Congratulations to these alumni who are making a positive impact on the leadership and administration of education at all levels!
Tony Arbogast, M.S.Ed. School Business Management, ’17, will begin work July 1 as the new assistant superintendent for Business Services at Oak Park and River Forest High School. Arbogast currently works as assistant superintendent for Business and Operations at Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202, where his responsibilities included overseeing construction of a new elementary school that opened in 2021. During his time in Roselle School District 12, he managed several construction/renovation projects and saved the district several million dollars from original estimates. Arbogast also serves on the board of directors of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials.
Lorie Cristofaro, M.S.Ed. Foundations of Education, ’99, assistant superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction at Lockport Township High School District 205, was recognized March 15 for Outstanding Commitment in Education by Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs during his annual luncheon in honor of Women’s History Month. According to a news release from Frerichs, Cristofaro’s 25-year commitment to education has included the classroom as a social studies teacher, a department chair and her current role.
Craig Curtis, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’02, is the next assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in Prospect Heights School District 23. Curtis, in his 11th year as principal of Betsy Ross School, begins his new role July 1. He previously served two years as an assistant principal in North Berwyn School District 98 and taught in an elementary education classroom for eight years.
Abdul Dada, M.S.Ed. School Business Management, ’15, is the new assistant superintendent for business in Lyons-Brookfield Elementary School District 103. Dada previously served as comptroller at Maywood School District 89 for more than eight years after an earlier career in information technology.
Courtney DeArmond, M.S.Ed. Literacy Education with Focus on Reading, ’10, is the next principal of Marcy Elementary School in the Sussex, Wisconsin-based Hamilton School District. She begins July 1. DeArmond currently is principal of Jefferson Elementary School in the Manitowoc Public School District, where she earlier had taught fifth grade. She also served as associate principal at Wilson Junior High School in Manitowoc for two years, and previously taught in Chilton, Wisconsin, and the Kaneland School District in Illinois.
Amy Diaz, M.S.Ed. Counseling, ’93, and Ed.D. Educational Psychology, ’13, will being work April 15 as the new president of GateWay Community College in Phoenix. Diaz, who has been serving as interim president, joined GateWay in 2016 as an instructional dean and vice president of Academic Affairs. She previously was vice president of Student Development at Rock Valley College. Highlights of her leadership include assessment for student learning, comprehensive program review, leadership development and fostering a college climate that embraces diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. She also has taught at the community college level.
Allison Fox, M.S. Ed. Kinesiology and Physical Education, ’16, and B.S.Ed. Physical Education, ’07, has joined the PE/Health Department at Mendota High School. She had spent the majority of her more than 12 years in teaching at Dixon High School.
Jessica Hurt, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’21, is the next principal of York High School in Elmhurst School District 205. She begins in July. Hurt is currently an assistant principal at Hinsdale Central High School, where has served for 16 years. The recipient of the 2022 Assistant Principal of the Year award for the DuPage region from the Illinois Principals Association previously worked at Oswego East and Oswego high schools as well as Monroe Middle School in Wheaton. She currently is working on her NIU Ed.D. in Educational Administration.
Brooklyn Long, B.S.Ed. Special Education, ’22, is the new Life Skills teacher at Hall High School in Spring Valley. This is her first year of teaching.
Jessica McIntyre, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’08, was named superintendent of Aptakisic-Tripp Elementary School District 102 in Buffalo Grove. She begins July 1. McIntyre joined District 102 in 2004 as a seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher. She later served as the assistant principal and principal of Aptakisic Junior High before becoming the executive director of human relations and talent development. McIntyre is also an author and has been an educational consultant.
Tracy Morris, Ed.D. Adult and Higher Education, ’12, and M.S.Ed. Counseling, ’99, is the next president of Illinois Valley Community College. Morris, who is the first IVCC graduate to be named IVCC president, begins July 1. Her earlier work at her alma mater includes roles as associate vice president for student services, director of admissions and records and counselor and orientation coordinator. Morris moves to Illinois Valley from Joliet Junior College, where she had served since 2018 as compliance officer; before that, she was vice president of Student Services at Illinois Central College. She began her career as a high school teacher before becoming an elementary school counselor.
Jorge Nieto, Ed.D. Adult and Higher Education, ’19, has been named associate vice president for Assessment and Student Success at the College of DuPage. Nieto previously worked at Gateway Technical College, where he was dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and dean and associate dean of General Studies. He earlier worked in various roles the College of Lake County and is currently an adjunct instructor at Northeastern Illinois University.
Ben Peterselli, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’11, has been named principal of Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn. He begins July 1. Peterselli, who has served as assistant principal for Instruction since 2021, previously chaired the school’s English department for nine years and taught English at Wheaton North High School.
Lisa Richardson, Ed.D. Higher Education and Student Affairs, ’21, was named executive dean for Student Success and Retention at Waubonsee Community College. Richardson has served since 2019 as the Student Retention manager at Waubonsee, where she began her career in 2016 as the Student Success manager for the Connect4Success program. Previously, she served as the assistant director of the Purdue Promise Program at Purdue University for four years. She began her career in education as a high school language arts teacher in Indiana.
Kathryn Rogalski, Ed.D. Adult and Higher Education, ’18, is a finalist for the presidency of Green Bay’s Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, where she has served nearly five years as vice president of Learning and chief academic officer. Her responsibilities include leadership of the Learning Division, including Corporate Training and Economic Development, the Marinette Campus and the Learning Effectiveness and Early College Departments. Rogalski previously served as dean of of Business and Social Sciences at Harper College, where she led transfer and career programs, the Early Childhood Learning Center and taught in the Psychology Department. She also held several positions at the beginning of her career at the College of Lake County.
Lucas Schultz, M.S.Ed. Kinesiology and Physical Education, ’08, has joined the Science Department at Hall High School in Spring Valley this fall. Schultz previously taught science for eight years at Bureau Valley High School.
Michael Tresnak, Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’11, and Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’09, is the next superintendent of DeLand-Weldon Community Unit School District 57. He beings July 1. Tresnak currently is the 13-year principal of Roanoke-Benson High School in Community Unit School District 60. His career began as a math teacher at Moline High School and continued at Ottawa Township High School, where his roles included assistant principal, technology director, title grant writer and interim principal.
Craig Winkelman, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’00, begins May 1 as the next superintendent of Barrington School District 220. The deputy superintendent since November 2021 previously served as assistant superintendent of K-12 schools and operations, overseeing efforts such as Build 220, Equity 220, Framework 220 and Safety 220. His career began in 1997 as a special education teacher at Barrington High School, later becoming assistant principal at Barrington Middle School-Station. He spent two years as a principal in Community Consolidated District 15 before returning to Barrington in 2006 as principal of BMS-Station.
If you’re a College of Education grad with news to share, please let us know – and send a photo! Our email address is ceduEdNews@niu.edu.
