Members

President

Term Expires 2027

Ken Durr is an Information Security Senior Manager for a Fortune 100 company based in Chicago. With his son (who has finished his freshman year at Niles West summer 2023) they have been residents of Skokie since 2013. Ken is a passionate and innovative leader with almost three decades of IT and cybersecurity experience (past decade specifically focused on global security governance). As an enterprise level trusted advisor, he enables delivery and support of strategic initiatives that impact a family of companies. With strong ties to the North Shore community, he has volunteered as a pastor for a small church in Evanston for over a decade and served on the Skokie/Morton Grove District 69 school board from 2020 to 2023. As a devoted father he has been actively involved in his son’s educational journey in Niles Township all the way from Madison/Edison elementary schools to Lincoln Junior High, and now high school. Ken has held numerous professional certifications including PCI ISA, CISSP, CISM, and SABSA Enterprise Security Architect. Ken looks forward to serving D219 school board and its communities as we work together to promote strong academic achievement, life skill readiness, civic responsibility, financial stewardship, equity, diversity, and inclusion for the next generation. Ken believes we all have a responsibility to work towards a better world, and education is one of the most powerful weapons we can use to change the world.

Secretary

Term Expires 2025

Elana Jacobs, MEd, is a special ed/ science/ ESL classroom teacher in Chicago (with a residency waiver). Elana, a proven transformative educator with over 10 years in the public school system, builds communities that she participates in and finds ways to bring diverse voices to a single cause. She has a Master's degree in Education Instructional Leadership from UIC. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science and Outdoor Education from Hampshire College. Elana builds communities through her leadership of co-founding a mutual aid group in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Suburban Solidarity Network, which focuses on resource distribution, education, and grassroots political action. She has been a commissioner on the Skokie Consumer Affairs committee and local community volunteer for numerous organizations. Elana unites diverse perspectives behind common causes. As a SEED participant (anti-racist training), Elana has learned how to understand and implement equity amongst a diverse community. She is a member of the Illinois LGBT education task force that helps implement the law to teach LGBT history in K-12 schools. She serves as a media spokesperson for LGBT issues in the Chicago Teachers Union. In Elana’s free time she runs triathlons and hangs out with her precocious pit bulls. Elana and her wife Helen, reside in Skokie, IL. Elana helps raise lots of children, and she knows her experience helps make her a fair, empathetic person to tackle problems and solutions in the Niles Township School Community.

Vice President

Term Expires 2025

Naema Abraham is an Assyrian immigrant who came to the United States in 1974 with her family from Syria, and has been a resident of Niles Township since 1979. She attended Northeastern University in Chicago, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. Naema Abraham is a certified Human Resources Professional and currently works as a Totals Rewards Manager at a privately owned company in Skokie, Illinois. Naema is also a certified paraprofessional in education. She has one child, a daughter who graduated from Niles North in 2018 and is now a senior at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Naema and her three siblings also graduated from Niles North, and she currently has several family members who attend D219 schools. Naema was first elected to the D219 Board of Education in 2017 and re-elected in 2021.

Board Member

Term Expires 2027

Dr. David Y. Ko is a board certified licensed chiropractic physician and acupuncturist. He attended Cleveland Chiropractic College of Los Angeles, where he received his Doctorate of Chiropractic. He also received special recognition for his volunteer work while in clinic, where he treated patients in collaboration with medical facilities at University of Southern California and the Venice Beach Family Clinic. Dr. Ko actively participates in giving back to the community. As a local resident who grew up in Skokie attending Lincoln Junior High and Niles North High School, he worked as a volunteer spending more than 5000 hours at St. Francis and Rush North Shore Hospitals combined. He also helped establish the volunteer group We Help Others (W.H.O) Club at Niles North. He has served as a volunteering team doctor for Niles North since 2009 and served as Commissioner of Human Relations at the Village of Skokie from 2012 to 2017. Dr. Ko is also the Chair of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's Annual Family and Senior Health Fair (since 2009) and Board Advisor for the International Asian And American Association of Chicago. Dr. Ko was awarded Distinguished Alumnus of the Year from Niles North High School in 2013, Secretary of State Jesse White’s Outstanding Award of Recognition in Medicine in 2017 and was awarded the Korean American of the Year in 2018. Dr. Ko is a Level 1 Master Board Member.

Board Member

Term Expires 2027

Celia Stennett moved to Skokie over 10 years ago from Chicago. She earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration from Roosevelt University. She currently works at a district feeder school as a Paraprofessional in the Special Education Department. Prior to her formalized commitment into education over four years ago, she worked as a Member Relations Director for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago along with several years of non profit experience in healthcare. Celia and her husband have three children and all three attend district schools. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering to help make her community a more equitable and inclusive place to live.

Board Member

Term Expires 2027

Amber Wood is a dedicated individual who strongly believes in making a positive impact on her community. With a focus on operations, communications, and budgeting, she has invested her time and extensive skills in various endeavors. Amber is currently a D219 Member of the Board of Education in Niles Township District 219. Her primary goal is to ensure that all high school students feel represented in their curriculum, teachers, and school environment. She understands the importance of creating an inclusive educational experience where every student has equal opportunities to attain self-defined success. Amber's childhood was characterized by frequent relocations due to her father's career service in the U.S. Navy. This experience instilled in her the significance of a strong and supportive community fostering optimal learning conditions for students. As an adult, Amber and her husband have found this sense of community in Skokie, which they have called home since 2008. They are proud parents to two children, one of whom attended Skokie 68 schools before the family relocated to the Skokie 69 district in 2017. Having worked extensively in the nonprofit sector, Amber possesses invaluable experience as a seasoned professional and empathetic leader. She dedicated her time to the Sisterhood Board of Temple Beth Israel from 2008 to 2012, and subsequently served on the Board of Temple Beth Israel from 2012 to 2022, holding various positions, including vice president roles. Amber's strengths lie in her meticulous attention to detail, adeptness at navigating complex systems, and active listening skills. She earned both her master's and bachelor's degrees from the University of Indiana Bloomington.

Board Member

Term Expires 2025

Joseph Nowik is Director of Operations of a manufacturing company in Chicago. A resident of Skokie, Niles Township and D219 since 1986, he and his wife Graciela have two children. His son graduated in 2015 from Niles West and the Bridges program at Niles North in 2018. His daughter graduated from Niles West in 2017. A lifetime resident of Chicagoland, Nowik attended Lane Technical High School and the University of Illinois Chicago. Nowik served for seven years on the Board of Directors of Have Dreams, a nonprofit that helps children with autism improve their abilities to learn, function independently and socialize so they may realize their full potential. Two of those years serving as Board President of Have Dreams. Nowik has served on the D219 Board of Education since July 2014. He has served in the capacity of Vice President and Secretary during his tenure on the D219 Board. Winning re-election in 2021, Nowik, is again looking forward to serving the students and community of Niles Township. Nowik has attained the Master Board Member designation as defined by IASB.