Find out more about Maureen by watching clips from her interviews below with the 22 members of the 109 Caucus.

Maureen Wener attended 109 schools as a child and returned to the community as a resident in 2008 with her husband. Her son, Keegan, is now a fourth grader at Wilmot.

"Of all the suburban towns in which to live, my husband and I chose Deerfield in which to raise our family because of its vibrant community, cultural offerings, and world-class schools," Maureen said.

Maureen was elected to the Deerfield Library Board in 2015, where she has served as its president and currently as its secretary. She also volunteers, or has volunteered, for various causes in the community such as the park district, village board caucus, and Wilmot’s PTO, and serves as an official notary and deputy registrar.

Maureen says she is running for the DPS 109 Board of Education because the school district has been in a state of transition—even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The choices we make and paths we choose will greatly affect the quality of education we provide for our children for years to come," Maureen says. "How we plan to emerge from this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, implementing new lessons learned and putting the best systems and structures in place will impact our district, educators, students, and families for the foreseeable future."

Generating and Implementing New Ideas

Maureen plans on bringing new ideas and new ways of approaching concerns and implementing recommendations, as she has on the Deerfield Library Board.

As examples, she cites her accomplishment of advocating for a comprehensive strategic plan to build a budget to use levied tax dollars more efficiently. Additionally, she encouraged the library board to consider creating a flexible space to host innovative resources, which eventually became its popular new "MakerSpace."

As part of her platform , "We all win with Wener," she proposes the following:

• • • Increasing opportunities for community input on proposed changes;

    • Professionalizing and standardizing district communications with state-of-the-art communication tools;

    • Exploring new ways to evaluate social-emotional learning and its impact on students, especially as they transition back to in-person learning;

    • Enhancing Partnerships with local organizations to elevate students’ skills and learning;

    • Promoting, educating, and celebrating more diversity in D109;

    • Implementing crisis management and recovery plans into the strategic plan;

    • Seeking out and sharing best practices among peer districts;

    • Building life-skills programming, like financial literacy and relationship building, into D109 schools; and

    • Planning for recovery post-COVID-19, with a task force that seeks better understand teachers needs and support to better serve students.

Education and Professional Background

Maureen holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from the University of Kansas and Northeastern University, respectively. Prior to staying home with her son, she worked in government and for global nonprofits. Among her experiences, she has served as chief of staff to an Illinois state senator and worked in external relations for Rotary International.

"I love Deerfield," Maureen says, "volunteering my talents and skills on the School Board will be another way to give back to the community that has given all of us so much."

To learn more about Maureen, please follow her on Facebook at Win with Wener.