Board of Directors & Staff

Board of Directors

Kate flaim, President

The daughter of a librarian, Kate is a lifelong bookworm and library enthusiast. Currently a freelance journalist and writer, she has worked at Fortune Magazine and written for Fast Company, Fit Pregnancy, Chicago Magazine, and others, in addition to working as a strategy consultant and an academic editor. A native Oregonian, she and her husband have lived in Cambridge since 2007 and are regulars at the Main Library and the Boudreau Branch. The mother of three, including two Cambridge Public School students, she is a firm believer in the importance of libraries as tools of social justice, opportunity, and equity.

Katie lapp, Treasurer

Katie, in her previous role as the Executive Vice President of Harvard University, was responsible for the financial, operational, and administrative endeavors of the University. She was pleased to join the CPLF Board in 2016, given the pivotal role the library plays in the lives of so many Cambridge residents, and feels honored to serve on the CPL Board alongside such “outstanding and committed colleagues.”

Stan Twarog, Secretary

Stan is a lawyer whose law practice focuses on merger, acquisition and general corporate work, primarily for privately-held companies. He was born at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge and has lived continuously in Cambridge since 1980. His interest in libraries derives from a lifelong interest in reading and the wonderful experience his three children (now adults) had at the Cambridge Public Library. As a member of the Board, Stan’s goals are to enhance the experience of Library patrons, and to expand the Library’s range of services, so that its benefits are extended to as many Cantabrigians as possible.

Shahid Azim

Shahid Azim is a serial entrepreneur who has taken breakthrough technologies form labs at MIT to market. Currently, he serves as CEO of REACT Neuro, an VR based brain health platform combining digital biomarkers with AI to enable proactive, data-driven primary care. Previously, Shahid was the Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Harvard University, where he advised labs across campus on early stage venture creation based on disruptive innovation. Prior to this, he was founder CEO of at Lantos Technologies (3D Imaging) and Quanttus (Continuous Cuff-less BP), both of which were MIT spin outs with venture backed funding where he built teams across Cambridge and Palo Alto. He has raised over $50M in early stage venture capital from top tier VC's in Boston and Silicon Valley. Additionally, he is an active angel investor with MIT Angels and advisor to a number of technology startups and funds. He has an MBA from Sloan School of Management and a post graduate degree from Harvard University.

Peter Bryant

Peter Bryant has lived in Cambridge for 40 years and has long benefited from and supported public libraries. He served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and was responsible for managing museum operations and the initiation and implementation of museum-wide initiatives. His previous experiences include leadership positions at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Harvard University, and the Outward Bound Schools in North Carolina and New Hampshire. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Dartmouth College.

Kay Calvert

Kay is a strategic marketing and investor relations consultant with her own firm, K. Calvert Consulting. Kay has been a managing partner of a family-owned real estate company based in Charleston, SC since 2007. She has been a member of the Essential Partners’ Board since 2011 and Board President since 2013 where she has been involved in the Public Conversations Project. Kay’s background includes more than 20 years of experience with technology-oriented companies.

Cathy Chute

Cathy is Executive Director of the Institute for Applied Computational Science at Harvard University, and a 20-year resident of Cambridge. Previously, she was the publisher of Harvard Magazine, and a director of business development for The New York Times. She has loved libraries since first learning to read after joining a summer book club in Garden City, New York, as a 7-year old. Her favorite book of all time is Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth.

Lauren Cosulich

Lauren is a partner and advisor in Boston with Summit Trail Advisors, a multi-family office with locations nation-wide. She works with successful entrepreneurs, professional investors, newly independent women, and wealthy families to help them attain their objectives, whether they be financial, philanthropic, or otherwise. A graduate of Duke University, Lauren grew up outside of Boston but moved to Cambridge from San Francisco in 2014 with her husband and two daughters. Lauren loves reading, is deeply committed to community building, and believes in the power of libraries to educate, inspire, and connect visitors from all walks of life.

Mahmood Firouzbakht

Mahmood Firouzbakht is a life-long resident of Cambridge and a product of the Cambridge Public School system. After graduating from college, Mahmood taught history at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School for several years. After teaching at CRLS, Mahmood attended law school and practiced commercial real estate law at the prominent Boston law firm of Nixon Peabody. In 2015, Mahmood founded Boardman + Company, a local real estate development firm which he is actively operating. Mahmood, his wife and two children currently live in Cambridge and are active members of their community. Mahmood has loved spending hours in the Children’s Room of the Main Library with his family over the years.

Susan Flannery

Susan was Director of Libraries for the City of Cambridge from 1993-2016. During her celebrated tenure, she initiated public access to the Internet, free public computers, electronic resources and e-readers. Under her leadership, library use increased and the Main Library was expanded. She is former President of the Massachusetts Library Association and was selected by the American Library Association as an outstanding library advocate of the 20th century. Susan is an outspoken advocate for free public libraries, open access to information, intellectual freedom, and confidentiality of library records. She earned an MLIS from Simmons, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Isaiah Jackson

Isaiah returned to Cambridge in 2002 to lead the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, having served as music director of Covent Garden’s Royal Ballet and conducted orchestras on six continents. Since 2007, he’s taught at the Berklee College of Music. A lifelong learner and former Trustee of the Boston Athenæum, Isaiah celebrates those qualities in the Cambridge Public Libraries that distinguish them among their peers and looks forward to enhancing the availability of all our Libraries’ wonders.

Klara Jelinkova

Klara Jelinkova is the Vice President and University Chief Information Officer at Harvard University. Previously, she held senior IT leadership positions in higher education, including Vice President for International Operations and IT and Chief Information Officer at Rice University, as well as Chief Information Officer and Senior Associate Vice President at the University of Chicago, with earlier roles at Duke University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Klara also taught courses on innovation and emerging technologies at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business. She holds a Doctorate in Education from Johns Hopkins University, a Master’s in Education from Boston University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Slavic Languages from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Shippen Page

Shippen has practiced law in Cambridge since 1979 where he has also been an engaged supporter of the growth and success of several well recognized local nonprofits over the past 35 years. Shippen’s enthusiasm for CPL is evident from his willingness to serve as the second President of the Foundation Board (2016-2022), and his ready avowal that he “loves Cambridge Public Library!”

Laura Roberts

In 2024, Laura challenged herself to read 100 books, a goal she hit on October 31… almost all of the 100 books borrowed from CPL! When she isn't reading, Laura is an independent nonprofit management consultant who specializes in strategic planning, governance, and organizational development. She was executive director of the New England Museum Association and Boston Center for Adult Education. Laura is the chair of the board of Central Square Theater and a member of the board and executive committee of History Cambridge. She teaches museum management at Harvard University Extension School.

Tamara Rogers

Tamara Rogers retired at the end of 2018 as Harvard’s Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development after a 40 year career at the University, which included senior roles in admissions and financial aid as well as in development. She now does fundraising consulting, and serves on the Learning and Community Outreach Committee of the MFA’s Board of Advisors and as a Charter Trustee at Phillips Academy. A favorite youthful library memory is being denied access to The Agony and the Ecstasy at her public junior high school in Lowell - until her mother wrote a note to say that "Tamara is allowed to read anything she wants”! Tamara believes the Cambridge Public Library exemplifies a powerful commitment to knowledge, learning, and service to the community.

Sheila Thimba

Sheila has served as Dean for Administration and Finance for Harvard College since 2014, having moved to Massachusetts from New Jersey. She was thrilled to find a vibrant community and to contribute as a volunteer in Cambridge’s Participatory Budgeting process, on the Cambridge Local First advisory board, as board member for Harvard Student Agencies, and now, on CPLF’s Board.

Maria McCauley, Ex Officio

Maria is the Director of Libraries for the City of Cambridge and a member of the American Library Association (ALA) Executive Board. She comes to the CPL from Santa Monica, CA where she served as Director of Libraries.  Maria has also worked for the Somerville Public Library and the libraries at Northeastern University. Her research has been published in College & Research Libraries and Library Management Portal. Maria describes the Cambridge Public Library as a “learning, creative and sharing space for everyone, where knowledge and skills are attained, people are welcomed, and dreams are realized.”

Foundation Staff

Marta Lee-Perriard, PhD - Executive Director

Growing up in seven different countries, books were Marta Lee-Perriard’s constant companions during her travels. She started as a Nancy Drew fan and eventually took a PhD in French Literature at the University of Oxford. Marta went on to a twenty-year corporate international publishing career. During the pandemic, she shifted careers to mission driven organizations, including direct service with unhoused women in Cambridge. Most recently, she was Director of Development and Outreach at the Cambridge Women’s Center. For Marta libraries, and especially the Cambridge Public Library, are a vital safe space for the community, open to all and with infinite possibilities.

Isabella Pioli, Operations Manager

Born in New Jersey and raised in California, Isabella attended Smith College, graduating with a double major in English and Art History. She then graduated from the University of Stirling in Scotland for her masters in Publishing Studies, focusing on marketing and design. Her dissertation "A Book by Any Other Name Still Needs a Cover" utilized visual analysis to understand cover design throughout the last century. When Isabella is not working, she is listening to audiobooks which allow for her other hobbies: quilting, baking, dressmaking, crochet, and learning to embroider. Her favorite international library (so far) is the reading room at Château de Chantilly. Like all history/book lovers, she still mourns the loss of the Library of Alexandria.