Governor Healey Appoints Kemarah Sika as MBLC Commissioner
June 06, 2025
June Thammasnong
Communications Specialist
1-800-952-7403 x208
june.thammasnong@mass.gov
Boston native Kemarah Sika has been appointed by Governor Maura Healey to serve as a Commissioner for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). The MBLC is a nine-member board responsible for organizing, developing and improving library services across the Commonwealth. The MBLC has maintained and strengthened Massachusetts libraries with a commitment to providing every resident with full and equal access to library information resources since 1890.
“I am honored to join the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and to support the vital role libraries play in advancing equity, lifelong learning, and community connection across the Commonwealth. Libraries are not just repositories of knowledge. They are safe havens and essential hubs of access, inclusion, and opportunity for all,” said Sika.
Ms. Sika is an organizational development consultant and executive coach specializing in organizational change, design, and development through her firm, Sika Consulting. She has served as Chief Program Officer at YW Boston, the first YWCA in the nation, commited to eliminating racism and empowering women since it was founded in 1866. While at YW Boston, Sika led the DEI Consulting Services, where she collaborated with dozens of corporations, foundations and nonprofits, including the Boston Public Library, to advance racial equity through dialogue and action planning.
Sika joins the board with extensive experience as a non-profit leader, driving change in every organization she works with. She has also worked in private school libraries, where she established 1:1 technology programs and developed integrated approaches to scaffold research skills, encouraging lifelong learning and critical thinking among students and faculty.
Ms. Sika earned her Master of Science in Library and Information Science from Simmons University, where she was taught that her role as a library professional is to empower patrons with the tools to no longer need the support of a librarian. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
About MBLC
The Board of Library Commissioners (mass.gov/mblc) is the agency of state government with the statutory authority and responsibility to organize, develop, coordinate and improve library services throughout the Commonwealth. The Board advises municipalities and library trustees on the operation and maintenance of public libraries, including construction and renovation. It administers state and federal grant programs for libraries and promotes cooperation among all types of libraries through regional library systems and automated resource sharing. It also works to ensure that all residents of the Commonwealth, regardless of their geographic location, social or economic status, age, level of physical or intellectual ability or cultural background, have access to essential new electronic information technologies and significant electronic databases.