Meet the Board

The following are your library board members: Crisanne Thompson, Melissa Donham, Kayley Hutchins, Kaitlyn Laidler, Melinda Slaughter, Barb Gomez, and Ashley Lande 

Crisanne Thompson moved around a lot growing up and moved to Leon in 2008, where she has settled, and is the longest she has ever lived in one place. She is a 1st grade teacher and knows that community and reading help children succeed in life. She would like the library to be a place for kids and adults to get books and other literacy activities. Crisanne doesn't believe that sole responsiblity falls only on our local schools. She hopes to build a community that offers services to its citizens and will help our community grow. 

Kaitlyn Laidler is a Leon native who grew up here and then went on to get a Bachelor's of Science and a Bachelor's of Art. She is the proud mom of her two pugs, Lilly and Pnut, and they keep her constantly busy. Kaitlyn is pursuing her options in a future career while deciding to expand her interest into bringing the Library into the social media age and posting and volunteering to to help with programs and fun activities for all ages. 

Kayley is a single mom of 2 boys who moved from Alaska to Kansas about 14 years ago and has now called Leon her home for the past 5 years. She works in the medical field for over a decade and loves taking care of others but her boys are her life. Kayley is looking forward to bringing a prospective of a mom of not only a teen-age boy but also a special needs child. She is looking forward to adding to the community in a positive and inclusive way and share her love of books and to the City of Leon.

Melinda is a mom of 2 adult children and is blessed with 4 grandchildren. She has lived in Derby, Wichita, and moved to Leon 8 years ago. Her background is in early childhood education and story telling is one of her passions. Melinda has dreamed of having a functioning library open and inviting to all citizens in Leon with computers, internet, and printers that are available. Her passion is for the library to have a preschool story time, summer reading programs, and family craft nights. She is looking forward to see another way our little community to grow and connect with each other. 

Ashley is an artist, writer and mother of three whose writing has been featured in various magazines and a book of essays. Her first book, a memoir, is slated to be published by Lexham Press in October 2024, and her artwork has been shown in New York, Los Angeles, London and Melbourne. She and her husband are originally from Kansas City, Missouri, but a job transfer brought them to small town Kansas eight years ago, and they chose Leon for its character and have been delighted to see it grow and develop. A lifelong reader and lover of books, Ashley would like to see the library cultivate and refine a robust and diverse collection of fiction and non-fiction. She is an advocate for classic literature and beautiful writing, and hopes to instill a love for those same things in library patrons. Additionally, she would love to see a thriving children's program where children learn to cherish great stories and beautifully constructed language from an early age. She believes flourishing libraries are essential for flourishing communities!