Amanda E. Standerfer

Founder and Lead Consultant

As the founder and lead consultant for Fast Forward Libraries, Amanda’s passion is helping libraries and nonprofit organizations advance so they can create meaningful impact in their communities. Since 2002, Amanda’s has worked with libraries and nonprofits on strategic planning, fundraising, organizational development, and capacity building.

Amanda was most recently the director of member engagement for The Urbana Free Library (IL). She has spent about half of her career working in philanthropy (as program officer for The Lumpkin Family Foundation based in Mattoon, IL and as program director with the Southeastern Illinois Members Foundation, serving Effingham and Mattoon, IL) and the other half in libraries (as head of the Adult Division at the Decatur Public Library (IL) and as director of the Effingham Public Library (IL)). She loves melding her library and philanthropy knowledge — a self-proclaimed “philanthro-brarian.”

Amanda has twice been elected to the Board of the Illinois Library Association (ILA), most recently completing a three-year term in 2016. Amanda was also selected as a member of the first class of Synergy: The Illinois Library Leadership Initiative and one of only two librarians ever selected for participation in Leadership Illinois.

Amanda holds a bachelor of arts and a master of arts in history from Eastern Illinois University, as well as a master of science in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Learn more about Amanda on LinkedIn.

Laura Huddleston

Associate Consultant

As an associate consultant for Fast Forward Libraries, Laura has a special interest in the “how” of public libraries and loves to learn about ways they can thrive to benefit patrons and communities.

For ten years, Laura led the children’s department at the Mattoon Public Library. She helped design and launch MPL’s inaugural Book Buggy mobile library to reach underserved youth and piloted the First Grade, First Card program to bring library cards to local first-graders. Laura served on the AISLE Monarch Award Committee and received a 20 Under 40 Award from the Mattoon Journal Gazette.

Laura recently served as program officer for community engagement and organizational learning at the Lumpkin Family Foundation where she led new efforts in trust-based philanthropy, impact evaluation, and internal learning including a facilitated EDI process for Board and staff.

Laura currently serves as a trustee of the Mattoon Public Library and as an advisor for the Coles County Peace and Justice Fund. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and secondary education from Eastern Illinois University and an MLIS from Indiana University.

Kirstin Gebhart

Assistant Consultant

Kirstin Gebhart is an assistant consultant with Fast Forward Libraries. She is a communications and development professional who has coordinated fundraising and communications campaigns for a variety of industries, from higher education to nonprofits and libraries.

She honed her communications skills during her time as the senior director of communications and member services at the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Her fundraising skills were developed as an engagement communications specialist at Penn State University during their most recent multi-year campaign which generated over $2.2 billion. Kirstin served as the development and communications manager for The Urbana Free Library (IL) and recently she graduated from SUNY Brockport with her master’s degree in American history.

Fast Forward Libraries is proud to work closely with a knowledgable and experienced group of library consultants.

Cindy Fesemyer

Collaborating Consultant

Helping organizations see the big picture as they help their communities reach their aspirations is Cindy Fesemyer’s passion as the principal of Fesemyer Consulting, LLC. Community engagement, qualitative assessment, strategic planning, engaged leadership, director coaching, and staff and trustee trainings are her areas of expertise. She also teaches continuing education courses for the UW-Madison iSchool and sits on various committees of the Public Library Association.

Previously she was employed at the Wisconsin State Library as the adult and community services consultant and served for seven years as director of the Columbus Public Library (WI) which was named a finalist for Library Journal’s 2017 Best Small Library in America. She served eight years as a Trustee for the Madison Public Library.

After 14 years managing nonprofits, Cindy earned her MLIS from UW-Madison in 2012. She also earned dual master’s in English literature and teaching writing from Humboldt State University.

Martin Alvarado

Collaborating Consultant

Martin Alvarado has worked in public libraries for over two decades and is currently the community engagement librarian for business and technology at Madison Public Library in Wisconsin. His work focuses on equitable support for diverse entrepreneurs and digital inclusion.

Martin has an MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A native of Mexico City, Mexico, Martin grew up in a bilingual and bicultural household between the U.S. and Mexico and serves as a Spanish-language subject matter expert on the City of Madison’s Language Access Steering Committee. He is also an active participant in the City’s Racial Equity & Social Justice Initiative and has served on the City of Madison’s Task Force on Digital Inclusion Strategic Priorities.  Martin has experience in human-centered design and a certificate from the Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative: Innovation Track.