Topekan Selected as New Library CEO

The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library (TSCPL) Board of Trustees has announced that Marie Pyko, current TSCPL Public Services Director and longtime Topeka resident, has been selected as the new Chief Executive Officer. The announcement was made by Jim Edwards, Trustee Board Chair and Joan Hicks, Trustee and Search Committee Chair, at the September 16 meeting of the TSCPL board. Pyko will begin her new duties on October 22.

She replaces former CEO Gina J. Millsap, who retired December 1, 2020. Thad Hartman, Chief of Staff, has served as Interim CEO for the last 10 months.

“The Board is very pleased that it was able to hire an individual with strong Topeka - Shawnee County ties,” said Edwards. “A 28-year career with this library gives her a broad range of experience and qualifications that has prepared her to be CEO. We are also very fortunate to have an executive staff team that carried on the normal operations of the library during the interim, which included some very trying times.”

Marie Pyko is a dynamic leader in the Topeka and Shawnee County community and has local, regional and national recognition on early literacy services, community partnerships, innovative reading initiatives and civic engagement. In her former role as Public Services Director, she managed the Public, Youth, Program and Community Services departments. She is a leader in the implementation of the library’s Community Impact Goals and the development of annual work plans. Marie began her career telling stories in Youth Services and fell in love with libraries. She has managed several areas of the library including Red Carpet, Local History/Genealogy, the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery and Technical Services. Nationally, she is recognized within the American Library Association, the Kettering Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts as a leader, spokesperson and presenter. Marie enjoys being actively involved and communicating the essential role of the library with community leaders. She serves on the United Way on Grade Achievement Impact Council, Smart City-Momentum 2022, YWCA Racial Book Club, and is the current President of the Rotary Club of Topeka. Marie holds a bachelor’s degree in human development psychology from Wayne State (Detroit) and a master’s degree in library science from Emporia State University. She resides in Topeka with her husband Marc and son Landon, who is a student at the University of Kansas.