Leadership/Values
Books for Classrooms Board of Directors
Linda Laird, President/Coordinator
Laird moved to Tucson in 1971. She became an active community organizer; founding and coordinating the West University Neighborhood Assoc. and working to Bring Back the Trolley; serving on the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission and Tucson Planning Commission. She started an historic preservation consulting firm in Tucson in 1982 which worked in a multi-state area.
In 1989 Laird moved to the City of Hutchinson in her home state of Kansas and served as assistant city planner and later was elected a city-wide member of the city council. After several years of snow birding, Green Valley became her home nine years ago. In her spare time, Laird writes award winning books about the history of grain elevators and quilts.
Karen Lueck, Secretary-Treasurer
Karen graduated from Trinity University, San Antonio with a degree in chemistry. She and her husband and sons lived in the Chicagoland area for 38 years. After receiving her CPA, she became a self-employed accountant as well as an accountant for the Realtor Association of Northwest Chicagoland and Big Hollow School District #38. As a part-time instructor, Karen taught accounting at College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL. She served 4 years on the Board of Education for Antioch School District 34. In 2012, she and her husband retired and became full-time residents of Green Valley.
Marla Daugherty, Director
Prior to moving to Green Valley in 2002 Marla resided in Alameda California, Denver Colorado and Portland Oregon. For 18 years she was employed by Standard Insurance Company. While in Portland, she worked in several capacities including Commission Processing, Underwriting group life and disability insurance policies, and working with teams in the development and implementation of new products. Along the way Marla earned a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) designation. Subsequently she worked as a Group Insurance sales representative for Standard Insurance Company in Denver and the San Francisco Bay area.
After leaving Standard she became a residential real estate agent, primarily working in Oakland and Alameda California during the 10 years prior to moving to Green Valley.
Marla attended an early session of what was to become Books for Classrooms and immediately volunteered to help in whatever way she could.
Analizabeth Doan, Director
A semi-retired bilingual education researcher and educator who has worked in the United States and Mexico empowering English, Spanish and indigenous language communities. Born in Nogales and having returned there to retire, she is a lifelong advocate for public education and presently heading the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent's office Literacy/Books Save Lives program. She has opened and worked with bilingual education programs in the United States and Mexico, at the Montessori preschool, elementary, middle school, high school, college, undergraduate and graduate levels. She is presently working with a Federal ESSER grant to get books into classrooms and homes throughout Santa Cruz County.
Lenore Bell, Director
Lenore has been a resident of Green Valley for 21 years. She is a member of GVR Camera, Computer, & LGBTQ clubs and Green Valley Wise Women. Lenore is engaged in and committed to public service
Her accomplishments include U.S. Air Force, 20 years of honorable service throughout the United States & Europe. Graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Caldwell College. Graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Master of Science in Business Management, Albertus Magnus College. Supervisor leading aircraft engine parts teams to improve manufacturing processes, 6 years.
Extensive professional experience in Quality Engineering & Management for a number of major US aerospace corporations. Quality Assurance Auditor & Systems Analyst for over 8 years at Raytheon, Tucson.
Maryon Rocha, Director
Maryon Rocha is a middle school teacher in the Southwest side of Tucson. She was born in Caborca, Sonora, Mexico and has lived in Tucson since 1988. Maryon volunteered for many organizations between 2004 and 2021. Some of these organizations are, Derechos Humanos, AFSCME Local 449, Border Action Network, Habitat for Humanity, Coalicion Primero de Mayo, Jobs with Justice, No Mas Muertes, Tucson Abortion Support Collective, Keep Tucson Together, Casa Maria, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, and Mi Familia Vota. Maryon currently volunteers with the Immigrant Scholarship Hustle through Scholarships A-Z and is part of the Tucson Education Association.
Dr. Felicia Durden, Director
Dr. Felicia Durden is a strong proponent of literacy. She has over 20 years of experience in education. Felicia has taught grades K-12, served as an Assistant Director of Reading and Writing, Principal, and Associate Superintendent for the Arizona Department of Education, and is currently serving as Executive Director of student services for Arizona State University Prep. In addition, she has taught English Composition at the College level as an adjunct instructor for over eight years. Dr. Durden has a passion for assisting student growth in reading and writing. She recedes in Tempe, Arizona, and is an Arizona native.
Volunteer Staff
Books for Classrooms staffing model is to pour our resources into books for classrooms rather than assets and overhead. This allows community donations to be spent entirely on books. Our staff is retired, doesn’t desire compensation, and finds fulfillment in contributing expertise. Our program makes good use of technology to eliminate the need for a physical structure. We will expand to paid consultants as needed.
Linda Laird, President/Coordinator
Laird moved to Tucson in 1971. She became an active community organizer; founding and coordinating the West University Neighborhood Assoc. and working to Bring Back the Trolley; serving on the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission and Tucson Planning Commission. She started an historic preservation consulting firm in Tucson in 1982 which worked in a multi-state area.
In 1989 Laird moved to the City of Hutchinson in her home state of Kansas and served as assistant city planner and later was elected a city-wide member of the city council. After several years of snow birding, Green Valley became her home nine years ago. In her spare time, Laird writes award winning books about the history of grain elevators and quilts.
Diane McIntyre, Grants
Splitting her time between Green Valley AZ and Prescott AZ, Diane is an active volunteer in both locations, as well as with her alumnae college, Mt. Holyoke College. Originally a New Englander, Diane has lived in Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay area and now Arizona.
A Books for Classrooms volunteer since 2021, Diane launched its grant research and writing operation. Prior to retiring, Diane established and operated for 12 years a consulting practice, Projects On Time. She also held positions with the American Electronics Association, Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development and U.S. Civil Rights Commission.
Dale Young, Orders
Dale was born in Potsdam NY and lived on a farm until he was 16, when the family moved to the Rochester, NY area where he finished high school. His education continued at night school at Monroe Community College where he earned a degree in Business. He worked at Eastman Kodak in Rochester NY for 30 years in Finance & Information Systems. The last few years he was a technician for color photography paper! After over 50 years in the snow, Dale and his wife Pat retired and moved to Tucson, and had a house built in Green Valley. After moving to the Tucson area Pat and Dale volunteered at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and the Green Valley Foodbank. In 2022, the Youngs volunteered to order and sort books for Books for Classrooms in their casita. Dale has continued to handle book orders for the many thousands of books that are delivered to classrooms in Pima County.
Mandy Vernalia, Volunteer Coordinator
Mandy Vernalia grew up In the Boston area and spent most of her working life in the real estate industry. In 2001 she retired and moved to Green Valley. There she became interested in local history and began examining volunteer opportunities in social justice. After having volunteered with Books for Classrooms for several years, in 2023, she became the coordinator of volunteers and now works tirelessly to see that this organization has the help it needs to accomplish its important mission.
Patricia Wischmann, Accountant (paid, part-time)
Patricia Wischmann is a managing partner for Epic Business Solutions LLC located in Green Valley Arizona. Her primary job responsibilities as an accountant are daily accounting, payroll, and tax preparation for businesses both local and internationally, individual, and non- profit. She has been in this current role for approximately 4 years. Previous work experience is with Topaz International where she was Vice President and a major shareholder. In that capacity, she was responsible for the finances of the corporation and overseeing sales and operations. Patricia attended the University of Phoenix and obtained her Bachelor of Science – Accounting degree in October 2009.
Our Values
Books for Classrooms is led by Women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+
We Are Socially Responsible, Proactive, Results-Oriented
Equity and Inclusion
Intentional, insightful, and profound service cannot be done without acknowledging, addressing, and countering the absence of inclusion and equity in our community. We will challenge our own beliefs and behaviors around cultural humility and biases in order to provide culturally responsive services to communities, individuals, and partners. We recognize that we are living on land originally owned by the Tohono O’odham Nation.
Collaboration
People are most successful in achieving their goals when all systems are working together. We strive to create environments in which people can both exchange ideas and create solutions. We believe in working as a partner with participants, colleagues, and the larger community to bring books to classrooms. This spirit extends to our governance processes by which the Board of Directors and volunteers work in partnership with each other and with community stakeholders to advance our mission. It also infuses the commitment to teamwork in our work environment.
Resourcefulness
We strive to maximize resources and use informal community supports to advance success. Our work focuses on partnering with community organizations to find and leverage resources to bring books to classrooms.
Diversity Policy
Books for Classrooms does not discriminate in their employment practices, volunteer opportunities, or delivery of programs and services on the basis of race, religion, gender or gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), gender expression, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, citizenship, ethnicity, familial status, socioeconomic status (economic circumstances), color, creed, sex (including pregnancy), phases of parenthood, national origin, marital status, veteran status (past, current, or prospective service in the armed forces), genetic information, physical characteristics or appearance, mental or physical disability, or any other status prohibited by applicable law.
Land Acknowledgement
Books for Classrooms is an all-volunteer organization, primarily comprised of highly committed retired professionals residing in or near the retirement community of Green Valley, Arizona, south of Tucson. Green Valley was founded in in 1964 as a retirement community for teachers and still strongly reflects that profession. The unincorporated community occupies part of the vast (46,697) acres of the San Ignacio de las Canoa Land Grant which was given to New Spain by the Spanish Crown in the 16th century. The land originally belonged to the Tohono O’odham people. It was purchased from the Mexican government in 1853. Arizona became a state in 1912.
