21 Ws - The Education Foundation

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Niles North Alumnus Tapped for D219 Board of Education Vacancy Niles North Celebrates 50 Years -Join in the Festivities on Sept. 19 - 21 Save the date! Niles North High School will be celebrating 50 years in education this year and all alumni are invited to attend the reunion festivities, held during Homecoming weekend, September 19 through 21. Alumni will be honored during the Homecoming Football game on September 19. There will be a tailgate party, parade and fireworks. Dr. David Ko speaks with Mayor George Van Dusen at a community event. Niles North High School Alumnus David Ko (N’97) was appointed to the District 219 Board of Education, filling the vacancy on the Board that was left by the death of longtime member Lynda Smith. Ko is the owner of Ko Be Care Chiropractic and Acupuncture in Skokie. In addition to being a board-licensed chiropractor and acupuncturist, Ko serves as a commissioner on the Village of Skokie Human Relations Commission and is the chair of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s Free Annual Family Health Fair. He also volunteers at St. Francis hospital and NorthShore University HealthSystem-Skokie Hospital, in addition to serving as team doctor for Niles North. Ko was also named the 2013 Niles North Distinguished Alumnus. “We wanted to find someone who would bring a fresh and different perspective to the board, and we found that person in Dr. Ko,” said Robert Silverman, Niles Township High School District 219 Board President. Other D219 alumni serving on the District 219 School Board: Robert Silverman, Niles East Dr. Sheri Doniger, Niles East Jeffrey Greenspan, Niles North Ruth Klint, Niles West Eileen Valfer, Niles North P 2014 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI P Congratulations to the recipients of this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Awards: Julie Smolyansky (N’93) Tom and Dita (Jusufi) Merkel (W’87) 4 more Foundation about them at 219foundation.org DistrictRead 219 Education www.219foundation.org On Saturday, September 20, there will be a celebration party at the DoubleTree Hotel in Skokie from 7 p.m. to midnight. During the evening, pictures will be taken honoring the past 50 years. We are looking for: Homecoming Queens and Kings, Club Presidents and Sponsors, Prom Queens and Kings, Athletic Team Captains and Coaches, Vikettes Captains and Sponsors, Cheerleading Captains and Sponsors, SAGA Editors and Advisors, North Star Editors and Advisors, Student Government Officers, Class Board Officers, Hall Council Officers, Band Directors, Thespians, Choir Directors, Orchestra Leaders, Art Club Presidents and Sponsors, Foreign Language Club Presidents and Sponsors, Class Valedictorians, and others! To purchase tickets and for more information, go to the NN 50th Anniversary webpage: http://url.219.org/nnhs50th Niles North Theatre invites all students -- past & present -- of Niles North and Niles East to audition to be a part of the cast, orchestra or crew of “Les Miserables”! The production is tentatively scheduled for March 5 and 6, 2015. Find Niles North Theatre Alumni on Facebook or follow @NilesNTheatre on twitter for updates.

Donations & Tributes Thank you to the following individuals and groups for their generous contributions to the District 219 Education Foundation (December 2012 to present). Donations help financially needy students improve their academic performance. Diane Brownlow American Heritage ProtecKen and Charlene Clinkman tive Services Steven Glink (E’73) Heather Ingraham Bourdage Chiropractice Evelyn Karson (W’68) donation in partnership with Michael Kochman (W’79) Niles West Stress Recess Gary Kremen (W’81) Program Jason Kuruvilla (N’00) Amelia Mechla (W’71) Debbie Burdick (W’71) in Eric Oddo memory of Coach Basrak Andrew Przybylo Sharyn Reiff (N’71) D219 Spring & Fall Payroll Al Rigoni Drives Gena Schoen (E’81) Jim Szczepaniak Donations through Dance Barb Smith (E’59) Marathon fundraising Unmi Song Ann and Howard Tennes Donations through Niles Elenore Zehnle North & Niles West student Karen Zupko (W’68) registration Fear City Preview Night contributions GCA Education Services, Inc. IHC Construction Companies Legat Architects John Lillig in memory of Dan Horyn Midwest Energy Morton Grove Foundation Niles North Class of 1973 in memory of Charles “Chip” Davies and other classmates Niles North Courtesy Club in honor of retired staff Niles North Special Education Department in memory of Michael Graham’s father Niles Township Government Positive Connections Unmi Song with matching donation from Lloyd A. Fry Foundation Nancy Tuzzolino (W’81) in honor of Grace Killelea and D219 students who volunteered at The Chicago Classic Thank you to all D219 staff who donated generously through the Annual NTFT/NTSS/D219 Charity Drive via employee payroll deduction. Memorial Scholarship in Honor of Legendary Player A memorial scholarship has been established in the name of Al Karnatz (NTHS’55), a legendary basketball player who played for Niles Township, setting the all-time scoring record while a senior. Upon his graduation, his jersey number (37) was retired. Karnatz went on to play at the collegiate level at Valparaiso University. Mrs. Sandi Karnatz, his widow, is setting up fundraising events and online fundraising tools to go towards the scholarship. Scholarships will be available for boys and girls who love the game of basketball. Mrs. Karnatz aims to raise between 10,000 and 20,000 to keep the scholarship sustainable. Donate online at www.onedayshootouts.com/karnatz37 Tax ID#46-4632495. “I remember my days at Niles West fondly. My education there was an important foundation for the success I’ve enjoyed professionally and personally.” - Karen Zupko (W’68) Send your story ideas or submissions for Seen and Heard to Karyn Malench, karmal@d219.org or by using your smart phone. 5 Steve Brown (W’63) and his daughter Cori (W’98) donated their services during Niles West’s Homecoming Parade. Steve lent a 1964 Cadillac El Dorado convertible and a 1974 Cadillac El Dorado convertible to escort the Homecoming King and Queen in grand style. In case you can’t tell from the pictures, both cars were Niles West red. District 219 Education Foundation www.219foundation.org Spring 2014 5

Reunion Roundup Niles North Class of 1973 Honors Former Classmate Niles West Class of 1964 A gala Golden 50th reunion will be held on June 28 at the Hyatt Deerfield. A cocktail party starts at 6 p.m., followed by a lavish buffet dinner from 7:30-9:30 p.m. with entertainment/dancing until midnight. Jim Ditkowsky and Don Weil say this event will create memories for a lifetime. Log on to: http://www.nileswest64.com. Working to make this reunion a success: Art Wulf, April Richardson (Mau), Bill Murphy, Don Weil, Donna Rappin (Goldstein), Frances Brown (Garfield), Janice Rosenberg (Liebling), Jim Ditkowsky, Judy Sidell (Dorfman), Larry Metnick, Rosely Kaiser (Applebaum), Russ Sabac, Scott Mermel, Sharry Falcone (Rugendorf), Stephen Spitz.For further info contact: Jim Ditkowsky (847) 716-7353 home or (312) 493-1092 or Don Weil, (847) 2910581 or (708) 525-8566. Niles North Class of 1964 - Niles North High School celebrates its 50th year! See Page 4 for details on year-long celebration. The Niles North Class of 1973 Reunion Committee presented a donation of 1,916 in memory of beloved classmate Charles “Chip” Davies, and all of the other classmates who are gone. Committee members included: Ilene Berkowsky Stevens, Caryn Chemers, Nan Cherms Fine, Stuart Cohen, Kenneth Hechtman, Mitchell Miller, Robin Starkopf Marcus, Beth Wagner Kahan, Adina Lichtenstein Richard, Laurie Jacobsen Ulrich, Jeri Friedman Rosauer. Upcoming Reunions (Above): Charles “Chip” Davies, Class of 1973 Niles East Class of 1964 50th Reunion Join your classmates on September 19, 2014 at Pinstripes in Northbrook and September 20 at Maggiano’s in Schaumburg. Check out www.nileseast64reunion.org or call Rick Streicher at (847) 417-0567. All teachers who taught the Niles East Class of 1964 are invited as guests. Please contact Alan Schaps, alanschaps@comcast.net or (847) 729-7093. Niles East, North & West Class of 1966 The Class of ‘66 turns 66! Save the date of July 19 from 7-11 p.m. at the Howard Street Inn. Golf optional at Tam-O-Shanter. Contact Karen Kass at 312-968-9682 or karenkass@ sbcglobal.net. The Niles East-West Class of 1963 held its 50th reunion at the Lincolnshire Marriott in August 2013. All of the details for the reunion are at www.nilehi63. com. The website will be active for a few years. Thanks to Cheryl Clauson Stryker for building the foundation and Susie Gallowich Mogdans for taking the reins as webmaster. (Pictured) East co-chair, Kathi Kent (Foley), checking the ballroom for last minute arrangements. “We ended up with 160 alumni and around 100 guests. It was a great three days at the Lincolnshire Marriott.” Looking for news about a recent reunion? Visit www.219foundation.org Send reunion news to Rosamin Bhanpuri at rosbha@d219.org 6 District 219 Education Foundation www.219foundation.org Niles North Class of ’67 –Because the 45th was so much fun, we are planning the Class of ’67 turns 67! We are looking for classmates who are missing from our database. Contact Jill Dawson Olefsky at 847-272-1758 or jolefsky@aol.com for updates. Hope to see you in 2016! Check out our pictures from our reunion in September. Go to http://bit. ly/PKI4Dc. Niles East Class of 1974- The 40 Year Reunion to be held from 7 p.m. to midnight on October 25 at Bella Via in Highland Park. Find the reunion page on Facebook for more details. Niles West Class of 1984 - The 30th reunion will be held on September 13, in conjunction with Homecoming. It will be held at Skokie’s Holiday Inn from 7 to 11 p.m. Send information to NiWeHi1984@gmail.com or find the group on Facebook.

Stan “Tex” Banash (E ‘58) published his third book in August, Roadside History of Illinois (Mountain Press, 2013). His earlier two books are Best of Dee Brown’s West and Dee Brown’s Civil War Anthology. He obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Northwestern University and a MA degree in Urban Studies from Roosevelt University. After operating his own PR business for more than 30 years, he now works part-time as director of public relations for Norwood Crossing, a long-term care retirement community in Chicago. He and his second wife, Laura, have a combined family of seven children and 12 grandchildren. Contact him via the Alumni Directory, Facebook or LinkedIn. Mike Weingart (E’59) has been elected president of the Southwest chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents. He owns Air Land Sea Consultants in Houston. Elynne Chaplik-Aleskow (W’63) is a Pushcart Prize-nominated author. Professor Chaplik-Aleskow’s story “The Hat,” published in four books, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: From Lemons to Lemonade” was adapted into a short film by director Christopher Kahler. The film is about a student with multiple scleroris who has a secret and the professor who inspires him. The story was filmed at Niles North and presented at the ShootEmUp Chicago Indie Film Festival at the Public House Theater in March. Richard Covotsky (N’71) received a Lifetime Achievement honored at the 40th annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards. The longtime artistic director of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre received the award for “cutting edge contributions to Non-Equity theatre over the past four decades.” Scott Samuels (E’76) from the band Phaze that recorded “Save Niles East” went on a tour of the Midwest, playing the song at several stops. George Kotsiopoulos (W’86) was recently in town to sign copies of his book “Glamorous by George: The Key to Creating Movie Star Style.” The fashion insider stars on E’s “Fashion Police” and is the brand and style ambassador for the Gap outlet’s 2014 collections. Ryan Cohan (N’89) released his new CD The River. Coinciding with the release, he 7 Seen and Heard also performed with his jazz quintet for the students at Niles North. Cohan has received the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for Composition, three grant awards from Chamber Music America, The Aaron Copland Recording Grant, and more. David A. Walton, MD, MPH (N’94) is the 2014 recipient of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award presented by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. The award is presented to individuals whose outstanding humanitarian efforts and achievements have contributed significantly to improving global public health. “David Walton redefines what is possible in global healthcare reform. And he does it in a spirit of solidarity--not charity.” -- Marjorie Benton, Member, Board of Trustees, Partners in Health. Dr. Walton was selected as the Niles North Distinguished Alumnus for 2008. Jeremy Selan (N’97) received an Academy Award for technical achievement in 2013 at the Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation. Selan and two colleagues were recognized for their creation of the Katana computer graphics scene management and lighting software that was used in several recent films. Featured in the Pioneer Press Publications recently, was the story of David Van Dusen (N’97) and Diana Abrams. The pair briefly dated while at Old Orchard Junior High, but recently reconnected. They married on December 7; the story was also featured on bouquetcatcher.com. Diana Peters (N’99), Executive Director for Symbol Training Institute was recently named to the Crain’s Chicago Business 40 under 40 Class of 2013. District 219 Education Foundation www.219foundation.org Noam Pikelny (N’99) His latest CD titled “Beat the Devil and Carry A Rail” has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album of the year. Noam was a member of the choral department and also played guitar and banjo for the vocal jazz ensembles. He is also the banjo player for “The Punch Brothers”. Matthew-Lee Erlbach (W’01) recently starred in Handbook for an American Revolutionary in which he embodied nearly a dozen characters throughout his 70-minute performance. The show ran at the Gym at Judson. Nasir Bhanpuri (W’02)will be returning to the Chicago area this summer as a fellow in the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Data Science for Social Good program at the University of Chicago. He is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Southern California where he is studying children with movement disorders. One of his most exciting research projects is on optimizing deep brain stimulation -- a therapy in which an implanted device delivers small amounts of electricity deep in the brain. He has coauthored several manuscripts that have been published in Brain, The Journal of Neuroscience, and Journal of Neurophysiology. Molly Heineman (W’04) is the founder of Child Restoration Outreach Support Organization (CROSO), a non-profit organization that provides post-secondary scholarships to former street children in Uganda. CROSO was selected as the beneficiary for the 2014 District 219 Dance Marathon. The D219 Education Foundation is a secondary beneficiary of Dance Marathon. D219 students raised more than 72,000 for CROSO this year. Continued on page 8 Spring 2014 7

District 219 Education Foundation for Excellence c/o 7700 Gross Point Road Skokie, IL 60077 www.219foundation.org Non-Profit Organization US Postage PAID Permit No. 353 Skokie, Illinois Continued from page 7 Rashard Mendenhall (W’05), recently announced his retirement from the NFL at the age of 26. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round in 2008, played in two Super Bowls and also played for the Arizona Cardinals. In his piece “Why I Retired at 26” in the Huffington Post, he wrote, “ I’m thankful that I can walk away at this time and smile over my six years in the NFL, and 17 total seasons of football -- dating back to when I started pee-wee ball at Niles West in 1997, when I was 10.” Korey J. Brownstein (N’07) is a recent recipient of the National Science Foundation Fellowship in plant biology. District 219 Education Foundation for Excellence Board of Directors Jeff Burman, Chair, (E’74) Keith Baker, Vice Chair (E’74) Ken Clinkman, Treasurer David Putrus (W’97), Secretary Alyse Cohen Burman, Director Mark Collins, Director Dr. Nanciann Gatta, Director, D219 Superintendent Matthew Robins, Director (N’98) Robert Silverman, Director (E’78), D219 Board President Tayyaba Ahmad (W’04), Director & Teacher, Niles West Ron Dornseif, Director & Teacher, Niles North Ghermawit Berhane, Director & Student, Niles North Charlotte Collins, Director & Student, Niles West Maria Pfaffinger, Director & Student, Niles West Madi Gardner, Director & Student, Niles North Jewell Loyd (W’12) was named the United States Basketball Writers Association National Freshman of the Year. In this, her sophomore year, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish advanced to the NCAA Women’s Championship Finals, she earned honorable mention All-Big East honors and was an unanimous choice for the All-Big East freshmen team. Eric Rosen (N’12), a K12 National Chess Champion while he attended Niles North and a member of the state chess championship teams, is still in the game. He helped to revive the chess team at the University of Illinois, and in an upset, he and his team will compete in the President’s Cup in Manhattan, also known as the Final Four of chess. Jim Szczepaniak, Staff Liaison Rosamin Bhanpuri, Staff Liaison Karyn Malench, Newsletter Layout and Design 8 District 219 Education Foundation www.219foundation.org

for alumni of Niles East Niles West Niles North SPRING 2014 Vol. 8 Issue 1 www.219foundation.org 21 ws On January 25, Niles West High School celebrated 40 years of Niles West Girls Basketball. Former players and coaches gathered in the Niles West gymnasium to recognize past achievements, reconnect, and to honor Coach Gene Earl,