
Kurt Thurmaier, Ph.D
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
Kurt founded TDS in 2008 with his wife, Jeanine. In addition to serving as President, he is also the Chair of the Public Administration Department 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
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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.