Ben Cadranel, Board Chair, was a daydreamer, spending countless hours at the library reading Candide and The Petit Prince (in French- he’s bilingual). Now, he builds powerhouse public-private partnerships in workforce and economic development, leveraging his law and accounting degrees. Ben’s favorite librarian— his wife, Nancy, is a champion of adult and family literacy in Yolo County. Inspired by her passion, Ben is back at the library, working to turn his and Nancy’s literacy dreams for their community into reality.

Joy Sakai, Vice Chair, believes books saved her; seven years old and sick for a year, stories and music made her world so much wider than her bed. As a pharmacist, she knows that illiteracy is a health risk. Babies who are read to grow into kids and adults with greater odds of success. Joy is a huge advocate for the Bibliobus, bringing books (including her childhood favorite, The Island of the Blue Dolphins) to kids across the county.

Gregg Atkins, Board Secretary, fell in love with books at his grandma’s knees and at the very small library in her very small Wisconsin town.  History grabbed him first, and he still curls up happily with a new take on something from the wide range experiences of the past. Gregg’s bookish love grew into a library career. Gregg’s passion is to find ways to support library services and programs so that “libraries don’t just survive, but thrive.”  No matter the amount of change and new technologies, it’s still quite clear that libraries offer something very desirable that’s becoming hard to find: community, sense of place and sense of belonging.

Camille Chan, Board Treasurer, grew up in Oakland, lucky to have two public libraries within walking distance—where she’d leave with armfuls of books (and even sheet music!). Now, following a career in HR and business, she still loves a good deep dive, like The Powers That Be by David Halberstam, which opened her eyes to how media giants have shaped U.S. history. For Camille, libraries are game-changers—giving people resources to those who want to help themselves have a better life. She’s passionate about expanding the library’s reach, resources, and impact to help the most under-resourced have access to them!

Lisa A. Baker, Board member has been a library fan since she was a young child. The library unlocked not just stories about the wider world, fantastic sci-fi worlds, and swashbuckling heroes - it was also the key to opportunity, to learning, and to a lifelong curiosity about the world and a love affair with the magic of libraries. Imagine it - every library everywhere is as amazing as the ancient and fabulous Library of Alexandria.

Randy Byrne, Board Member, fell for libraries in high school, wandering the stacks to fuel his curiosity about the world. In grad school at UC Berkeley, he turned that love into a page job at the SF Haight-Ashbury Library. Fast-forward to today, and he’s written three books on Microsoft Outlook—proof that all that library learning paid off! Randy believes library health is community health. He’s eager about helping the YCLF grow our library’s programs, services, and outreach.

Dan Barr, Board Member, has been fascinated with libraries since his youth—even interning at his high school library. Now as a managing editor, the student-written anthologies he publishes through creative-writing nonprofit, 916 Ink, line the shelves at Yolo, Sacramento, and Yuba county libraries. He envisions a Yolo County Library where everyone, young and old, has unrestricted access to not just books, but classes, creative programming, and community support for all ages.

Neelufar Khosraviani, Board Member, has been a library devotee since grade school, finding refuge in books packed with worldly knowledge, adventure, and a little Chicken Soup for the Soul. Her childhood favorites, The Boxcar Children, embodies the resilience and resourcefulness that is more vital now than ever. As a physical therapist, she’s passionate about adult literacy and making knowledge accessible to all as it profoundly improves community health.

Trish Nichol, Board Member, spent summers pedaling to the library with friends, bike baskets overflowing with books to compete for summer reading prizes (including sapling plants!). That growing love of learning led her to careers in nonprofit conference planning and academic curriculum design, focused on community building. She’s a hawk for community building— including animals as a dedicated volunteer at a raptor rehabilitation center— as well as for people, eager to increase access and programming for parts of the county without home library branches.

Christine Tran, Board Member, still remembers the thrill of winning a summer reading challenge as a kid, devouring Nancy Drew mysteries while her parents worked. Now, she’s the one bringing her two young boys to the library for everything from baby bounces to maker nights. By day, she works in tech marketing; before that, she ran scholarship and volunteer abroad programs. Her latest book obsession? Barbarian Days—a poetic ride through surfing, SoCal nostalgia, and Southeast Asian adventures. New to YCLF, she’s excited to help kids across Yolo County fall in love with reading just like she did.