The School Board comprises seven equal members who serve without pay for staggered four-year terms. Each member is elected at large and represents the entire District. The Board must balance the needs of multiple constituencies in making sound decisions for the good of the District. The Board is specifically responsible for setting District policy, approving the ongoing expenditures/budget/long range plan, as well as hiring and evaluating the Superintendent. The Board delegates executive functions to the Superintendent through written policies and a written contract. (The Superintendent oversees all other employees and ensures the delivery of appropriate curriculum to students; decision-making for daily instruction resides primarily at the building and classroom level.) As specified in the Code of Conduct, Board members have the authority to make decisions only as a body of the whole. The Board President serves in the role of spokesperson for the Board to the community and the media.

Dana Crumley
danacrumley@winnetka36.org
President
Term 2009-2013
Dana Crumley has lived in Winnetka since 2003. After receiving a B.A. in English from Northwestern University, Dana taught middle school in the Skokie public schools. She earned her Masters in Educational Leadership and a law degree from Loyola University. Currently, Dana is a partner at the law firm of Franczek Radelet, P.C. in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on education law. She has taught school law classes at Loyola’s Graduate School of Education, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Roosevelt University. She is a member of the American and Chicago Bar Associations and the National and Illinois Councils of School Attorneys. She is married with three children (attending Hubbard Woods and The Skokie Schools). Dana has been active in many volunteer capacities, including the Hubbard Woods School PTO, and on the local advisory board of New Leaders for New Schools, an education reform organization dedicated to training school leaders.

Jon Kaplan
jonkaplan@winnetka36.org
Vice President
Term 2009-2015 (second term)
Jon Kaplan has lived in Winnetka since 2008. Jon holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from Stanford University, a teaching credential from Mills College, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkely. With 20 years experience in education, Jon has demonstrated his commitment to teaching and learning as a university lecturer, a high-school teacher, and a founder and leader of a progressive, internationally recognized charter school in Alameda, California. Jon is currently the Director of the Training Center of Excellence at Discover Financial Services in Riverwoods, Illinois. Jon has two children, the older attends Hubbard Woods School.

Beth Moritz Filip
bethfilip@winnetka36.org
Secretary
Term 2009-2013
Beth Moritz Filip has lived in Winnetka for nine years. Raised on the North Shore, she attended Syracuse University and earned a B.A. in International Relations. After college, Beth worked for a New York-based Paramount Pictures/Warner Brothers joint venture and then in Washington D.C. for The Washington Post and The Washington Post Magazine. She is the mother of four children, the current Central PTO Vice President of Communications, and member of the Washburne Graduation Committee. She is the immediate past President and current ex-officio member of the Greeley PTO. In 2007, Beth co-chaired the district’s successful Sustain Excellence Referendum Campaign. She is also a founding member of the Winnetka Parents Institute and a Cub Scout Den Leader.

Matthew Hulsizer
matthulsizer@winnetka36.org
Member
Term 2011-2015
Matthew Hulsizer has lived in Winnetka for 7 years. He is a 1991 graduate of Amherst College. Matt is a Co-Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of PEAK6 Investments. Prior to that, he was a director and risk manager for Swiss Bank, a global financial-services corporation. He has significant not-for-profit experience including serving as a board member of the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey from 2001 to 2008. Peddie is a private school with an educational philosophy similar to District 36's progressive education philosophy. Matt has served on the Board of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company and is active in the Winnetka community, serving as a coach for the Winnetka Hockey Club and AYSO soccer. He is married and has three children in The Winnetka Public Schools.

William Meuer
williammeuer@winnetka36.org
Member
Term 2011-2015
Bill Meuer has lived in Winnetka with his wife Betsy for 37 years. They have three adult children who attended Crow Island and Carleton Washburne Schools. His 48-year career as a teacher and school administrator included 32 years as a teacher and principal in District 36. From 1994 until he retired in 2010, Dr. Meuer was the Principal of the Chicago Public School's Norwood Park School. He began his academic studies at Northern State Teachers College, where he earned a B.S. degree in Elementary Education and an M.S. degree in Administration and Supervision. He holds a Superintendent Endorsement from Northwestern University. He earned his Doctorate degree from Loyola University and devoted his doctoral dissertation to the study of progressive education in a thesis entitled, Carleton W. Washburne: His Administrative and Curriculum Contributions in the Winnetka Public Schools, 1919-1943. Bill has shown his commitment to the Winnetka community by serving two terms as a Village Trustee and on the Police Board for six years.

Thomas Shannon
tomshannon@winnetka36.org
Member
Term 2011-2015
Thomas Shannon has lived in Winnetka for eight years. He and his wife Jill have four children ranging in age from 8 to 17, including two children currently enrolled in the District. He is a graduate of Brown University where he earned a B.S. degree in Applied Math and Economics. For most of his career he has been employed by Bain & Company, a global business consulting firm with offices worldwide. Currently Tom is a Director based in the Chicago office. He has served on Bain’s Worldwide Compensation and Promotion Committee and now serves on its Nominating Committee.

Susan Crowe Whitcomb
susanwhitcomb@winnetka36.org
Member
Term 2009-2013
Susan Crowe Whitcomb moved to Winnetka in 1992. She graduated from the University of Colorado (Boulder) Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, with a BA in Political Science. She earned her MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group for fourteen years. Susan and her husband, Robert, have two children who attended The Winnetka Public Schools and are now at New Trier and in college. Susan’s community involvement has included: board member and officer of the Winnetka Community Nursery School, District 36 Financial Review Committee, Crow Island PTO, District 36 Central PTO, and President of the Winnetka Historical Society. She has been on the District 36 School Board since 2009.