With three years of elementary teaching experience, Maureen Connell is well-suited to her position as program coordinator for Leapfrog, which serves students completing PreK through grade 3. She oversees Leapfrog admissions, instructor recruitment, course planning and logistical coordination, ensuring that the program runs smoothly and that participant expectations are met or exceeded. Maureen is inspired by the curious, authentic and engaged people – children and adults alike – whom she meets in her role. Given Leapfrog’s growth, she has also enjoyed being able to help an increasing number of people each of the four years she has been with the Center for Talent Development. Maureen double-majored in English and human development at Boston College, earning a bachelor’s degree there and a master’s degree in elementary education from Northwestern University. When not working at CTD, Maureen can be found running along Chicago’s streets or lakefront. Her greatest athletic achievement? Completing the Boston Marathon in less than four hours!

After completing my bachelor of fine arts at Western Michigan University, I moved to Chicago to pursue the performance field. While holding various administrative positions, I also sang in three bands, was a singing waitress on the Spirit of Chicago and worked in the commercial music industry for four years before deciding to go back to school and pursue teaching.

In June 2004 I began the GATE / NU-Teach program in elementary education. I have taught both third grade and kindergarten so far, and will be teaching second grade this fall within the Chicago Public Schools. I enter the master's program with excitement and cannot wait to add more tricks to my teaching bag.

When asked in high school to be a teaching assistant for one of Spectrum's Chemistry Honors classes, Deborah Lee had no idea what an impact the experience would make on her career. She has never ventured far from the Summer Program since, teaching in public schools in the Chicagoland area and then serving as Equinox program coordinator. In her current role as coordinator of the Summer Program, Deborah works with Summer Program teachers and staff to develop high-quality programming for gifted students completing PreK through grade 12. She enjoys seeing students excel and appreciates the opportunity to further the education of tomorrow’s leaders. Deborah holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and an advanced teaching credential, all from Northwestern University. Ever an educator, she spends free time teaching drawing and painting at a local community center.

Kathleen O'Connor is an independent consultant specializing in the identification and development of leadership talent.  Kathleen advises client organizations on optimal strategies for developing global leaders given the organization's future direction and talent demands. Kathleen also coaches individual leaders and encourages them to focus on strengths while continuously adjusting self-awareness. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Kathleen spent five years at Hewitt Associates as an internal consultant responsible for leadership development and succession planning. Before joining Hewitt, Kathleen was a manager of education and development at Motorola.

Jeanne Marie Olson is an independent consultant with 15+ years of experience in the fields of participatory design, organizational learning, and knowledge management.

Prior to building her own consulting practice, she led the Chicago User Research Lab for Scient Corp. She helped to establish the knowledge management practice at Hewitt and was a charter member of Hewitt’s Center of Expertise for the Learning and Development Practice.

She was an inaugural member of the Doubletake Summer Documentary Institute for applied documentary studies in education, social activism and human development led by Dr. Robert Coles.

She has also served as a Design Coach for the Design for America Summer Fellows Program at NU's Segal Design Institute, collaborating with faculty from other schools at NU, professionals from across many industries, and coaching multidisciplinary student teams in user research and human-centered design projects that produce social impact.

Established in 2003 by filmmaker Jennie Reinish, Tidepool Pictures is committed to producing high-quality documentaries to tell some of the incredible and unique stories occurring every day, all around the world. Jennie Reinish has also co-produced independent feature films as well, but these days focuses her attentions on documentaries and for-hire productions. Based in Santa Barbara, California, Tidepool Pictures offers video production services both locally and nationwide.

Jill Wachholz has 15 years experience as facilitator, executive coach and organizational development consultant specializing in leadership development, team effectiveness and creativity. Through her company GroupStir, Jill works with clients including Four Seasons Hotels worldwide, Boeing, and the Executive Development Center. She sparks groups to think collaboratively, generate new options, and unite around a future focus. Jill was a manager, facilitator and coach at the renowned Center for Creative Leadership, and before that produced communication programs for Burson-Marsteller and Disney. Jill’s interests include health and fitness, emotional intelligence, artistic expression and international travel.