The Board of Directors is responsible for the governance of the school. It establishes policies for the school, overseas finances, and provides continuity and direction. Board members are elected by the current Board for three-year terms and are recruited and trained by the Committee on Trustees. Each member of the Board must endorse the Montessori philosophy of learning, language immersion education, and the purpose and values described in IMLS's current strategic plan.
The board's primary role is to focus on fiscal and strategic planning, policy, hiring and evaluating the Executive Director, and institutional and organizational stability and sustainability. Among the board as a whole, the Committee on Trustees looks for members with experience which supports initiatives on the strategic plan, in addition to in education administration or Montessori education, bilingual experience, strategy/strategic planning, business management, financial/accounting, marketing, fundraising, law/policy, human resources, communications and site management or real estate development.
The board currently has the following eight members:
George Beach is an architect with DLR Group. Previously he worked for OWP/P Architects, Perkins + Will and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He has worked on architectural designs for Oswego Dist. 308 Early Childhood Center, Meta Valley High School Dist. 204, Rogers Park Montessori School and Little Village Lawndale High School CPS. George holds a Bachelors degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His eldest son Maximus graduated from the Japanese pre-school program in the spring of 2008. Nolan intends to enroll in the Japanese pre-school program in the fall of 2009.
Amy Kovalan is Vice President of Safety for the Chicago Transit Authority. Previously she served as Chicago’s Chief Compliance Officer and held leadership positions at DePaul University in compliance and at Northwestern University in operations and finance. Amy holds a Bachelors degree in Government from the University of Notre Dame, a JD from John Marshall Law School and an Executive MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School. Amy has a daughter who attended Intercultural in the Spanish language community. Amy is serving her first term on the Board.
Haywood McDuffie is an attorney with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Previously he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) and was in private practice in Ohio. Haywood holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Amherst College and a JD from the Columbia Law School. Haywood has three children, all of whom attended Intercultural beginning in 1997. His son graduated from the Spanish elementary program in 2007. Haywood is serving his second term on the Board.
Breeda McGrath is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and professor of school psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Previously she worked as a school psychologist in Illinois public schools and as a teacher in Ireland. Breeda holds a Ph.D. and M.Ed. in School Psychology from Loyola University Chicago.
Tom Schwallie is a Vice-President in Investment Banking and Opinion work at Duff & Phelps LLC. He previously worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Business Advisory Services group and served on the Board of the Association for Corporate Growth in Houston. Tom has a Bachelors degree in Finance from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Jonathan Sheinkop runs ProVest Portfolio Management, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisory company. Jonathan oversees financial decisions and wealth management services for families and Trusts. This includes portfolio risk assessment, opportunistic diversification strategies and full spectrum financial planning. Jonathan also is Chairman of Music Dealers, LLC., a web-based, global music licensing company. He holds a Bachelors degree from Knox College and attended Loyola’s graduate school for American History.
Natalie Shaw is a business consultant with Grey Global Agency, focusing on marketing strategies. She has experience in risk policy/management and business planning/analysis with DeVry University and Discover Financial Services. She has a Bachelors degree in General Mathematics and a Masters degree in Applied Statistics from Northern Illinois University. Natalie is also serving in her first term on the Board. Natalie has a daughter in the Spanish elementary program.
Debbie Senoff-Langford is CEO, principal, and member of the Board of Directors for Rogers Park Montessori. She has taught preschool through elementary in Montessori schools and has 21 years of experience as a principal. Debbie holds a Bachelors degree in History from the University of Wisconsin, a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Northeastern Illinois University and completed the PhD dissertation process at the Victoria University Wellington in New Zealand. Debbie is serving in her first term on the Board.
