Marie Pyko is the director of public services at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library in Topeka Kansas. She oversees planning and leadership for all services for young children to older adults, including a focus on civic engagement and partnership. Pyko holds a master of library science degree from Emporia State University (Kansas) and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) with an emphasis in lifelong human development and aging. Professionally, Pyko has had the opportunity to speak in support of literacy and libraries locally and nationally with the National Endowment of the Arts Big Read. She speaks of the significant impact libraries play in the lives of citizens in rural and urban communities. Working in partnership with the Kettering Foundation, she has actively introduced new engagement strategies in Topeka for parents, grandparents, and community members to build agency and comfort with deliberation of community issues. She recently served on the American Library Association council, the Family Engagement Taskforce for the Public Library Association, and has for the last two years engaged in a US/Russia Dialogue on the Civic Role of Libraries sponsored by the American Library Association and the Russian Library Association.