Meet Our Team - Carpinteria Community Library

Jody Thomas

City Librarian

A graduate of both Carpinteria High School and UC Santa Barbara, Jody received her master’s in library and information science (MLIS) in 2013. She has worked in local public libraries since 2004 and most recently at the California State Library as a library programs consultant, supporting public libraries throughout the state with grants and training. She is a social justice advocate, and passionate about providing programs that educate and delight.

Her great grandparents moved to Carpinteria in 1929, and some of her family has lived here ever since. She considers Carpinteria the center of the universe.

Eric Castro

Community Outreach Librarian

Eric Castro is a librarian with over twenty-seven years of experience working at academic and public libraries. As an immigrant, he is actively involved in planning and implementing bilingual library programs that offer opportunities for personal expression and community integration. He is the translator of An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo (Gunpowder Press 2021), winner of the 2020 Pablo Neruda Poetry contest in the Spanish category and 2020 United Nations Day Art Contest in the poetry category. Two of his poems are published in the anthology While You Wait, (Gunpowder Press, 2021). His current passion is to read fiction by contemporary and emerging women writers of Latin America to keep himself connected with the Latino culture and enrich his own perspective with a feminist vision of the world.

Terra Furuta

Library Technician

Terra Furuta, is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. She has been a Library Technician for Santa Barbara and Ventura County Libraries. As an outdoor service guide for teens, she is enthusiastic about nature, environmental stewardship and STREAM education.

The City of Carpinteria and its Library hold many excellent memories from her youth. She is honored to be part of the Carpinteria Community Library today.

Pauline Nelson

Library Technician

Pauline has a hard time saying where she’s from! Born in India, she then lived in England, Louisiana and Wales, before going to college in Illinois. After graduation, she moved back to London, where she worked in the BBC studios and planned a career writing in television. But in a major plot-twist, a charming American grad student persuaded her to marry him and move to Farmville, Virginia, instead!

Since then they’ve lived (with their three daughters) in all sorts of places on both sides of the Atlantic, landing finally in Santa Barbara. Dazzled by the California sunshine, in 2008 Pauline stumbled into a delightful job at the Montecito Library, with the wonderful Jody Thomas. Next, she worked for a few years at Goleta Library, before going into other nonprofit work. And all along, Pauline has kept writing – mainly memoir and children’s fiction.

After all those travels, she is delighted to be at the Carpinteria Community Library, working with Jody and the rest of the awesome staff — feeling at home, surrounded by stories. It’s been a long journey, but obviously there’s nothing better for a long journey than a good book!

Holden Arquilevich

Library Technician

Holden is from Ojai, California, and loves the beautiful commute to Carpinteria in the mornings. He is a graduate of Hendrix College in Arkansas, and holds a bachelors in History from his studies there. He is currently enrolled in Valdosta State University’s online Masters in Library Sciences program, and is excited to develop his career in Library Services at Carpinteria Community Library. He loves to read speculative fiction and is a novice horror writer. He’s published a few pieces of terrifying flash fiction on FlashFictionMagazine.com, which he’d be happy to share with you, as long as you promise not to think of him differently after you read them.

Stefanie Colburn

Literacy Coordinator

Born and raised in Panama, Stefanie left home at 18 to study hospitality management in Switzerland, earning a BA in Hospitality and Financial Management. She then spent 12 years in London, building a career in the hospitality industry. Though her background has always been in service, her love of language, communication, and helping others led her to apply for the position of Literacy Coordinator. As a library regular and a mom encouraging her kids to fall in love with books, she understands firsthand the power of literacy in shaping lives.

Fluent in English and Spanish, Stefanie has also been a lifelong French learner and is passionate about language development. Her journey has been further shaped by supporting her own children with their speech therapy, giving her a deeper appreciation for the process of learning to speak as well as read and write.

Now, as Literacy Coordinator, she’s eager to expand the program, connect learners and tutors, and encourage a diverse range of volunteers. Her ultimate goal? To see a former learner return as a tutor, bringing the program full circle.

When she’s not at the library, you’ll find her baking (long before it became a pandemic trend) and navigating an endless stack of children’s books. And while she wishes she loved reading more, she’ll admit she’s more likely to listen to the audiobook version or watch the TV/movie adaptation instead.