Superintendent
Dr. Bonuma was named superintendent in 2024 following her five year service as the Deputy Superintendent in Leyden School District 212.
She served as Principal of West Leyden High School from 2015 through 2019.
Prior to arriving in Leyden School District 212, she served as Associate Principal of Student Services at Grayslake North Community High School during the 2006-07 school year. She was Dean of Students at York Community High School from 2004 until 2006 and served that same role at Larkin High School from 2003 to 2004. She was also the ELL/Bilingual Divisional Director at Larkin High School from 2000 to 2003.
She began her teaching career in 1995 as a Spanish teacher at Larkin High School and became an ELL/bilingual teacher at Canton Middle School in 1997 and served in that role until 2000.
Dr. Bonuma earned her bachelor of arts degree from University of Dubuque with a triple major in Marketing, International Studies and Spanish. She earned her masters in Secondary Education with a Type 09 certificate in Spanish, Business and Social Studies from Roosevelt University. She earned her Ed.D. Educational Administration degree with a Superintendent Endorsement from Aurora University.
Dr. Bonuma has earned a Chief School Business Official Endorsement, General Administrative Certificate and ESL/Bilingual Endorsements. She is fluent in both Portuguese and Spanish. |
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Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources
Mr. Dagres began his career in District 207 in 2002 as a Dean of Students at Maine South High School and served in that role until 2009.
In 2010, Mr. Dagres became the Associate Principal of Maine South High School and moved into his current position, Director of Human Resources with District 207 in 2020.
Mr. Dagres started his education career in 1996 teaching Chemistry and Math at York High School in Elmhurst. In 1999, he became a Team Leader (Dean of Students) at Libertyville High School in Libertyville.
Mr. Dagres holds a Bachelor of Science degree in the Teaching of Chemistry from the University of Illinois and a Master’s Degree in School Administration and Leadership from Lewis University. |
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Assistant Superintendent for Student Services
Ms. Di Sanza joined District 207 in 2016 as the Department Chair for Special Education at Maine West, followed by her role as the Co-Director for Special Education and Coordinator of Private Placement.
Previously, she was the Assistant Director for Student Services and Director for Transition Services at Niles Township High School District 219 and served as a school psychologist at both Niles North High School and Community High School District 155.
Before starting her career in education, Ms. Di Sanza worked both in social services and recruiting. These endeavors led her to the field of education where she was able to pursue her passion of working towards equity in education for all students while preparing them for life post-secondary.
Ms. Di Sanza holds a bachelor’s in Psychology from Western Illinois University and a master’s in Education and educational specialist degree in School Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. She received her Educational Leadership endorsement from Concordia University and holds a Director of Special Education endorsement.
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Assistant Superintendent for Business
Ms. Kalou has served as the Assistant Superintendent for Business/CSBO for District 207 since 2009. She has more than 20 years of experience as a school business official.
After spending several years at a large public accounting firm, Ms. Kalou began her school district career at District 207 in 1993, serving as the Director of Accounting.
She served in that capacity for five years. She also has served as an Assistant Superintendent for both Arlington Heights School District 25 and Lake Zurich School District 95.
In addition to being a certified public accountant, Ms. Kalou holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University, a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University, an education specialist degree from Northern Illinois University and earned her Chief School Business Official (CSBO) endorsement from Northern Illinois University. |
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Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Innovation
After starting a career in advertising following his bachelor’s degree, Dr. Messmer realized through his work as a basketball coach that his passion resided in helping young people reach their full potential and prepare for a successful school and work life.
Moving into the field of education, he taught middle school and high school before serving as an assistant principal for five years at Souderton Area High School in Pennsylvania, his home state. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Temple University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from Lehigh University and a doctorate in educational leadership from Concordia University of Chicago.
In 2010, Dr. Messmer became the principal of Maine South High School and moved into his current position with District 207 in 2017. |
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Maine South High School Principal
Dr. Babakhani joined District 207 in 2024 as the principal at Maine South High School. He served as Assistant Principal of Student Services at Niles West High School from 2013 until 2024. Prior to his role as Assistant Principal of Student Services, he served as Dean of Students for one year at Niles West.
From 2009-2011, Dr. Babakhani was the Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction at Amundsen High School in Chicago Public Schools. During his career he has also served as a high school English teacher and reading specialist.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in English Education – Secondary. He has a master’s degree in reading from Concordia University. He earned his doctorate degree in educational leadership from Concordia University. |
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Maine West High School Principal
Dr. McMahon started in District 207 in 2017 as Maine West’s Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning. She began as principal at Maine West in 2019. Prior to District 207, she was the Assistant Principal for Curriculum & Instruction at Highland Park High School for three years.
She previously served as the English Department Chair at Highland Park High School for two years, English Department Chair and English teacher at Bexley High School and as an English teacher at New Trier High School.
She also has taught at the university level, having served as a lecturer at The Ohio State University and a field instructor at the University of Michigan.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in educational administration from The Ohio State University. |
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Maine East High School Principal
Dr. Pikul was hired as the Maine East principal in 2022. She arrived in District 207 in 2019 as the Associate Principal for Student and Family Services at Maine South High School. Prior to her time in District 207, Dr. Pikul was an educational leader in Lake Zurich High School first as a Dean of Students from 2011-2014 and then as an Assistant Principal for Student Services from 2014-2019.
Dr. Pikul began her career as a G.E.D. teacher for the College of Lake County and during that time she also served as a social science teacher in Warren Township High School. She became the Social Science Lead Teacher in 2010 before joining Lake Zurich the following year.
She earned her secondary teacher certification and her bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in Psychology, her master’s degree from Saint Xavier University in Teacher & Leadership, an additional master’s degree and Type 75 Certification from Concordia University in Education and her Superintendent Certification and doctorate degree in Education from Concordia University. |
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Director of Communications
Mr. Clark began his work in District 207 in 2018. He has more than 25 years of experience in both higher education and public K-12 schools.
He spent 13 years with Glenview School District 34 serving as Executive Director of Communications and Strategic Planning before becoming Executive Director of Human Resources during his time with the district.
Mr. Clark also has worked for Parkway School District and Ladue School District in Missouri. In the higher education sector, he worked for Millikin University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Mr. Clark holds the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) certification from the Public Relations Society of America. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. |
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Director of Adult Learning
Dr. Geocaris began her career in District 207 in 2014. She started her career in the District as the Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning at Maine South High School.
Previously in her career, Dr. Geocaris worked as a Social Studies Department Chair and Assessment Literacy trainer at Downers Grove North High School.
Dr. Geocaris holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies Education from Eastern Illinois University, a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Northern Illinois University, and earned a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University.
She also leads the Chicago Coaching Center, a progressive collection of instructional coaches interested in providing a collaborative learning environment for instructional coaches and teachers who wish to develop their craft. |
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Director of Personal Learning and Student Support
Dr. Morrissey joined District 207 in 2015 as the Response to Intervention Coordinator and was promoted to the Director of Personal Learning and Student Support in 2018.
Prior to working in District 207, she taught at Foreman High School in Chicago where she was also the Special Education Department Chair and the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Internal Coordinator. For over a decade she taught graduate and undergraduate courses as an adjunct instructor at Loyola University Chicago School of Education.
Dr. Morrissey earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Dayton, a master’s in School Leadership from Concordia University Chicago, and both a master’s degree in Education and a doctorate degree in Educational Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. Her research, publications and presentations have included topics such as PBIS implementation in the high school setting, Universal Design for Learning and using literacy data effectively to screen for student needs and progress.
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Director of Special Education
Mr. Pieczynski joined District 207 as the Department Chair for Special Education at Frost Academy in 2014. Prior to joining District 207, he held several leadership roles in Niles District 219, where he served as a Coordinator and Assistant Director in the special education department.
Mr. Pieczynski began his career in education as a para-educator and later became a special education teacher at Niles North High School. In addition to his teaching and leadership roles, he has also contributed as a coach.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University, a master’s degree in special education from National Louis University, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Concordia University Chicago. He also completed coursework at Lewis University to obtain his Director of Special Education License. |
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Director of Multilingual Learning
Mr. Saldivar Jr. joined District 207 in 2023 and has prior experience not only leading work in multilingual learning, but he also has a background in equity. He began his career as a high school English teacher and has served in the capacity of teacher leader, assistant principal and principal in Chicago Public Schools. He has also served as a district-level administrator in the south and west suburbs of Cook County.
Mr. Saldivar is also a Surge Fellowship Chicago Alum, Multicultural Leadership Academy Fellow Alum, New Leaders Council Chicago Fellow, a Golden Apple Scholar and a Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction. He currently serves on the Illinois State Board of Education Advisory Council on Bilingual Education, is a Customer Advisory Board Member for Lexia Learning Systems, LLC and is the Co-Chair of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois Chicago and he also holds a master’s in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and a master’s in Educational Leadership from Northeastern Illinois University.
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George Dagres
Kathleen Di Sanza
Dr. Shawn Messmer
Dr. Antwan Babakhani
Dr. Eileen McMahon
Brett Clark, APR
Dr. Jill Geocaris
Dr. Kelly Morrissey
