Library Board of Trustees

Jonathan Kemper, Board President, was appointed to the Library Board in 2001. Kemper is Chief Executive Officer of Commerce Bank (Kansas City). Kemper is involved in several community and business organizations in addition to his responsibilities at Commerce Bank. He is co-Trustee of the William T. Kemper Foundation. He is on the Board of: the Downtown Council, Midwest Research Institute, Tower Properties and the Kansas City Design Center.

David Mayta, Board Vice President, represents the Independence area of the Kansas City Public Library service district. He was appointed to the Library Board in 1999. Retired from Corporate Express, Mayta currently serves as Treasurer for People for Animal Welfare Society, Inc. (PAWS) and serves on the board of advisors for the Bingham-Waggoner Historical Society and as a community representative for the Powerhouse Theatre Foundation. He volunteers for several organizations in the Independence area, including the Vaile Victorian Society and City Theatre of Independence.

Dr. Joan Caulfield, Board Secretary/Treasurer, has served on the Board since February of 2000. She is an educational consultant to schools and districts both locally and nationally. Caulfield serves on the Boards of Wonderscope Science Museum, Gordon Parks Charter School Executive Board, KIPP School Board, The Sister Cities Commission, and is a Regent for Rockhurst University . She volunteers at Crosslines Food Kitchen and for Interfaith Hospitality Network. She has been named to Who’s Who in America, Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who Among America's Teachers, Who's Who in the Midwest and Who's Who of American Women. Caulfield was also named a participant in the Greater Missouri Leadership Program.

Rose Marie Bell was appointed to the Library Board in June, 2008. Bell served in the U.S. Women’s Army Corps (Vietnam War Era) and retired from the U.S. Army Reserves in 2001. She is a Senior Academic Advisor/Educator in the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City. She earned a B.A. degree in Administration of Justice and M.A. degree in Higher Education Administration from UMKC. She has served on the UMKC Chancellor’s Extended Cabinet, UMKC Minority Alumni Committee, and was President and Vice President for Programs and Professional Development, Missouri Academic Advisor Association Board of Directors. Community service has included the KCMO Prospect Corridor Initiative Advisory Board of Directors and KCMO Property Maintenance Appeal Board. Current activities include serving on the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority Light Rail Citizen’s Task Force and GKC/Women’s Political Caucus.

Fran Daniel represents the Sugar Creek area of the Kansas City Public Library service district. Appointed to the Library Board in September, 2008, Daniel is the current manager of the Fairmount Community Center. She is a member of the National Institute of Senior Centers, the National Council on Aging, a past president of the Independence Garden Club and Jackson County Inter-Agency Council, and has served on the Swope Medical Community Council. Her community service experience includes chairing the Sugar Creek Optimist Club's Christmas Families Project, the Kid's Fair Essay Contest, and the fundraising activities of the Fairmont Lions Club Christmas Lights.

Leon Dixon, Jr. was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and is a graduate of Lincoln High School. He holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s of Science degree in mathematics from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. Dixon is a founding member of the Kansas City chapters of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Black United Front. He is a cofounder and chairman of the board of directors of the W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center. This Center has operated with a volunteer staff since 1973, and offers mentoring and tutoring services to area young people in enrichment and remediation. Dixon is retired from the Allied Signal FM&T Corporation (formally the Bendix and now Honeywell Corporation) where he was a mathematician and computational scientist for thirty-two years. He is the author of the book Future In Our Hands, which is a discourse on the DuBois Learning Center.

Olivia Dorsey is the Community Affairs Director for a local television affiliate (KMBC-TV, Hearst Corporation). In addition to Dorsey's professional work, she has been a communications instructor for the Full Employment Council and a VISTA volunteer. Dorsey's most recent activities and awards include service to The Coterie Theater, Women's Employment Network and ReStart, Inc. as a Board member. Dorsey was appointed to the Library Board in 1993.

Billie Howard Barnes is a fourth grade teacher at the Pembroke Hill School. She is the recipient of several educational awards and was a U.M.K.C. Fellow of The Greater Kansas City Writing Project. Howard Barnes is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she attained a BA in English Literature. In 2010, she earned a MSEd in Curriculum and Instruction with an endorsement in Gifted and Talented Education from the University of Kansas. Prior to her work as an educator, Howard Barnes worked for the Chrysler Credit Corporation. In addition to her professional work, Howard Barnes served as a board member for DeLaSalle Education Center and MOCSA. Howard Barnes was appointed to the Library Board in August, 2005.

Claudia Oñate Greim is a partner at The Ashcroft Law Firm, LLC, where she advises clients with respect to a wide variety of corporate transactional and corporate governance matters. In 2006, she was appointed by Governor Blunt to be a member of the Missouri Housing Development Commission. She also serves on the Kansas City Tax Increment Financing Commission. She is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School. Oñate Greim was appointed to the Library Board in 2007.