ve used it ever since, as a reader, as a dad bringing my kids to chess club and Spanish club, and as an adult attending programs like birdwatching seminars. I’d be honored to bring my decades of volunteer experience in Wells Branch to the library as a Trustee.
Philip Waters	Bio