I have lived in West Deerfield Township for 37 years. During that time I have been an active volunteer in several organizations, including AAUW, Holy Cross School and Parish, the League of Women Voters, two PTO Boards, Moraine Girl Scout Council, the West Deerfield Township Democratic Committee, and the Tenth Congressional Democrats.

While serving as a volunteer in the community, I realized how much I enjoyed working with young people, and became a high school social studies teacher in the 1990s. As a teacher, I tended to focus on social justice issues. To improve my teaching, I decided to go back to graduate school, and found myself examining the connections between the electoral process and the policies that those elected actually adopted.

After earning my doctorate at UIC in Political Science in 2006, I continued to teach high school social studies. Believing that young people benefit from “real world” experience, I required my students to get involved in election campaigns. After listening to their war stories, I knew that I had to “put my money where my mouth was” and get involved myself. The Dan Seals and Barack Obama campaigns reintroduced me to grass roots political campaigning. Barack Obama’s victory inspired me to offer my services again to my community, and I was happy to be slated as a Democratic candidate for West Deerfield Township trustee.

I have found strong community ties in our township, having raised three children (Beth, Kirsten, and Kevin Quinn) here with my husband Kevin. Yet with the present economic situation, there will be a greater need for strengthening this neighborhood spirit. One way will be to tap into our strength as a community and encourage civic engagement by all of us, especially our students. I hope to add what I have learned as a teacher of young people, a political scientist, and an active resident to help further the good work of the present West Deerfield Township Board.