Library Board of Trustees Elects New Officers, Welcomes New Trustees
The Cedar Rapids Public Library Board of Trustees elected Clint Twedt-Ball as president and Monica Challenger as vice president at the July 7 board meeting. The board also welcomed two new members, Christine Casey and Elsabeth Hepworth.
The Board of Trustees is composed of volunteers who serve as the policy-making body for the Cedar Rapids Public Library and oversee library management. Trustees are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council to terms of six years.
President Clint Twedt-Ball is the founder and executive director of Matthew 25. The Cedar Rapids nonprofit’s focus is on growing stronger neighborhoods through the building blocks of healthy food access; quality, affordable housing; educational opportunity; and community building. He has served on the Board of Trustees since 2016, most recently as Vice President. He is a member of the Westside Project Committee and the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation Board.
Vice President Monica Challenger has served on the Board of Trustees since 2018. She serves as the Chair of the Finance Committee. An electrical engineer at Boeing, she has degrees in business administration, management and operations from the University of Iowa and electrical and electronic engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. She is a board member on Iowa’s Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services.
Chris Casey was a founding partner of Private Wealth Asset Management in September of 2021, and she serves on Private Wealth’s Investment Committee. Prior to founding Private Wealth, Casey worked for Wells Fargo for over 25 years, and has been in the financial services industry for 37 years. Chris earned her Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Troy University. She currently serves on the board of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and served as the past President of the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation Board.
Elsabeth Hepworth is a Digital and Content Strategy Specialist at TrueNorth Companies. She graduated from Simpson College with bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish and earned her master’s degree in teaching from the University of Iowa. She previously served on the board of directors for Eastern Iowa Arts Academy and volunteers as an English tutor at the Catherine McAuley Center.
The new members replace board members Mary Sharp and Matthew Wilding. Sharp was appointed to the board in July 2016, and Wilding was appointed to the board in October 2009.