Congratulations to these alumni of the NIU College of Education!
Kinasha J. Brown, Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, ’23, and Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’20, is the new superintendent of Prairie Hills Elementary School District 144. Brown most recently served as assistant superintendent of Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness for Tucson Unified Public School District in Arizona. Before that, she was director of Educational Pathways in Elgin District U-46 previously was associate professor and Health Professions program coordinator at South Suburban College in South Holland, Illinois, where she was responsible for the oversight of academic and clinical programs. Brown also taught in the Chicago Public Schools.
Jeremy Burke, B.S.Ed. Physical Education, ’14, is the new head coach of the boys basketball team at Marengo High School. Burke has taught middle school P.E. in District 165 for 22 years, and has spent the past five seasons as the head coach of the girls varsity hoops team at Harvest Christian. He previously served on the Marengo staffs of former coaches Dave Pettit and Nate Wright as well as on the basketball staffs at Hampshire and Huntley high schools.
Lisa DeRango, Certificate of Graduate Study, Sports Management, ’17, has been promoted to NIU Huskie Athletics executive associate athletic director of Human Resources and Finance Administration. DeRango also moves up to executive associate athletic director from her previous position as senior associate athletic director. DeRango joined NIU Athletics in 2014 following two years working for the NIU Foundation. In her current role, she directs all aspects of the business office operation, developing the department’s annual budget and serving as the liaison between Huskie Athletics and the university’s financial offices. DeRango is also responsible for coordinating all human resources functions for the athletics department, oversees the campus Recreation Center, coordinates the Strategic Plan and serves as the department’s Title IX co-coordinator.
James Drake, Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’18, and Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’16, is the new assistant superintendent of Business Services in Monrovia Unified School District of California. Drake come to Monrovia from Monterey County, where he served as the associate superintendent of business/HR and chief business official.
Marlon Felton, B.S.Ed. Special Education, ’03, was named principal of Niles North High School in Niles Township High School District 219. During his 21 years in the district, Felton has held various roles that include teacher, head coach, dean of Students and, most recently, assistant principal of Operations. He is passionate about education and creating a school culture that values diversity, equity and inclusion.
Matt Gonzalez, M.S.Ed. Sport Management, ’13, joined the NIU Huskie Athletics senior staff with his promotion to senior associate athletic director of Facilities and Events. Gonzalez, who most recently was associate athletic director for Facilities Operations, started his career with the Huskies as a graduate assistant in Facilities and Event Operations in 2012 and became a full-time member of the athletics department staff in 2013. He also became NIU Volleyball’s sport administrator in 2023 and will add additional operational responsibilities along with sport administration duties for NIU Cross Country and Track and Field.
Marty Heffner, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’24, is the new principal of Westbrook School for Young Learners in Mount Prospect District 57. Heffner previously served as assistant principal at the Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth School District 38 and was dean of students at Oliver McCracken Middle School in Skokie School District 73.5.
Peter Herren, M.S.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction, ’06, is teaching math at Vienna High School in Vienna, Illinois. Herren has taught math since 2005, mostly in Rockford Public Schools 205. He taught geometry and advanced placement calculus at East High School; algebra, geometry, pre-calculus and AP calculus at Guilford High School; and algebra and geometry at ACE High School. Most recently, he has taught algebra, pre-calculus, statistics and integrated math at Roosevelt Community Education Center. Herren has also taught college level courses in career planning and business ethics.
Nicole LaCognata, Ed.D. Community College Leadership, ’23, was named senior director of Student Financial Assistance at the College of DuPage. LaCognata, who has more than 10 years in the community college sector, also oversees Veteran Services and Scholarships. She previously worked at Elgin Community College, where she was the bursar, and Triton College, where she started as a cashier and worked her way up to the role of assistant director of Financial Aid.
Julie Lam, Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, ’21, and Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’18, is the new principal of East Leyden High School in Leyden High School District 212. Lam comes to East Leyden from Oak Park-River Forest High School, where she was director of Student Learning. Previous roles include assistant principal of Curriculum and Instruction and assistant director of Secondary Education at Oswego Community Unit School District 308.
Nathanial “Nate” Lichtfuss, B.S. Sport Management, ’23, joined the Rockford Rivets as account executive. Prior to joining the Rivets, Lichtfuss spent three successful years with the Rockford IceHogs, where he made significant contributions across various departments including Season Ticket Member Services, Corporate Sponsorship and Analytics.
Terry Lusby Jr., M.S.Ed. School Business Management, ’17, is the new public works director in Champaign. Lusby most recently served as the interim public works director in Schiller Park. His more-than-16-year career in public works and construction management includes work as public works director in Olympia Fields, superintendent of Facilities and Fleet in Tinley Park, assistant director of Operations and Maintenance for Homewood-Flossmoor High School and project manager at Carlo Steel Corp. in Chicago.
Rachael Mahmood, Ed.D. Curriculum Leadership, ’19, was named 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year by the llinois State Board of Education. Mahmood is a fifth-grade teacher at Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204’s Georgetown Elementary School, where she has spent the last nine years. A teacher since 2005, she creates relationships with her students and their families that leave a lasting impression of care and support. She has a passion for designing curriculum that affirms students’ identities and engaging instructional methods that nurture their love for school. Mahmood also was recognized as a semifinalist for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence Award in 2020.
Maurice McDavid, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’23, and M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’16, will serve as the first principal of DeKalb School District 428’s Dr. Leroy A. Mitchell School. The new school will open next fall. McDavid is currently principal of Turner Elementary School in West Chicago and previously held administrative roles at Cortland Elementary School (assistant principal) and DeKalb High School (dean of students).
Lauren McDonald, M.S.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction, ’08, is the new principal of Clinton Elementary School in Elgin District U-46. McDonald, who was assistant principal at Clinton for two years, previously served as the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support lead at Tefft Middle School from 2019 to 2022 as she worked with teams to develop social-emotional and academic interventions for students and created culturally responsive training for staff. McDonald joined U-46 after serving for eight years as a reading specialist and literacy coach in Bloomingdale School District 13.
Alexander Miller, Ed.D. Adult and Higher Education, ’16, was named vice president of Student Affairs and dean of Students at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Miller has more than 20 years of student affairs experience, including positions with Harvard University, the University of Chicago, DePaul University, Tulane University, Syracuse University, Michigan State University and Denison University, where he was vice president of Student Life.
Tracey Miller, certificate in School Business Management, ’24, is the new director of Assessment and Instruction in Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210. Miller comes to the district with nearly 20 years of experience in education, most recently serving as the director of Teaching and Learning for Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A.
Byoung-chul Min, Ed.D. ’98, Leadership and Educational Policy Studies, and M.S.Ed. ’91, Leadership and Educational Policy Studies, is the recipient of the 2024 Alumni Achievement in Business and Industry Award from the NIU Alumni Association. Founder and chairman of the BCM Educational Group, Min was recognized for empowering learners of all ages and contributing to South Korea’s globalization. He is also Endowed Chair Professor at Chung-Ang University in the College of Business & Economics, where he teaches Business Creativity in the Metaverse, a course he first developed at Konkuk University in 2010, and is the founder and chairman of the Sunfull Foundation, a non-profit organization that counters cyber bullying, hate speech and human rights violations on the internet.
Jonathon Miquelon, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’17, is the new principal of South Elgin High School. Miquelon served the last four years as principal of Clinton Elementary School in Elgin District U-46, guiding staff, students and community members through organizational change and promoting equity through instructional practices. He led renovation of the school library, reduced chronic absenteeism and achieved consistent growth in students meeting and exceeding expectations on various assessments. Before that, he was assistant principal at Tefft Middle School and taught social studies at Elgin High School.
Tamara Mitchell, M.S.Ed. School Business Management, ’11, was appointed chief financial officer Evanston/Skokie School District 65. Mitchell previously was assistant superintendent for Business and Financial Services for Joliet School District 86. She also is the 2024-2025 president of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials.
Carrie Monterroso, M.S.Ed. Literacy Education, ’11, was named among the Gurnee Teachers of the Year for 2024. Monterroso, part of the Woodland Primary School community since 2012, is a kindergarten teacher in the dual language program. The award comes with a plaque and a grant for $1,000 from the Henderson Foundation. Monterroso is in her 18th year of teaching, previously working in the Chicago Public Schools. She is known as a caring and compassionate teacher and a powerful advocate for all students who educates her colleagues on diversity and inclusion issues and striving to improve the climate and culture of the school district.
Blair Nuccio, Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’98, retired as superintendent of Indian Springs School District 109. He had held the role since 2017, previously serving as assistant superintendent. Prior to that, he spent three years as the superintendent at Willow Springs School District 108.
Eduardo Pérez, M.S.Ed. Early Childhood Education, ’21, was named director of the Western Illinois University’s WIU-Quad Cities Spanish Bilingual Early Learning and Family Empowerment Lab site. He will oversee all operations, hiring and the strategic direction. Pérez, who will also teach bilingual courses as an adjunct professor, has more than 10 years of experience in early childhood and bilingual education. The former kindergarten and preschool teacher received the Plano Premier Award from School District Plano 88, an honor voted on by his colleagues and parents, and was recognized by the WIDA Consortium and the Illinois Board of Education’s KIDS initiative.
Leatrice L. Satterwhite, Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’15, and Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’06, was named assistant superintendent of Equity and Innovation in Elgin District U-46. Satterwhite will lead efforts to sustain a culture of inclusion and belonging for all students by working to increase academic achievement, opportunities and access and narrowing the gaps between student groups. She worked the previous 10 years as U-46’s director of Specialized Student Services. Before that, she served as the coordinating supervisor of Support Programs and Services at Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland and held leadership roles in the Chicago Public Schools.
Monica Schroeder, Ed.D. Educational Administration, ’12, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’07, and M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’05, who since 2018 has worked as deputy superintendent in North Shore School District 112, will become the district’s first Latina superintendent July 1, 2026. Schroeder has worked for nearly two decades in District 112, serving as an associate principal, assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent. She also served as the president of the Illinois Association of School Personnel Administrators and is the president-elect of the American Association of School Administrators.
Katie Surjan, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’24, is the new principal of Huntley School District 158’s Conley Elementary School in Algonquin. Surjan taught middle school English in Geneva School District 34 and Yorkville School District 115 for 12 years before becoming an administrator, serving as an assistant principal for the past three years at Conley.
Jay Wachtel, M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’03, is the interim principal at Naperville North High School, where he has worked in various role since 2002 that include assistant principal of Operations, chair of the Career and Technical Education Department and business teacher. He also successfully served as interim principal during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Austin Westbrook, M.S. Sport Management, ’24, has been hired as wide receivers coach for Colquitt County Packer Football in Georgia. Westbrook’s previous coaching gigs included stops at Fort Scott Community College and Butler Community College in Kansas, Jackson-Olin High School in Alabama, NIU and Bessemer City High School in Alabama, where he was co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach
Matthew Wilkinson, Ed.S. Educational Administration, ’09, was appointed assistant superintendent for Business and Financial Services in Joliet Public Schools District 86 and will begin work Sept. 30. Wilkinson has served as chief school business official at Zion-Benton Township High School District 126 since 2019. He previously was assistant superintendent of Business Operations and Human Relations in Harvey Public School District 152 and superintendent and chief school business official in Streator Elementary School District 44. He also has worked at the University of St. Francis as an adjunct instructor, the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Indiana Department of Health.
John Zietlow, M.S.Ed. Outdoor Teacher Education, ’78, was sworn in as a member of the Governing Board of Trustees for Regional Medical Center of Manchester, Iowa. Zietlow joined taught seventh-grade science for 33 years in the Manchester-based West Delaware County Community School District, where his career began in 1975. He also was a middle school activities director for 20 years and, in 2005, began serving on the Maquoketa Valley Community School Board of Education.
Tulga Zuunbayan, B.S. Kinesiology, ’24, was named the 11th head wrestling coach at Palatine High School. During his time at as an NIU Huskie, Zuunbayan was named a National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American, one of just 338 student-athletes to earn the honor, and was part of the Academic All-MidAmerican Conference team.
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.
