About Me

Thank you for your interest. Here is a little bit about me.

Childhood and Education

I grew up in the Chicagoland area. My dad, an auto mechanic, and my mom, a very harried stay-at-home mom, raised me, my three brothers, and my three sisters in a three bedroom home. We kids got to "help" add a dormer and second floor when sibling # 7 came along. I attended Wesley Elementary, Indian Trail Jr. High, and Army Trail High School. I worked for a small, local chain called Belfast Auto Parts after high school. Then I went back to school at my community college (they are a great bargain), College of DuPage, I went on to graduate with honors from The University of Illinois. More than a decade later, I received my teaching certification from UWGB. Most recently, I completed the Municipal Clerks and Treasurers program from the UWGB Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Institute.

Work History

After U of I, I worked as a clerk for a family owned, multi-generation hardware store. Then I worked for almost a decade for Sony Corporation in Customer Service and Customer Relations. When Sony moved all Customer Relations work to a mega-center in Ft. Myers, Florida, I helped design and implement the training program for the new call center. I had no interest in living in Florida, so my job moved there without me. I was hired to do hiring, training, and managing the late-shift for Hebenstreit Communications, an emerging internet-based information service for Cellular One in the Chicagoland area.

Thanks to the generosity of family, I then was able to move up to Manitowoc, go to school in Green Bay, and become certified to teach elementary school. I volunteered extensively at Jefferson, won an internship at Jackson, and was hired at Madison School 21 years ago. During my 20 years with the MPSD, I served as a teacher, coach, union president, mentor, member of several Curriculum Development groups, and more. My teaching career was a high point of years of working in public and private service.

Public Service

I was also lucky enough to serve the families of my neighborhood school as Alderman of District 3 for 5 terms from 2007 to 2017. I served on numerous boards, committees, and commissions and prepared diligently to provide thoughtful, well-reasoned votes. I am proud to have been Chair or Vice-Chair on a number of Standing Committees as well as as President of the Library Board of Trustees. When the Alders selected me as the City's Chief Negotiator, I was able to use my knowledge of the bargaining process to serve the City with all represented groups. I am proud of the honest, respectful, and productive way those bargains were conducted and resolved. I returned to the Library Board of Trustees a few years ago and am honored to once again serve as their President.

I hope you will support putting me on the Manitowoc Public Schools' Board of Education. My knowledge of Education, our School District, and how Local Government is meant to work make me the best candidate to join the MPSD School Board.