Alumni Accomplishments

Dan Bertrand
Dan Bertrand

Congratulations to these alumni who are making a positive impact on the leadership and administration of education at all levels!

Dan Bertrand, Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’05, was named director of Park Operations for the Marengo Park District. Bertrand was superintendent of Marengo Community High School District 154 from 2005 until his retirement in 2016. He also is system director of the McHenry County Cooperative for Employment Education. Prior to his time in Marengo, Bertrand served as a high school principal in Kaneland High School from 1996 to 2005.

Bernard Bull
Bernard Bull

Bernard Bull, Ed.D. Instructional Technology, ’07, will rejoin Concordia University Wisconsin in August as president. Before leaving the Lutheran-affiliated university in the fall of 2018 to become president of Goddard College, Bull served as Concordia’s chief innovation officer, vice provost of Curriculum and Innovation and professor of Education and led a university-wide effort to refine and expand low-residency and online learning opportunities for adult and post-traditional learners.

R.J. Gravel
R.J. Gravel

R.J. Gravel, M.S.Ed. Instructional Technology ’09; Ed.D. Instructional Technology ’14; M.S.Ed. School Business Management ’16; Ed.S. Educational Administration ’19; was promoted Jan. 26 to associate superintendent to of Glenbrook High Schools District 225, where he has been serving as assistant superintendent for Business Services.

Denise Herrmann
Denise Herrmann

Denise Herrmann, Ed.D. Curriculum and Instruction, ’88, will begin service July 1 as superintendent of Community High School District 128 in Vernon Hills. Currently the associate superintendent for Learning and Teaching in St. Charles District 303, Herrmann previously worked as superintendent of the Roseville Joint Union High School District and as an associate superintendent for the Fremont Unified School District, both in California. She also has taught chemistry, chaired a Science Department and served as a principal and assistant principal.

Amanda Howland
Amanda Howland

Amanda Howland, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’86, has been elected to a three-year term as director-at-large of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). ACCT is the largest organization of community college trustees in the nation, representing more than 6,500 leaders at more than 1,2000 institutions. Howland has served for 11 years as a trustee of the College of Lake County and is currently vice chair of the board.

Brian O’Keeffe
Brian O’Keeffe

Brian O’Keeffe, M.S.Ed. School Business Management, ’10, will join Wheaton-based Community Unit School District 200 in July as assistant superintendent for Business Services. O’Keeffe has served for the last seven years as assistant superintendent for Finance in Oak Forest-based Arbor Park District 14. He previously worked in the private sector for major retailers in management and human resources.

Susan Redell
Susan Redell

Susan Redell, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’19, and Ed.D. Curriculum and Instruction-Curriculum Leadership, ’13, has been appointed superintendent of Medinah School District 11, effective March 1, 2021. Redell has served as director of Learning in Medinah since 2005. She first joined the district in 997 as a fourth-grade teacher at Intermediate School and, in 1999, was promoted to principal at Primary School.

Jeff Utsinger
Jeff Utsinger

Jeff Utsinger, School Business Management certificate (Chief School Business Official endorsement), ’18, will begin work July 1 as assistant superintendent of Canton Union School District 66. Utsinger currently is the high school and junior high school principal for Stark County CUSD #100. He previously served as assistant principal at Geneseo High School, where in 2015 he was named assistant principal of the year for the Blackhawk Region by the Illinois Principals Association.

Erik Youngman
Erik Youngman

Erik Youngman, Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’17, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’11, and M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’01, was featured on The Wired Educator Podcast to discuss topics of homework, assessment and growth mindset. Youngman, the author of “Deliberate Homework,” is director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for Libertyville District 70.

If you’re a College of Education grad with news to share, please let us know – and send a photo! Our email address is NIUCOEalum@niu.edu.

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