Lindsay Stankee was recently hired as a recreation specialist for the South Suburban Special Recreation Association. She is a recent graduate of the University of Iowa with a bachelor of science degree in Sport, Health, Leisure and Physical Studies, with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation. She recently completed an internship at Four Oaks for youth with psychiatric disorders. She relocated to the Chicagoland area from Iowa.
Yvette Anderson joins the Champaign Park District as the Beavers Preschool director. She is responsible for the overall curriculum of the program, which includes lesson planning, increasing parent involvement, and DCFS and Head Start licensing. Anderson graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies. Prior to assuming this position, Anderson was employed as a shift leader/child care worker at Cunningham Children's Home in Urbana.
Amy Larson was recently hired as community relations coordinator for the Fox Valley Park District. Larson comes to Fox Valley with five years of experience in the public relations field. Previously, she was communications and Volunteer Coordinator for a nonprofit health care agency. Larson is responsible for producing Fox Valley's Activity Guides, which are mailed to over 50,000 households three times a year. Larson is a native of Aurora, Ill., and received a bachelor of arts degree in Health Promotion Administration from North Central College in Naperville.
Kristin Morgenstern
joins the Skokie Park District as museum supervisor. An education-focused museum professional, she comes from the well-known Peace Museum in Chicago. She has a bachelor of arts degree from Marquette University, Wis., and a master of Education in museum education from The College of William and Mary, Va. Previously, she worked at the Milwaukee Public Museum and Old World Wisconsin as a historical interpreter.
Richard Lee
was hired as Golf Center manager for the Skokie Park District, where he heads the new Sports Park, miniature golf course/driving range/batting cages and manages the par-3, 9-hole Weber Park Golf Course. Lee's extensive background includes teaching golf classes at several facilities. His business experiences come from area corporations such as Management Decisions, Inc. and Elrick & Lavidge, Inc. Lee earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Steve Adams
was hired as golf operations supervisor for the Skokie Park District. For the past seven years, he served as head superintendent of Valley Green Golf Course, a public 18-hole executive golf course in North Aurora, Ill. Adams attended Marquette University, University of Illinois and College of DuPage. He is also a member of the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America.
Richard Kosinski
was hired as the director of the Skokie Park District's Youth Foundation of Skokie (YFS), in an active effort to enhance the youth-at-risk programs in Skokie. YFS plans include building a new teen center through community contributions. Previously, Kosinski was the manager of Major Gifts at Prevent Blindness America. He also served as associate executive director of the Leukemia Society of America in Chicago. He earned his master of Public Administration from Roosevelt University plus a bachelor of science degree from Loyola University.
Deb Owen
was named public information coordinator for the Palatine Park District. She earned a bachelor's degree in Business and Economics from Eureka College and a master's degree in Recreation from Illinois State University. She formerly worked for the City of Elgin Parks and Recreation as an Adult/Senior Program Supervisor.
Rich Zielke, CLP, was hired as recreation supervisor for the Plainfield Township Park District where he will be directly involved with athletics and the development and promotion of youth and teen programs. Zielke had worked for the Matteson Parks and Recreation Department for the past two-and-a-half years in the same capacity. He has a bachelor's and master's degree from Illinois State University and is very active in IPRA and SSPRPA.
Heidi Stolt, CLP, joined the Wildwood Park District as superintendent of recreation. For the past two years, she was assistant superintendent of recreation at Hanover Park Park District. Stolt has a B.S. in Leisure Studies with emphasis in Program Management from the University of Illinois and has worked in the recreation field since 1990 full-time and before that in various part-time positions in the aquatics field. Her areas of expertise in addition to aquatics include