Gretchen Hachmeister, Executive Director
ghachmeister@hotchkisslibrary.org
Gretchen served on the HLS Board for 9 years before applying for the director’s job in 2018. Books have been the link between most of her life adventures, beginning with the hours she spent hidden in the crabapple tree in her family’s front yard in Pittsburgh reading horse books. Her first library memory is of climbing the stairs of the Bookmobile parked in the Giant Eagle Supermarket parking lot. During college she interned at the Library of Congress, getting lost in the tunnels and stacks under Capitol Hill.
She spent five years working at Houghton Mifflin, and during Gretchen’s first week they published The Prince of Tides. Pat Conroy took her and all the other entry-level staff to her first publishing lunch that Friday and they returned to the office at 3:30 pm. As the Foreign Rights Manager, she traveled to the Bologna and Frankfurt Book Fairs; John Kenneth Galbraith sent her a thank-you note every time she sold the translation rights for one of his books.
Gretchen spent seven years in New Haven enjoying Pepe’s Pizza and earning a Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literatures from Yale. After a brief foray into teaching, she and her husband landed in Sharon, where they have lived for twenty years, raising two kids, a miniature donkey named Roland, and a flock of Shetland sheep. When not at the Library, Gretchen can be found reading, knitting, or riding her handsome Icelandic horse.
Renee DeSimone, Director of Circulation and Children’s Services
rdesimone@hotchkisslibrary.org
Renee was born in NY but has lived in Litchfield County for over 20 years, so CT feels like home in many ways. She comes from (and currently has) an extremely large extended family for whom reading, music and art, science, and being a good human were valued. Renee has an M.A. in Creative Arts Therapy from Hofstra University and spent over 20 years as a therapist specializing in child and family mental health. After leaving that career, her love for books, art, and play led her to become part of the library community through children’s programs. Renee’s “best day ever” is any day when kids come into the library. She is so excited now to be part of the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon community! When she’s not in a library, she can be found making puppets, watching entirely too many PBS mysteries, and trying to learn to cook (though not always successfully).
Lee Huber, Director of Development and Events
Originally from Australia, Lee is a newcomer to the Sharon community, having moved here in the summer of 2024. With a lifelong love of books and libraries, her first stop was the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon. As a child, she cherished weekly visits to her local library with her grandmother, a voracious reader, making those moments some of her fondest memories.
With a career spent in tourism, events, and development, Lee has been fortunate to live and work in some of Australia’s most desirable destinations, delivering iconic events for the enjoyment of both visitors and locals. Her passion for supporting the mission of nonprofit organizations has allowed her to contribute to a variety of initiatives in the arts, culture, and education sectors.
When not in the library, Lee enjoys reading, travelling, cooking and spending time with family and friends. She looks forward to exploring the region and contributing to her new community.
Jen Harrigan, Community Engagement Coordinator
Library Assistants
Jean Anderson
I was born and raised in the flatlands and big sky country of Northwestern Ohio where the points of highest elevations were the man-made highway overpasses. I moved to Connecticut at age 21 and eventually earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education. I taught in the Region #1 Schools for 33 years before retiring in 2018. My favorite job (before teaching) was between the ages of 15-20 in my hometown library in Perrysburg, Ohio. Now, 41 years later, I have a new favorite job at our beloved Hotchkiss Library. My husband Peter and I have 2 adult children, Faye and Ian, and two grandchildren- Reese (5) and Levi (1). Being a grandmother is currently my biggest joy in life, but I also love to travel (can’t wait for that to happen again), garden (not so much the weeding part), cook, and row on Twin Lakes with my We Can Row Team (can’t wait to be able to do that safely again either!). I am struggling to learn French and I am searching for someone in the northeast who knows how to play Euchre, which I once believed was mandatory for all Ohioans to learn before being eligible for a driver’s license.
Kathy Amiet
Born and raised in northeast Ohio, I moved to Sharon after college, to work as a teacher-naturalist at the Sharon Audubon Center for six years. Following that, I began working part-time at the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon and at Sharon Center School. In 1985, I took a short hiatus to assume the role of Children’s Librarian/Assistant Director at the Oliver Wolcott Library in Litchfield. After two years in that position, I realized that I really wanted to work in the library in my own community. I again began working at the Hotchkiss Library, where I eventually became the Children’s Librarian, a position I held for 12 years. Currently, my responsibilities have me processing new books, audios, and DVDs and working at the circulation desk. This is my 38th year at Sharon Center School, and nearly the same at the Hotchkiss Library.
Having grown up in the country, I enjoy spending time outdoors, enjoying the natural world, and watching the birds at my bird feeders.
One of my primary passions is reading, and I feel somewhat adrift when I don’t have a book in hand.
I also enjoy spending as much time as I can with my Papillon dog, Merlin.
I am so grateful to work with a wonderful library staff, and over the years, the library has blessed me with several of my best friends, who I first met when they visited the library.
This library is truly the community center of Sharon!
Leanne Lafond
Cinzi Lavin
Having worked at libraries in Texas, Connecticut, and Massachusetts as a paraprofessional since my college days, I believe libraries are vital to a free and democratic society, and I’m proud to serve the patrons of the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon. My connection to the literary world includes having worked as a foreign language editor at Holt, Rinehart & Winston and as a humor columnist for newspapers around the country.
While I particularly enjoy fielding difficult research questions, my favorite interaction is presenting someone—child or adult—with their first library card, knowing the world of resources it will open for them. My interests include vintage films, needlepointing, and supporting Manchester United. I strive to always be reading something that will make me look good if I die in the middle of it.
Leanne Lafond
Kate Seabury
Kate Seabury grew up in Oxford, CT, before moving to Amenia, NY as a teenager. An avid book-lover since childhood, she also has always taken great pleasure in reading stories, creating stories, and even acting them out, leading her to become an active member of both the literary and theater communities for most of her life. She obtained her BA in English Literature from CCNY in 2014 and her MA in English and Literary Theory from SNHU in 2022. After spending a decade living in New York City working as a freelance writer, news editor, and an extremely clumsy waitress, she is happy to be back in the area and ecstatic to be working in a library, something she has wanted to do since watching “Matilda” when she was 10 years old. In her free time, you can find Kate reading Stephen King short stories, taking Spanish lessons on Duolingo, or watching videos of cats online.
