BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Emily (Tobin) Tupa was appointed to the Board in December 2020. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Her parents, Mark and Paulette instilled an early love of reading and writing. The family lived in Rapid City before moving to North Dakota in the early 1990’s. Emily has happy memories of time spent at the library reading books under a large, red toadstool in the children’s section.

Emily and her husband Tyler moved back to the Black Hills in 2012. She spent several years working in event planning and hospitality before transitioning to a career in real estate, specializing in residential home sales with RE/MAX Advantage.

Since moving to South Dakota, her family has expanded and now includes 2 daughters: Julia and Madeline. While the large, red toadstool is gone, the kid’s section at the library leaves NOTHING to be desired. Her girls especially love visiting the birds.

Emily is honored to serve on the Board because she knows first-hand the special memories created here and the valuable resource a public library provides a community.

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Timmi Bubac was appointed to the board in December 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary English Education from Black Hills State University and a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Colorado State University. She grew up in the Black Hills and graduated from Stevens High School.

Timmi feels incredibly fortunate to live in Rapid City with her husband, Mark, and their two children, Sage and Margo. The Bubac littles are enthusiastic and regular library patrons, where Sage makes every visit a heavy-lifting challenge for his mother, as he loads up their bags with many nonfiction books about animals. The Bubac family is a proud military family, as Mark serves in the South Dakota Army National Guard as a medevac helicopter pilot.

Timmi has taught English Language Arts at multiple grade levels in both Colorado and Rapid City Area Schools. Currently, she teaches English classes in the General Education department at Western Dakota Technical College. Timmi loves teaching a variety of classes using multiple types of literature and art as inspiration for students to develop their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. She knows, firsthand, the power literature holds to change hearts, minds, and lives. Timmi believes that our public libraries are protectors and advocates of reading and literature, and they are beacons of light and unity in our communities, which is why she is deeply honored to serve our Rapid City Public Library.

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Mary Garrigan was appointed to the Board in August 2017. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from South Dakota State University.

As a former local newspaper reporter for many years, Mary helped library staff inform the public of library events. She also worked closely with library staff as the first director of Volunteer Rapid City. Mary is currently employed by Catholic Social Services and the Diocese of Rapid City as a grant writer.

Mary believes in the power of public libraries to encourage and develop the love of reading in others.

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Christine was appointed to the Board in May 2021. She earned a BA in English and Art from Black Hills State College and an MS in Counseling and Human Resource Development from SDSU.

She is retired from a 34 year career in addictions and mental health counseling. She has taught for Black Hills State, Oglala Lakota College, SDSU, and the RCAS as Art teacher at Jefferson Alternative School. She has experience in program administration, curriculum and program development, grant writing, and clinical supervision.

Christine believes that it is especially important to help every family in our diverse community to easily access our library services. She is honored to contribute to this fine resource for lifelong learning.

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