Lake Bluff School Caucus Introduces Slate of School Board Candidates for Districts 65 and 115

The Lake Bluff School Caucus has announced its slate of school board candidates for the April 9 consolidated election for Lake Bluff District 65 and Lake Forest High School District 115.

The candidates are: Julie Gottshall and Christine Letchinger for Lake Bluff School District 65 and Todd Burgener, Richard Hegg and John Marozsan for Lake Forest High School District 115.

Candidate profiles

District 65:

Christine Letchinger

Christine Letchinger has been an educator for 24 years, serving as professor, department chair and until recently, Acting Dean for the School of Hospitality Management at Kendall College in Chicago. During the course of her career Christine has been recognized for her excellence in education, receiving the "Excellence in Teaching" award and the "Outstanding Service to Students" award.

Christine is responsible for budget, curriculum review, teaching standards and the development and administration of educational assessment tools.

Christine has been active in the community since 1999, serving as Trustee and President of the Village of Lake Bluff, Board Member and Trustee for Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency, and Board Member for the Speak Up Coalition.

Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree form Universite de La Sorbonne - Paris, France, and an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Richard Hegg

Richard Hegg has deep roots in the education system, having been raised by two teachers in Galesburg, Illinois. As a result of the strong commitment to education, Galesburg High School named an auditorium after his father, Roland O. Hegg.

Richard has lived in the Lake Forest and Lake Bluff communities for more than 35 years. His daughter Bridget is a junior at Cornell University and completed her early education in the Lake Bluff District 65 school system, prior to graduating from Lake Forest High School in 2010. His daughter Jessica Yates Daehler is a graduate of both Lake Forest High School and Northwestern University.

Richard has been active in the community, serving on the Board of the Lake Bluff History Museum and coaching youth sports, including soccer with the American Youth Soccer Organization.

Professionally, Richard has been a business partner/owner of Hamlet and Smith, a manufacturer's representative firm since 1980. Prior to becoming a business owner, Mr. Hegg held several positions specializing in sales and manufacturer's representatives with ITT.

John R. Marozsan

John Marozsan holds a B.S. degree in Science Education from Trenton State College and an M.A.T. from Harvard University. He has prior experience as a teacher in the Princeton, N.J., public schools, and was involved with the development of an innovative science curriculum, Time, Space and Matter, later published by McGraw Hill. Recently, John has been active substitute teaching and tutoring students in the local area.

John was involved in education and publishing for nearly 30 years where he held a number of management positions with Ginn and Company, a publisher of elementary, secondary and college curricula products working with teachers and authors to develop textbook materials. Additionally, his experiences range from teaching and training of teachers, curricula development as a writer and editor, to very diversified functions in the field of professional publishing.

John has been a Lake Bluff Library Trustee for the past 4 years, currently serving as President, and also serves on the corporate board of Business and Legal Reports (BLR).

John retired in 1999 as President, Chief Executive Officer of CCH, a leading provider of tax and business law. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors for Wolters Kluwer U.S. of which CCH is a wholly owned subsidiary. Prior to joining CCH in 1996, John was President and CEO of Aspen Publishers, Inc., a Wolters Kluwer U.S. company specializing in the development of educational products for professionals.

Julie Gottshall

Julie Gottshall received her Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and graduated with honors from the National Law Center at George Washington University, where she was a member of the George Washington Law Review.

Julie and her husband, Brooke, moved to Lake Bluff in 2004 with their two children, a current 7th grader at the Lake Bluff Middle School and a 4th grader at Lake Bluff Elementary School.

Since 2009, Julie has served on the Lake Bluff Library Board as a Trustee including Vice President and Secretary. She also serves as General Counsel and an ex officio board member to YouthBuild Lake County, a 501(c)(3) organization based in North Chicago that seeks to provide at-risk young adults with the education and training necessary to become gainfully employed.

Julie is a partner with the law firm Katten, Muchin, Rosenman, LLP in Chicago. She practices nationally in the area of employment law, including litigation and counseling on behalf of management. Julie also speaks at industry conferences and conducts management training through organizations such as the American Bar Association and the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

District 115:

Todd R. Burgener

Todd Burgener received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Illinois State University and an MBA in Finance from DePaul University. He also holds an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation.

Todd has been a resident of the Lake Forest High School District for more than 43 years, and was a product of the Lake Bluff Elementary Schools prior to graduating from LFHS in 1980. He and his wife Michelle, are the parents of a 7th grade son and a 6th grade daughter both of whom attend the Lake Bluff Middle School. Additionally, Todd has six nieces and a nephew all of whom are in the Lake Bluff and Lake Forest school systems.

Professionally, Todd is the Director of Corporate Insurance Initiatives for Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago, Illinois where he has worked for more than nine years. Prior to joining Northwestern in 2003, Todd was a Vice President with Marsh USA, Inc.

The Lake Bluff School Caucus was established in 1956 by the League of Women Voters and has been helping to provide qualified and dedicated school board members for the past 50 years.

Information provided by Lake Bluff School Caucus