Eight Stellar Alumni To Be Inducted Into District 230 Legacy Hall

The District 230 Foundation will soon add eight members to the distinguished list of alumni who inspire current students and remind them of all that is possible when you have the support of the D230 community. Legacy Hall was established to recognize and honor graduates from Sandburg, Stagg and Andrew High Schools who make an impact in their careers, their families and their communities.

Since 2008, the Foundation has been proud to recognize alumni from District 230 for their outstanding contributions in eight different categories: Education and Humanities - Science and Technology - Philanthropy and Non-Profit - Arts and Entertainment - Sports and Recreation - Business and Commerce - Government and Military - Community and Volunteerism.

To be selected for Legacy Hall, candidates must not only be recognized for their careers, but also demonstrate a willingness to give back to their communities and to share their expertise, knowledge, and time with others. As part of Legacy Hall, candidates are able to return to their alma maters, and share the story of their careers with the students of District 230. The Foundation hopes and believes they will have a lasting impact on students’ paths in the future, creating the future generation of Legacy Hall inductees.

Tickets to the Legacy Hall Induction Celebration, scheduled for Friday, November 1, at Elements by the Odyssey in Orland Park, are $50 per person and may be purchased at www.d230foundation.org/legacy-hall.

A 2004 Sandburg alum, Brian Ahmer serves as the Chief Operations Officer of High School District 113, overseeing the facilities, safety, and security of the students and staff at Highland Park and Deerfield high schools.

With a degree in construction management from Bradley University, Brian has spent his career managing facilities, including the construction of the Ryan Fieldhouse at Northwestern University, and then as the project engineer for the State Farm Center at the University of Illinois.

Brian used his experience and leadership skills to improve District 113 facilities and led the work to install a photovoltaic solar panel system that would reduce energy consumption by 25%. His passion and unrelenting pursuit of keeping buildings safe and secure took on a new meaning when he earned the position of Chief Operations Officer at a high school district.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brian worked directly with Walgreens and hosted a vaccine clinic that administered over 13,000 vaccinations for teachers in Lake County, Illinois, and students within the District. He also built a COVID-19 testing center where students received COVID-19 tests twice weekly to ensure the safety of the schools.

On July 4, 2022, tragedy struck Highland Park during a parade when a gunman shot and killed seven people and injured 48 others. After the shooting and in the chaos that followed, Brian immediately traveled to the school to ensure all students in the parade were reunited with their parents. He witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of this calamity and knew he needed to ensure both high schools were safe places. He then worked with the FBI to build a family assistance center at Highland Park High School, where community members impacted by the tragedy received services. Then, Brian worked with the superintendent to secure a weapons detection system at the doors of the school, which was no small task. He knows - perhaps better than most - the importance that everyone needs to feel safe. His goal is to work within his power to prevent future tragedies.

Don DeWilkins is a 1983 graduate of Andrew High School. He continued his education at Illinois State University before transferring to Governors State University, where he graduated Cum Laude. He then attended John Marshall Law School in Chicago and upon completing his legal studies, he became a prosecutor for the Will County State's Attorney's Office in Joliet. After several successful years in that office, he joined the Law Offices of Robert Beranek, which later became Beranek & DeWilkins. During this time in his legal career, Don focused his practice on criminal defense and personal injury law, representing hundreds of individuals with a wide variety of legal issues and concerns, all of which Don addressed with professionalism and skill. In addition, he taught law classes at Robert Morris Colles for two years and was an Administrative Law Judge for the Village of Lockport from 2013-2020. Don is an extremely well-regarded attorney in the Chicagoland area and is often called upon for his counsel and judgment by attorneys far and wide. He is a former long-time board member of the Will County Bar Association and a faculty member for the State Appellate Prosecutor's Office where he teaches trial advocacy. In November 2020, the judges of the 12th Judicial Circuit, Will County, saw fit to vote and elevate Don to the judicial bench.

Joanne Stocker is a 1973 graduate of Stagg High School. More than 30 years ago, she saw a need to help women with breast cancer and it became her goal to provide them with the support and products they needed.

She began with home visits, packing duffel bags with products, providing them with a safe place to discuss their issues, and assisting them with the care and comfort they need. After years of conducting home visits, she wanted to provide space where they could see the products and try them. Joanne started an “Angel Closet,” which provides ladies with mastectomy items if they cannot afford to pay or do not have insurance. Her motto has always been: “It’s not about the money. It’s about the ladies who need help.”

When she fits someone with a prosthesis and they see themselves in the mirror and smile, that’s the reward. They leave the Angel Closet feeling and looking their best. She has provided services to hundreds - if not thousands - of women with breast cancer.

Joanne’s selfless mission to help women has helped create and spread a positive attitude - all of which help in the healing process.

Connor Burns is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and strategist at Accenture, where he leads digital transformation initiatives for the Department of Defense. After graduating from Andrew High School in 2015, Connor enlisted in the Marine Corps and served with distinction in the elite HMX-1 Presidential Helicopter Squadron, responsible for the transportation security of the President of the United States. In this highly specialized role, Connor ensured the security and coordination of presidential movements during domestic and international travel—a testament to his integrity, dedication, and extraordinary discipline.

Following his honorable discharge, Connor pursued a degree at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce. His selection as a Posse Scholar, an honor awarded to only 10 out of 700 applicants, highlights his exceptional leadership potential and academic prowess.

At McIntire, Connor combined his passion for endurance sports with his dedication to charitable
Causes by running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours, rallying the local Charlottesville community to raise more than $1,800 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

A key strategist at Accenture, a Fortune 500 company, Connor has played a pivotal role in delivering technological advancements for the Department of Defense. Working on a software implementation project for the Pentagon, he was part of a team that reduced missed deadlines for national security-essential projects by 30%. He also serves as a key analyst for implementing Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) for the U.S. Army, delivering capabilities to over 1,400 Army applications and supporting 3.5 million users across the Department of Defense. This initiative plays a crucial role in the Army's Zero Trust strategy, ensuring secure, efficient, and streamlined access to mission-critical systems.

In addition to his professional work, Connor dedicates his time as a Posse Ambassador for the Posse Foundation, a national nonprofit that identifies, trains, and supports diverse groups of talented students—Posse Scholars—who demonstrate extraordinary leadership potential. As an ambassador, Connor helps recruit and mentor scholars, supporting the foundation’s mission to develop the next generation of leaders and ensure they succeed in higher education and beyond.

Connor's journey from a high school student to a Marine, to a scholar at one of the top business
schools, and now a strategic leader, exemplifies both service and leadership.

A Class of 2002 Sandburg High School graduate, Caitlyn Brennan has a passion for serving others. Cailyn was a senior on 9/11 and vividly remembers sitting in English class when the word spread about the tragedy in New York. She contributes her drive to find a career in service from this event.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Miami University with a triple major in History, Sociology, and Religion. After graduation, she began her public service career, serving as an intern and then contractor for multiple international agencies focusing on public health disasters. Returning stateside, Caitlyn obtained her master’s degree in Public Service Management and spent much of her time traveling the world implementing emergency management and sustainability measures.

In 2013, she came upon The 100 Club of Chicago, a nonprofit that provided support to families of first responders who were killed in the line of duty in Cook County. She stayed with this mission, taking on various titles, until 2020 when she became the Chief Executive Officer. She broadened the mission of the Club to include every county of the State. She now runs the 100 Club of Illinois serving all 102 counties and roughly 80,000 first responders.

She serves as the on-call emergency response liaison to families and departments who suffer the tragic loss of a first responder in the line of duty. She also trains active-duty first responders on the path to resiliency to offset their dangerous jobs.

This thread of service, nurtured through her time at Sandburg and world events, has led Caitlyn to make a significant difference in the lives of first responders in Illinois.

Joel Hoekstra attended Sandburg and then transferred to Stagg High School, graduating in 1988. A guitarist known for his work with various bands and artists, Joel Hoekstra is currently a member of the band Whitesnake and tours as a guitarist for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He comes from a musical background, with his parents being classical musicians.

Over the years, he has established himself as a sought-after guitarist and has played with
renowned artists such as Night Ranger, Cher, and the Broadway show Rock of Ages. In addition, Hoekstra has pursued his own projects. He formed a rock side project called Joel Hoekstra's 13, which released albums like "Dying to Live" (2015) and "Running Games" (2021), receiving critical acclaim. He has also released three instrumental solo albums and has been a frequent columnist for Guitar World Magazine.

1998 Sandburg High School graduate Dr. Corryn Siegel Greenwood is the first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Medical Director at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. Silver Cross is the first and only level 3 NICU in Will County. She led Silver Cross as they launched the level 3 NICU bringing the highest level of neonatal care to the area. Highlights of this project include the neonatal surgical program, with their first surgery in May 2023 and the therapeutic hypothermia program in October of 2023. The therapeutic hypothermia program is an intervention that may reduce death or disability in infants with moderate to severe brain dysfunction noted after birth. There was substantial coordination among many groups to bring these plans to fruition.

One of the proudest moments in Dr. Greenwood’s career was when a patient born at just 22 weeks weighing just 1.1 pounds/11 inches went home after six months in the Silver Cross Neonatal Intensive Care Unit weighing 10 pounds and measuring 21 inches.

As a neonatologist, Dr. Greenwood has been recognized for her dedication and intense desire to help preemies and their families navigate the stresses of the NICU while bringing patient safety and quality care to the forefront of everything they do. She received a bachelor’s degree from Ripon College, a doctor of medicine degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, and a master’s in education from the University of Cincinnati. She is an adjunct instructor at Midwestern University and an instructor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Rosalind Franklin University Medical School.

Jason A. Cantone is a 2000 graduate of Stagg High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Honors Distinction, at the University of Illinois and an M.A., J.D., and PhD. from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Dr. Cantone is a Senior Research Associate at the Federal Judicial Center, which is the research and education agency of the U.S. federal judiciary. In his role, he examines how to make the litigation process take less time and cost less money, how courts can address emerging scientific issues such as neuroscience, AI, and cognitive aging, and how federal and state courts can better cooperate to improve court efficiency. He has worked with the Republic of Uzbekistan and other nations to promote conflict resolution and expand educational opportunities for their judiciary. Cantone earlier served as a nuclear weapons analyst at U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), working on the treaty negotiation team for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which sought to further reduce and limit the number of nuclear weapons held by the U.S. and Russia.

In addition to his government work, Cantone publishes regularly in psychology and legal journals on topics such as improving legal decision-making processes and, in 2024, published his first co-edited book, The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Legal Decision-making. From 2018 to 2023, he served on executive councils for the American Psychological Association and the American Psychology-Law Society. He also serves as an adjunct professor at George Mason University.