The Mishawaka Penn-Harris Public Library is excited to officially welcome Sarah Holmes and Mary Nicolini to the MPHPL Board of Trustees!
Holmes was appointed by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, and the Penn-Harris-Madison School Board appointed Nicolini. Both will serve four-year terms.
Sarah Holmes

For nine years, Holmes has worked as a team leader and a special education liaison at IN*SOURCE, a resource center for families of children with disabilities, in Indiana. She has been married to Erick Holmes for 27 years, and they have two sons, ages 11 and 14.
Holmes said, “Throughout my life, the library has been invaluable. Growing up, I participated in summer reading programs and volunteered at my local library, and now, as a parent, I take my children there often. Serving on the MPHPL Board of Trustees and supporting these essential institutions is an honor.”
Mary Nicolini
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In June 2022, Nicolini retired from Penn High School, where she served as an English teacher and Writing Center director for 28 years. Before that, she taught English at Indianapolis Broad Ripple High School for seven years. She has worked in various adjunct faculty roles at the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University Indianapolis.
Nicolini said, “I have loved the Mishawaka Library ever since I went with my mother to check out books at the Carnegie Library on Hill Street! I was pleased that Dr. Jerry Thacker and Dr. Heather Short remembered my work with writing and literacy and recommended me. The importance of a free public library cannot be overstated, especially in these times.”
She has been married to Jim Schmidt, a retired teacher, since 1987. The couple has a daughter, who lives in New York and is the author of several children’s books, and they also have twin granddaughters.
MPHPL Director Donna Meeks said, “Their presence will strengthen MPHPL’s mission to inspire and empower our community by connecting patrons to literature, information, ideas and new experiences for lifelong enrichment. We look forward to their leadership!”
MPHPL’s Board of Trustees is a seven-member governing board. Learn more by visiting the Board of Trustees webpage.