Library Staff

Donita- Executive Director email Donita see Donita's Goodreads shelf		Donita is our Executive Director. She manages the daily operations of the District and has oversight of library services, personnel and facilities. Donita hails from the Chicago area, but has been at the Wells Branch Library for 23 years. She enjoys spending time with her kids and grandkids, traveling, and baking. Her favorite books are long fiction series with focus on sassy characters and no deep thinking required. Recently she is enjoying amigurumi, jigsaw puzzles, and the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters.
Dayna- Assistant Executive Director email Dayna see Dayna's goodreads shelf		Dayna is the Assistant Executive Director with a special interest in adult programming, including book discussions and the Elder Wisdom Group. She also helps build the library’s adult print collection. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, being active outdoors, dancing, and listening to music — usually with her corgi close by.
Katrina- Public Services Director email Katrina see Katrina's goodreads shelf		Katrina is the Public Services Director for the Wells Branch Community Library. She has been with the Library since 2015. She has a Masters of Library Science, with a focus on technology. When she's not at work you can find her under a pile of cats and knitting projects, reading fantasy or historical fiction. She's also very fond of historical non-fiction and travel.
Nick- Youth Services Director email Nick see Nick's goodreads shelf		Nick is our Youth Services Director. He oversees all things ages 0-17 in the library. Nick is a native Texan and has lived in Austin since 2022. He’s a former K-12 educator with experience with all ages in two countries. He’s a Girl Dad, husband, and author with little time, but when he has it, Nick enjoys movies, video games, food/cooking videos, and audiobooks. If it’s meta, he has the proclivity to enjoy it immensely more. He will read almost any type of book (except the boring ones) and has a special talent in being able to read Fox in Socks faster than anyone he’s met thus far.
Karen- Office Manager and Bookkeeper email Karen see Karen's goodreads shelf		Karen is our Office Manager and has been at Wells Branch Library since 2013. She handles all the bookkeeping, records management, supply ordering and facility maintenance. She assists with the yearly audit making sure all the records are in order. Karen grew up in New Mexico and to this day still loves the New Mexican countryside. She learned to ski in Ruidoso and Taos and has an affinity for the mountain climates. She moved to Austin in her late teens and eventually went to the University of Texas and graduated with a Computer Science degree. She worked in the Computer Industry for several years before switching to Office Management. She enjoys the camaraderie at the library and loves working with numbers and data. She’s very compulsive about organizing things and still enjoys programming. She rewrote her own version of iTunes (which she continuously updates with new features). She loves spending time with her family and grandkids. Among her favorite hobbies are collecting all sorts of music, creating playlists and making her own jewelry. She clearly has a “creative bent”.
Michelle- Volunteer Services Librarian email Michelle see Michelle's goodreads shelf		Michelle is our Volunteer Services Librarian and runs the library's volunteer program. She is also in charge of the young adult and digital collections. She is a native Texan and has been at Wells Branch Library for 10 years. In her free time she enjoys playing video games and reading.
Kaitlyn- Youth Services Librarian email Kaitlyn see Kaitlyn's goodreads shelf		Kaitlyn is the Youth Services Librarian, and has worked at Wells Branch Community Library since 2020. You can often find her running kids and teen programs throughout the week. Growing up in the military, she has lived in California, Virginia, Florida, Hawaii and Texas (some of them multiple times!). A lifelong reader, Kaitlyn’s favorite genres are romantasy (bonus points if there are dragons) and historical mysteries (bonus points if it’s set during Victorian times).
Lauren- Outreach Manager email Lauren see Lauren's goodreads shelf		Lauren is the Outreach Services Manager, handling the library's social media and outreach - you can usually find her tabling a neighborhood event on behalf of the library. She also is in charge of the adult graphic novel & comics collection. She's a native Texan, and has lived in Austin with her partner for 10 years, 8 of which have been spent working at the library! She has a Master of Arts in History (specializing in Europe & 16^th century England), and loves to read non-fiction as well as romance and graphic novels. She is currently on a mission to visit all of the official Presidential Libraries - only 4 left - and to try every craft she can get her hands on.
Elisa- Bilingual Services Manager email Elisa see Elisa's goodreads shelf		Elisa is our Bilingual Services Manager and our ILL (Interlibrary Loan) Coordinator. She is in charge of ordering and cataloging the library’s Spanish collection, managing the Tuesday’s Spanish and Bilingual children’s programs as well as processing ILL’s sent and received by the library. Born in Zacatepec, Mexico, Elisa has lived most of her life in Texas – the last 28 years of which she has lived here in Wells Branch, joining the library in 2018. Elisa hails from an educational background, having taught preschool in a family owned Montessori school, and bilingual pre-k, second and fourth graders in Austin and Pflugerville public schools. Elisa loves going on walks with her rambunctious shepherd/collie mix and her two sassy Chihuahuas while listening to news podcasts and audio books. She likes to try new baking recipes, is currently studying the bible and enjoys watching crime thrillers on TV with her husband.
Julia- Adult Programs Manager email Julia see Julia's goodreads shelf		Julia is the Adult Programs Manager. She started here in 2020 as a Library Assistant and now plans events and activities at the library. She is responsible for first making contact with the library's ghost, Wilhelmina Batori. Julia is from Texas. She enjoys reading, baking, and travel.
Lenna- Program Support Manager email Lenna see Lenna's goodreads shelf		Lenna is the Program Support Manager. She enjoys working behind the scenes and helping the library's programming to be the best it can be. She has been a member of the team for 2 years. She's an Austin native and loves being able to work with the local community. Lenna enjoys yoga, listening to audiobooks, and arranging things in alphabetical order.
Marissa- Library Assistant email Marissa see Marissa's goodreads shelf		Marissa is a library assistant that oversees the seed library and Spanish document translations. Her goal is to enhance library accessibility for Spanish speaking patrons and provide as much help and information so they can reach their goals. She is a South Texas native and has worked here for 2 years. When she is not at the library, she is attending a concert, creating art, or exploring the city with her 5-year-old English Cocker Spaniel.
Anastacia- Library Assistant email Anastacia see Anastacia's goodreads shelf		Anastacia has been part of the team for a little over one year, and she's always happy to help you find what you're looking for. In her free time, she loves to draw as much as her hands will let her, try as many different crafts as she can, read as many books as she has time for, and write (and edit and re-write and edit again) a handful of books of her own. Though, as much as she loves all of that, she may or may not spend most of her time playing video games. She also enjoys all types of fashion and sewing her own clothes... when her cat isn't pawing at the fabric!
Justin- Library Assistant email Justin see Justin's goodreads shelf		Justin has at the library for just over one year. He comes from a background in software development and music, with emphasis in Python and classical music. He enjoys a wide variety of activities, and a particular love for animals. In his spare time, Justin enjoys traveling, watching crime dramas, and playing video games including the Super Mario universe, The Legend of Zelda, Split Fiction, and any co-op games (because playing with others is fun!) He also loves fantasy books and the occasional biography. He also has an addiction to anything and everything with peanut butter.
Tiffany- Library Assistant email Tiffany see Tiffany's goodreads shelf		Tiffany is one of our library assistants and has been working at the library since late 2025. Outside of work, she is a volunteer at St. Andrew’s Food Pantry and a member of the Wells Branch Writer’s Guild. Her favorite activities include reading, writing, and being outdoors!