Kurt Thurmaier, Ph.D
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
Kurt founded TDS in 2008 with his wife, Jeanine. In addition to serving as President, he is also a Distinguished Engagement Professor in the Department of Public Administration at Northern Illinois University.
Tricia DeBoo, MPM
TREASURER
Tricia joined the TDS Board in 2011 and is the current Treasurer. She is a retired nurse and currently works in property management. Tricia also volunteers extensively in DeKalb County.
James Cohen, Ph.D
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2017
James is an Associate Professor of ESL/Bilingual Education at Northern Illinois University. He is a Fulbright Specialist and has been awarded multiple times in the areas of education, social justice, and diversity.
Jennie Hueber, Ed.D
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2019
Jennie spent her 30 year career in education, serving as both a teacher and administrator. She recently retired after serving as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction in the DeKalb School Distirct.
Paul Saeman
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2019
Now retired, Paul spent 37 years working in state and federal government, as well as the nonprofit sector. Through his career, he worked on programs focused on supporting low income families and social justice reform.
Jason Michnick, MPA
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2022
Jason became the first ED in 2019 after working in local economic development. He was a TDS study abroad student in 2015 and also served as Vice President of TDS between 2016 and 2018. He is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Eric Hill
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SINCE 2023
Eric joined the Board in 2023 and became the ED after a 20 year career in public education. Traveling with TDS to Tanzania in 2022, along with the successful summit of Kilimanjaro was a peak experience for him: it included the realization that big problems can be overcome with small steps, pole pole.
Edith Njuguna, MPP
VICE PRESIDENT
Edith joined the board in 2016 and currently serves as Vice President. She is also the Director of Programs and Policy Implementation for Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University.
Helen Martin, MSN
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2016
Helen worked at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics for 18 years before retiring from nursing. She currently teaches Medical Surgical Nursing at Edgewood College.
Renée Jones, PMP
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2023
Renée is a seasoned management consultant and project leader with extensive experience in delivering enterprise-wide transformation programs. Her passion lies in making a tangible impact on an organization's success by implementing transformative strategies that drive growth and sustainability. Her inspiring vacation-adventure to Tanzania/ Zanzibar led her to consult for TDS, and then onto the Board.
Stewart Chapman, JD
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2018
Stewart is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law and is currently a Staff Attorney specializing in individual bankruptcy reorganization in Chicago.
Joan Pahl
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2019
Joan recently retired from a career as healthcare administration and finance in Madison, Wisconsin. She is now an active volunteer with St. Vincent DePaul and Tanzania Development Support.
Maiga Muga
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2022
Maiga started as the 4HCP Coordinator in Musoma back in 2021. He recently was accepted into the African Studies Master's Program at University of Illinois!
Andrea Trudeau
BOARD MEMBER SINCE 2023
Andrea is a library information specialist serving middle school students in Deerfield, Illinois, with 25 years of experience as a public educator. She taught at Nyegina for two weeks in the summer of 2022 as a Fulbright-Hays Grant Scholar through Northern Illinois University. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at NIU researching the impact of virtual reality on adolescent students' empathic responses.