The Webster University Library Advisory Board is comprised of individuals within and outside of libraries who help us envision and plan for the future of our library in the rapidly changing world of higher education, academic libraries, and information access. The Library has long had a culture of assessment, including periodic satisfaction surveys, collections reviews, and instructional outcomes assessment. Our board's work complements our internal assessment efforts and helps us envision a bold future in which the library continues and strengthens its role as a key partner in the University’s academic endeavors.
Tony A. Benningfield is the former Executive Director at the Jefferson County Library District, a four-branch system serving 136,000 people. He has also served as Director of a small municipal library in De Soto, Missouri, and worked at the Jefferson College Library. He holds a BA in History and Political Science from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and a Master's in Library & Information Science from the University of North Texas.
Tracy Rochow Byerly has worked for Amigos Library Services since July 2012, when the Missouri Library Network Corporation (MLNC) merged into Amigos Library Services. She served as Executive Director of MLNC since December 2003 and played a key role in the merger of the two organizations.
In her current position, Ms. Byerly provides vision and creative, strategic leadership for Amigos, works closely with the Board of Directors concerning policy and planning, and engages libraries for innovation, collaboration, and partnerships. Prior to assuming her role as Executive Director at MLNC, she taught many workshops in her role as User Services Manager. Her library career began at St. Louis County Library, MO, where she worked in both public and technical services. Known for her knowledge of consortial management, enthusiasm and positive outlook, Tracy is a popular speaker at library meetings.
Lisa Camp is a seasoned marketing professional with over a decade of experience, now leading her company, LRC Social, to provide a vast range of social media and marketing services. A proud alumna of her university, she earned her BA in Media Communication in 2018 and her MBA in 2020. As she joins the library advisory board, Lisa aims to use her strategic insight and passion for community engagement to bolster the university's educational and outreach endeavors.
Sarah E. Fancher is currently the Director of Content Classification at SSRN, a preprint repository devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of research. She previously spent many years in academic libraries, serving as Library Director at a community college and as a research and instruction librarian at a private, doctoral-granting university.
Shanise Johnson is the Director of Career & Workforce Readiness at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, where she directs programming for the St. Louis Internship Program. Shanise is a proud product of the St. Louis Internship Program, where the goal is to provide hope and opportunity for high school students in financial need through paid summer internships, intensive employability training, and year-round college and career planning, in partnership with businesses and community organizations, and to build the St. Louis community by developing motivated, well-trained, and talented future employees. She is responsible for overall management and fiscal oversight, managing community partnerships, designing student programming, and directing evaluation and reporting.
Shanise holds a B.S. in business administration from St. Louis University, an M.B.A. from Webster University, an M.A. in teaching from Lindenwood University, and Business/Career Education Professional Certification for teaching at the secondary level. In 2016, she received a Diverse Business Leader award from the St. Louis Business Journal. When Shanise is not engaging with the students of SLIP, she is providing educational support, career counseling or event coordination to a number of organizations. Through her many endeavors, Shanise is committed to ensuring that every student she serves graduates from high school fully prepared for college and careers.
Monique C. McKinney is a Human Resource & Recruiting leader with over nineteen years of extensive management and leadership experience. As the CEO/Principle leader of her own HR Consulting group, she is responsible for driving the mission of partnering with organizations to provide forward-thinking talent and resource-management solutions. Delivering high level HR consulting strategies to growing companies in the areas of: Human Resource Management, Talent Acquisition & Management, Workforce Development, Career Transition, Training & Development and Corporate Compliance. She effectively guides clients through organizational change and fostering a culture of progressive employee relations and inclusion. Her career history includes being an effective change agent and collaborating and uniting cross-functional business lines within fast paced environments. Prior to joining Laclede Groves in 2016, she served as Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist at BJC Shared Services and as Human Resource Manager at Aesculap, Conifer Health Solutions (formerly known as Tenet Patient Financial Services), and The Home Depot. She is a member of Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the National Human Resource Association (NHRA).
Ms. McKinney holds a B.A. in Human Resource Management from Lindenwood University and is pursuing her MBA. She serves the community as a volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club of St. Louis, a member of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and a discussion leader for the Grace Hill Women's Business Center. She is an active supporter of The Black Rep, Diversity Awareness Partnership (DAP), NAACP, and the Contemporary Art Museum.
Blain McVey works at the University of Missouri - St. Louis as the Coordinator of New Student Experience within the Office of Student Involvement. In this role, Blain plans a variety of social, informational, and other orientation-style events to welcome new students to the university. He also serves as an advisor to several academic honor societies, consulting scholar-leaders in managing their student organizations.
Blain is a recent alumnus of Webster University, graduating in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Economics and a Minor in Philosophy. During his time as a student, Blain was involved in several student organizations, notably the Student Government Association. One of his proudest achievements while serving on SGA was working alongside the Webster University library staff and administration to eliminate library fees for students.
Madison Morris is passionate about libraries and has served as the Director of the Webster Groves Public Library since February, 2023. Madison started her career as a manager at Scenic Regional Library, which serves Franklin, Warren, and Gasconade counties, before going to St. Charles City-County Library District, where she managed the Corporate Parkway Branch. She received her MLIS from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The Library would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our former board members. We are grateful for their service!