Courtesy Mary Ellen Meindl
Mary Ellen Meindl, current District 96 Board of Education President, is running for re-election. Elected in 2009 and appointed Board President in 2011, she has served on the Finance committee (2009-2011), Policy committee Chair (2011- ), the Board PTA/O liaison (2009- ), the Quest/Gifted committee (2013- ) and actively negotiated the 2009 and 2012 teacher’s contract with raises tied to revenue. She lead the Board’s efforts to hire a new Superintendent with the December, 2012 appointment of Dr. Sharma-Lewis, effective July 1, 2013. While working with a diverse board, her skills at bringing individuals together is completely the completion of the largest capital improvement project in 50 years, with 3 of the largest buildings completed the summer of 2012, on time, under budget without referendum.
Meindl and her husband Steve have lived in Riverside for over 14 years with three D96 graduates (Ames,Central and Hauser) and one currently attending Hauser Jr. High.
With a strong desire to make a difference in the community, she coached many Riverside Recreation teams, was a Central School PTO 1st Vice President (2007-2008),President (2008-2009) and Parliamentarian (2009-2010). She was the event coordinator for the Diane and Melissa Meindl Foundation(2001-2010) providing music scholarships to deserving Riverside Brookfield high school students and is a People Care volunteer (2008- ) driving elderly people to appointments. As a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor Of Arts degree, she worked as an Account Executive for a point of purchase display manufacturer until 2000. Meindl taught Dale Carnegie training, a leadership, communication and human relations course, for over 10 years.
District 96 is under tremendous transition with record high enrollment, changing demographics, new administrator leadership, 2013 summer capital projects and legislative initiatives with pension reform and teacher’s evaluations. Meindl’s focus, experience, proven dedication and leadership skills are important to continue to move this young board forward as they continue to serve the district students, stakeholders and staff.
