Congratulations to these College of Ed alums!
Peggy F. Bradford (Ed.D, ’00) was named president of Shawnee Community College. Bradford was previously provost and vice president of academic affairs at the State University of New York Westchester Community College. In returning to her alma mater, where she earned an associate of arts degree, she plans to advance the college by encompassing a student-centered approach to enrollment, retention and culture.
Sherry Eagle (Ed.D, ’94), was appointed in February to the Illinois Board of Higher Education by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Eagle is currently the executive director for the Institute for Collaboration Emerita at Aurora University, where she leads the collaboration work of the university between school districts, corporations, not-for-profits and the community at large. Eagle was previously superintendent of the West Aurora School District.
Heather Friziellie (Ed.S., ’11) became superintendent of Fox Lake School District 114 in July. Friziellie most recently served as director of educational services at Kildeer Countryside Elementary District 96 in Buffalo Grove and principal at Kildeer Countryside Elementary School and Twin Grove Middle School.
Todd Garzarelli (M.S. Sport Management, ’06), was named athletic director at UW-Whitewater in July. Garzarelli most recently served as senior associate athletic director for external affairs at State University of New York at Buffalo. From 2004 to 2008, he worked in NIU Athletics as associate athletic director for Marketing, Broadcast and Corporate Relations.
Rich Harvey (M.S.Ed., ’02) will join the Millikin Athletic Hall of Fame this fall for his accomplishments in football and wrestling. Harvey was a three-time CCIW Champion wrestler and a member of the 1989 CCIW Champion Big Blue football team. He currently serves as the assistant principal at Rochelle Township High School, where he also is the head wrestling coach and an assistant football coach.
Jamie Hooyman (M.S.Ed., ’86), was named interim provost of Northwest Missouri State University in June. She began serving as vice provost in 2016. Hooyman served in various roles during the last decade at North Central Missouri College in Trenton, where she spent the last two years as its vice president of institutional effectiveness
Three-time alumna Kristen Mattson (B.S.Ed., ’06; M.S.Ed. ’12; Ed.D, ’16) was awarded the John Laska Distinguished Dissertation Award in curriculum from the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum. Mattson has been invited to present her dissertation, “Moving Beyond Personal Responsibility: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Digital Citizenship Curricula,” at the October AATC annual conference in Denver. She is the High School Library Media Director in Indian Prairie School District 204.
Alex Nelson (B.S.Ed., ’06) was inducted in June to the Portage High School Hall of Fame in his native Wisconsin. Nelson, a two-time Wisconsin state champ with back-to-back Division I, 145-pound titles as a junior and senior, wrestled for the NIU Huskies. Nelson, a P.E. teacher at North Grove Elementary School in Sycamore, is the head wrestling coach and assistant football coach at Sycamore High School.
Renee Payne (B.S.Ed., ’81), was named principal of St. James and St. Bernadette schools in Rockford. Payne previously served as an elementary school principal at St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School in Lemont from 2008 until 2017. She also taught at Durken Park Elementary School in Chicago and, from 1996 to 2006, she serve as principal at St. Cajetan School in Chicago.
Paula Sochacki (Ed.D. ’16) has joined the faculty at Benedictine University for the 2017-18 academic year. Sochacki is an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and program director for the undergraduate Nutrition and Dietetics major. Before joining Benedictine, Sochacki was an assistant professor of Nutrition at Dominican University, an adjunct faculty member at Benedictine University and a clinical dietitian.
Jim Suttie (B.S.Ed, M.S. ’70) has added Park City, Utah’s Jeremy Ranch Golf Course as one of three academy locations in the country where he offers golf lessons. Suttie, a native of DeKalb, is regarded as one of the world’s best and most respected golf instructors. He played and helped to coach golf at NIU, where he is a member of Huskie Hall of Fame.
Vatthana Thammavongsa (B.S.Ed., ’06; M.S.Ed., ’10) was installed with his wife, Donna, as leaders of the Salvation Army chapter in Wausau, Wis. Both are teachers and immigrants from Laos, Vatthana arriving in 1989 and Donna in 1986. Thammavongsa previously served in a full-time ministry position in the Salvation Army Tabernacle Corps in Rockford and most recently worked as an elementary school teacher.
Litesa Wallace (Ed.D., ’13) is running for lieutenant governor of Illinois alongside gubernatorial candidate and Illinois State Sen. Daniel Biss. Wallace, of Rockford, has represented the 67th District in the Illinois General Assembly since 2014. Before becoming chief of staff in 2011 for former State Rep. Chuck Jefferson, whom she replaced in office, she spent more than a decade counseling children and adults in need of mental health services, including child abuse victims and families in crisis.
Douglas Wildes (M.S.Ed., ’07) is the new principal at Elmwood Park High School. His career with DuPage High School District 88 began as a student teacher at Addison Trail High School in 2002, followed by department chair and assistant principal positions at Addison Trail and Willowbrook. He is currently working on his doctorate in the NIU College of Education.
If you’re a COE grad with news to share, please let us know – and send a photo! Our email address is ceduednews@niu.edu.
