Board of Directors

Michele Anderson
President

Michele Telech Anderson is a retired Procter and Gamble finance manager. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati, BBA and Xavier University, MBA.

Her family moved to Fargo in 2010 and have been fans of the Fargo Public Library ever since. She is happiest when hanging out with her husband, Steve, and their three kids. She enjoys meeting people, learning new things, taking walks, and reading books.

Kathy Vander Vorst
Vice President

Kathy Vander Vorst is a retired librarian, serving 16 years as a Reference and Teen Librarian at the Bismarck Public Library and 5 years as Adult Programming and Collection Development Librarian at the West Fargo Public Library. While at West Fargo she served on the Fargo area 1 Book 1 Community Committee and on MSUM’s Comstock-Gag Children’s Book Award Committee. She has an undergraduate degree from NDSU in Home Economics Education and a master’s degree from the University of Northern Texas—Denton in Library and Information Science.

She loves music of all kinds and has been a choir accompanist, church musician, and piano instructor. Kathy has also been a volunteer in the North Dakota 4-H program for many years.

Kathy loves history—especially North Dakota, Minnesota lake country, flower gardening, travel, sewing, reading, crafts, and libraries.  She also loves discussing books with anyone who will listen—especially her 8 adorable grandchildren. 

Juli Munro
Treasurer

Juli Munro is a Technology Solutions Director for the Clean Energy and Infrastructure Group of MasTec, Inc. She grew up in Osakis, Minnesota and graduated from Concordia College (BA) and North Dakota State University (MBA).

Juli loves trying out new recipes, books and golf courses, traveling and tackling a good home improvement project.

Jennifer Puhl
Board Member

Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl is an Assistant United States Attorney with the Department of Justice.   She is originally from Devils Lake, North Dakota, and graduated from the University of North Dakota and University of North Dakota School of Law.    

Jennifer enjoys following her children’s sporting events and other activities, UND hockey, cooking, eating, movies, and of course reading (especially spy novels). 

Jo Lucas
Board Member

Jo Lucas has been living in Fargo for just short of 5 years. She is retired and spends many of her evenings at Northern Cass High School volleyball games in the fall and girls basketball games in the winter. Her employment years included administration of both a law firm and a medical practice, as an archivist for a religious organization as well as other interesting employment experiences.

Her days include volunteering at Second Editions bookstore in the main library and in the Friends Book Nook at the Carlson location.  Other current activities include two book clubs, lineage society and PEO activities, as well as road trips with her husband and their dog, Edgar Allan Pug.  Road trips are often to historical sites and regional libraries which fits nicely into her interest in genealogy.  Along with her husband, she spends time in the summer as an innkeeper at the Ft Totten Inn.

Caitlin Mart
Board Member

Caitlin Mart is a social worker with the Fargo VA. She was raised in Fargo and graduated from Arizona State University (BSW) and University of North Dakota (MSW).

She enjoys spending time with her husband and their husky, traveling and reading.

Bob Jansen
Emeritus Board Member

Bob Jansen is a retired writer and editor. After working for three North Dakota newspapers, he served eight years as press secretary to Governor George Sinner. He co-authored the former governor’s memoir Turning Points. Bob studied journalism at the University of North Dakota and has a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing degree from Minnesota State University-Moorhead.

He loves reading, cats, and baseball.

Steve Anderson
Board Member

Steve Anderson is an Ophthalmologist at Sanford Health. He holds a BS from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, an MBA from Purdue's Krannert School of Management, and an MD from the University of Michigan.  

He moved to Fargo in 2010.  He enjoys spending time with his family, bike riding and exploring new places.

Sam Benshoof
Board Member

Sam Benshoof is a senior writer/editor with Bell Bank. He is from Bemidji, Minnesota, and graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Sam was a reporter with the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead from 2011-2013, and after spending seven years in the Twin Cities, moved back to Fargo in October 2020.

Sam enjoys trivia (he appeared on Jeopardy! in 2019), traveling, reading, and spending time outdoors.

Martin Grindeland
Board Member

Martin Grindeland is a professor emeritus at Minnesota State University Moorhead where he taught broadcast journalism for 37 years. He also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Illinois State University. He graduated from Mayville State College (BS), the University of North Dakota (MA), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD). He served as a television production officer in the U.S. Air Force.

Martin enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, keeping up with the news, gardening, playing games, and sports.