The Friends of the Libraries Elect New Board Members and Appoint Three New Officers

At the Friends of the Libraries Board of Directors annual meeting held on April 15, 2026, the Board elected the following new Board Members:

Student Representative:  Alanah Culbreath

Alanah Culbreath was appointed to the Friends Board as their Student Representative. She is a student assistant at the Dunbar Library, working at the information desk, four years and running. She is also a graduate with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and pursuing an associate degree in graphic design. Alanah also serves on the Library Student Advisory Board.

 

Faculty Representative:  Peggy Kelly

Peggy has taught in the Wright State Department of Mathematics and Statistics since 2013. She has also been a faculty member in Teacher Education as well as the Senior Fellow in the Center for Faculty Excellence. She works hard to make sure that Wright State students are successful by continually improving her teaching and by working with other faculty who are also interested in continually improving their teaching.

When Peggy is not working, she enjoys being outside, playing trivia, working out, watching theater, and hanging out with family, friends, and her dog. She is a founding member of two book clubs and loves reading – mostly fiction but is happy to try almost any type of book!

 

Member-at-Large:  Susan Richardson, USAF, Col. Retired

Susan served 26 years in the US Air Force as an Aerospace Physiologist, responsible for training aircrew members in the physiological hazards of flight, protective equipment, and emergency procedures. Using her GI Bill, she completed a second master degree in Public History at Wright State University in 2013. She is a volunteer docent at both the National Museum of the US Air Force and Carillon Park.  Susan served as the Board Chair of both the Air Force Museum Foundation and the National Aviation Heritage Alliance. She and her husband, Ken, have three children, and three granddaughters. 

 

The Friends also appointed three new officers:

President:  Penny Profitt

Penny Profitt served on the WSU Alumni Board for 9 years and Friends of the Library for 4 years before becoming the Vice President.  Penny is the owner of Benefit Design Solutions – a health insurance brokerage firm. She specializes in reducing employer’s second highest expense – medical insurance.  She began her insurance career at Metropolitan Life insurance managing health care cost for large corporations.

Penny is an avid traveler. She has been to 100 countries, 7 continents and all 50 states. She loves outdoor sports—water skiing, hiking, biking, scuba diving, zip lining, parasailing, wind surfing –is a certified sailor and flew small planes before 9/11.

She is married and has 4 children who all attended college and have blessed her with 7 beautiful grandchildren ranging in age from 1 to 16. 

She is grateful for the education she received at Wright State University and what Wright State University gives back to the community!

 

 

Vice President:  Ellen Reinsch Friese

Ellen Reinsch Friese retired from Wright State University in 2021 after 25 years of service in research administration.  In October 2017, she was named the Interim Vice Provost for Research overseeing the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, the Office of Technology Transfer, and the Office of Research Compliance and served in that role until retirement. During her tenure at Wright State, she earned a Master’s of Humanities degree, was a recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Human Relations, and served on numerous University committees.

Retirement has afforded Ellen the opportunity to pursue her interests in gardening, cooking, and reading. She previously served as a member of the Friends of the Libraries Board for six years and looks forward to continuing to support the important work of the organization in her new role.

 

Treasurer:  Evan Mason

Evan Mason is Assistant Director in the Office of Disability Services, where he wears many hats. Among his major responsibilities, he directs a peer-mentorship program for students on the Autism Spectrum called Raiders on the Autism Spectrum Excelling (RASE). He also works with the Boonshoft School of Medicine in enhancing access for medical students with disabilities. Evan is a two-time graduate of Wright State himself, with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2013 and a Master of Arts in History in 2015. Prior to joint the Office of Disability Services in 2019, Evan worked as a Local History & Genealogy Librarian for Greene County Public Library. He has served on the Friends of the Libraries Board of Directors since 2023.

Evan lives in Beavercreek with his wife Christy and son Eli. In his free time, he enjoys listening to audiobooks, watching Cincinnati Reds games, and working on home improvement projects.

 

The Friends said good-bye to outgoing members of the Board: Lynn Hartzler and Emily Sands. We thank Lynn and Emily for their dedicated service to the Friends of the Libraries.