Chattahoochee Valley Imagination Library Board of Directors
Warren Steele
Chair
Warren Steele started the local Community Action Team for Ferst Readers of Muscogee County in March, 2012. He has lead the switch over to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library for CVIL. Warren is a retired Senior Vice President of Aflac. He presently serves on the Piedmont Healthcare board and the local Piedmont Regional Board. He is also the Chair of the Equity & Economic Mobility Initiative for Columbus 2025.
Vice Chair
Amy Brady
A Columbus native, she attended Columbus High then earned a degree Interpersonal
Communications. Amy Brady is presently the Creative Director of Tandem Consulting Services. Childhood literacy is extremely important to her and serves as the personal cornerstone for who she is today. In her free time, Amy likes to needlepoint, read, and spend weekends at the lake!
Ann McDuffie
Ann retired as the Headmaster of St. Luke School after 12 years. Prior to that she spent 29 years in the Muscogee County School District as a science teacher, science consultant and principal. Ann is a member of the Administrative Board of St. Luke Church and the Seekers Sunday School class. She loves spending time at Georgia's Lake Sinclair and traveling with family and friends.
Judy Heider
A a retired early childhood educator with 40+ years of teaching in 3 states, Judy has seen firsthand the importance of reading to young children and them having access to age-appropriate books at home. Judy is also the retired Director of St. Luke Early Learning Center. Judy believes that Ferst Readers is a great opportunity to support early literacy in our community.
Greta Browder
Greta Browder is the Children’s Outreach Coordinator for Chattahoochee Valley Libraries. As a military brat and Army spouse, she has lived and worked in many places, but has called Columbus home for over 10 years now. She has a BS in Elementary Ed and a M.S. in Reading. Greta is dedicated to improving early literacy in Muscogee County by sharing the joy of books and reading starting at birth.
Terry Baker
Terry Baker is the West Region Chief for the Muscogee County School District. His initial experience with Muscogee County Ferst Foundation was during a Literacy Night event held at Fox Elementary School. As a former elementary school teacher and principal, he understands the need for early literacy and the impact it has on our youngest students.
Dr. Susan McWhirter, MD
Dr. McWhirter is a Pediatrician at Rivertown Pediatrics in Columbus. She received her MD from Emory University in Atlanta, completed her residency there and served as Pediatric Chief Resident, Clinical Instructor for a year. She serves on Pediatrics Faculty at Piedmont Midtown Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital. She also serves on the Hospital Authority Board, and as a board member of the Piedmont Columbus Regional Health System.
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Veverlyn Ealy
Born and raised in South Carolina, Veverlyn joined the Community Action Team with a strong passion for childhood literacy. With her current role in the Muscogee County School District Federal Program for Parent and Family Engagement, her biggest goal is to make all children feel loved and valued. She has a BA and MA in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina-Aiken and Troy State University. Veverlyn came to CVIL strictly because "Books is a blessing to many families"
Alice McClellan
Donna Kemp
Donna is a retired Muscogee County Educator.
Rebecca Haskey
Nancy Land
Nancy has lived in Columbus for most of her life with the exception of a few years in Texas and Hawaii. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a BA in Occupational Therapy. She has been an occupational therapist for 30 years specializing in pediatrics. She has a passion for witnessing children become successful readers and writers. She is wife to Chris Land and mom to Joseph Land.
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Alan Harkness
Ex-Officio
Originally from Forest Park, Georgia, Alan Harkness has worked in Georgia’s public libraries for 39 years in eight different counties. Director of the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries since 2013, Alan is also a member of The Rotary Club Of Columbus, and is on their board. He has been a Board Member of Feeding the Valley Food Bank, and is active in his sons’ Boy Scout Troop. He is married to Amy, a medical librarian at Piedmont Hospital and Gwinnett Medical. They have four children, 31, 20, 16, and 13.