Board Members as of May 6, 2013
Michael Conway, President: Mr. Conway joined the school board in April 2007. He and his wife have lived in Lake Villa since 1995. They have two daughters currently attending school in District 41. Mr. Conway has a very long term interest in seeing that District 41 schools maintain a path in a positive direction in every regard.
Mr. Conway is an Attorney licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1992 and he has had his own law office since 1999 with experience in many areas of law, including Juvenile Law, Family Law and DCFS cases, among other criminal and civil areas. Mr. Conway received his Law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Illinois – Champaign with a Bachelor of Arts degree and graduated from the College of Lake County with an Associate of Science degree. He grew up in Waukegan and Graduated from Waukegan East High School.
Mr. Conway is also a part-time faculty member of the College of Lake County in tne Social Sciences Division. He is currently the Treasurer for the Lake County Bar Association, and he is a member of the Board of Trustees for his church. He has sponsored the Lake County Adopt-a-Highway cleanup of Monaville Road since 1999 with the help of many of his friends and neighbors.
In his spare time, Mr. Conway enjoys volunteer coaching for Lake Villa Township Baseball/Softball and Girls Iceless Hockey with his daughters’ teams, going on bike rides, golfing or otherwise spending time with his family.
Kurt Hansen, Vice President: Kurt Hansen was elected to the Board of Education in 2009. He has been employed by Sallie Mae for the past 20 years and manages a sales and operations staff that is responsible for the company’s bank and school customers
Mr. Hansen and his wife Terry have lived in Lake Villa for nineteen years and have been active volunteers in the PTO, schools, past referendum committees and youth sports teams. They have five children all of which attended District #41 schools since kindergarten. Their oldest three children are now at Lakes High School and the remaining children attend Martin School. Mr. Hansen attended the University of Missouri Business School and graduated in 1985 with a BS/BA Finance with an emphasis in Economics.
Darla Vanderwall, Board Secretary: Mrs. Vanderwall joined the School Board in April 2003. An office administrator, Mrs. Vanderwall has been involved in the fields of finance, insurance and human resources for 17 years. One of her four children currently attends Lake Villa Schools. Mrs. Vanderwall is a lifelong resident of the area.
Joe Dunne, Board Member: Joe Dunne joined the School Board in July 2010. He is employed by a local business and is the CFO. He is responsible for all financial aspects of the business. Prior to his current position Joe had worked in the insurance industry.
Joe has lived in Lake Villa since 1998 and has two children that attend Lake Villa schools. Joe has been an active volunteer including serving on the referendum committee, curriculum committee and the grading committee. Joe attended Illinois State University and graduated from Northeastern Illinois University.
Joanne Osmond, Board Member: Joanne Osmond is a reformer and change agent. She has been recognized over the years for transforming both individuals and organizations. While at Abbott Laboratories, Joanne received an international award, the 2000 Help Desk Institute’s Team Excellence Award for operational excellence by developing the right organization, processes, and technology to provide consistent delivery of end-to-end customer support. In 2003, she received the ATHENA Award for assisting women in reaching their full leadership potential while demonstrating excellence, creativity, and initiative in her profession. She is the recipient of the Boy Scout’s coveted Silver Beaver Award and serves on the Council’s Executive Board as the Vice President of Membership.
Joanne has served on the Lake Villa Elementary School Board for 20 years and was elected to serve her eighteenth year on Lake’s Division of the IASB (Illinois Association of School Boards) as the Director representing the Lake County public schools on the state association board. She serves on the IASB’s Executive Board and On the SEDOL (Special Education District of Lake County) Executive and Governing Boards.
As the owner and President of The Vision Tree, she works with the Small Business Development Center to assisting entrepreneurs in moving to the next level and develops in-person and on-line training for small business owners. Working with small businesses and not-for-profit organizations, Joanne’s Market Drifters provides search engine optimization, web hosting and design.
Michele Hawksworth, Board Member: Mrs. Hawksworth was elected in 2013 and is serving a four year term on the Board of Education. Mrs. Hawksworth and her husband, David, have lived in Lake Villa School District #41 boundaries since 1993. They have four children who either are attending or have attended District #41 schools.
Mrs. Hawksworth worked as a school teacher in Palatine, Illinois District #15 for thirteen years before resigning to stay at home to raise her children. In 2007, Mrs. Hawksworth returned to teaching as a long-term substitute for Lake Villa District #41 and Big Hollow District #38. She was then employed as a 1st grade teacher at Hooper School in District #41 for 2 years.
Mrs. Hawksworth spent many years as a parent volunteer at Thompson School as the Book Fair chairperson, running teacher appreciation dinners and painting themed murals throughout the school. These are all fond memories of time spent with friends. Her love of literature also led her to work for a summer in the children’s department at the Lake Villa Library.
Mrs. Hawksworth received her B.A. in education from Northern Illinois University and her M.A. in Curriculum Writing from Concordia University.
In her spare time Mrs. Hawksworth volunteers her time running concessions for the Hastings Lake YMCA swim team, gardening and playing with her two golden retriever dogs.
Jolene Lee, Board Member: Jolene Lee joined the Board of Education in 2013. Mrs. Lee holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also completed add-on coursework at University of Wisconsin-Madison emphasizing meeting the needs of special needs children. Upon graduation, Jolene taught art at Old Orchard Junior High School in District #68 in Skokie for 8 years. During her tenure, she took a very needy art program into an award winning one: writing the art curriculum, doing off-site displays of student work, creating school-business partnerships, writing grants and being awarded materials for the district. These things combined brought an NAEA (National Art Education Association) award of excellence for the school. While teaching, Mrs. Lee completed a Master of Education degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Curriculum and Instruction at National-Louis University.
Mrs. Lee and her husband, Nate, have been residents of Lake Villa for 15 years and have six children. Mrs. Lee opted to become a full-time mom to best meet the needs of their family. Their oldest child completed his K-8 schooling entirely in District #41 and now attends Grant High School. Four of their children currently attend District #41 schools and their youngest child has yet to start in the system.
Mrs. Lee is dedicated to maintaining the highest level of education possible for the area children and ensuring that it is well-rounded. She was awarded the Citizen Recognition Award from District #41 in 2011 for volunteer contributions in bringing annual art shows to the district. She painted a bear for the ‘Bears on the Chain’ public art event in Antioch for charity. She enjoys creating art, traveling and spending time with her family. Mrs. Lee has visited schools in different parts of the world with travels to Mexico, Canada, China, Egypt, and ten European countries.
May 2013