Dr. Cathi Fuhrman is a retired school librarian from the State College Area School District, State College, PA. She was a school librarian for 31 years in Pennsylvania and was a library department supervisor for 21 years in her former school district. She has taught online courses since 2015 for McDaniel College (MD), Kutztown University (PA), and Mansfield University (PA).

Fuhrman has been an advocate for school libraries her entire career, serving her state and national associations. Cathi is currently a Councilor-at-Large for the American Library Association, was formerly on the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Board of Directors, is a past president of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA), and is past chair of the AASL Chapter Assembly. Fuhrman also currently serves on the American Library Association Committee on Library Advocacy, co-chair of the AASL Chapters Leadership Task Force, and serves on the Developing Issues Committee for the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. She serves on the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association’s Advocacy Committee and is co-chair of the PSLA Intellectual Freedom Task Group and Project Director for Read for Liberty PA – Intellectual Freedom Helpline. Fuhrman was awarded the AASL Intellectual Freedom Award in 2024 and the PSLA Distinguished Service Award in 2026.  

In her career, Fuhrman has had many mentors who allowed her to grow as an educator, school librarian, school library leader, and advocate for students. She is committed to teaching school library candidates not only to pay it forward but to inspire those in and entering the school library field. Fuhrman advocates for Intellectual Freedom, school library staffing, as well as Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for schools.