Dr. Kevin Jauch will tell you that he has been “raising other people’s children” since 1984, when he first started coaching gymnastics at the Palatine Park District as a high school sophomore. What started out as an opportunity to make a few dollars eventually paid his way through college and helped him discover the path he would choose as a career.

Kevin has lived in the North Cook region his entire life and is proud of his Associate Degree from Harper College in Palatine and his B.A. from National-Louis University in Evanston. He began his education career teaching 5th and 6th grade in CCSD15 at Lake Louise Elementary School.

While at Lake Louise, Kevin met and married his wife Lisa, who still teaches primary-age students there. Together they have two adult children, Jeff and Chase, who are following their dreams: Jeff facilitates live music performances, and Chase is working on his master’s in Education with a focus on environmental science.

After earning his M.A. in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University, Kevin spent the next 10 years of his career in CCSD 15, four years as an Assistant Principal and the next six years as a Principal.

In 2006, he joined Avoca School District 37, where he served as a Principal for five years, while working on his doctorate from NIU. Dr. Jauch became the Superintendent of Avoca, and is proud of the work that was done on strategic planning, aligning curriculum, and negotiating a win-win contract with the teachers’ union. After eight years as Superintendent of Avoca, Dr. Jauch joined the North Cook ISC / Regional Office of Education #5 in July 2019 as the Regional Superintendent of Schools.

Dr. Jauch immensely enjoys his role serving the students, teachers and administrators of the North Cook region. He was recently honored by the North Cook Superintendent Association as their Superintendent of Distinction for the 2021 school year.

Kevin is a huge music fan with over 29,000 songs in his music library. He is an avid scuba diver and hiker. Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin is his home away from home, and his happy place is wherever his wife is.

kjauch@ncisc.org • 847-803-5600

Dr. April Jordan joined the North Cook ISC/Regional Office of Education #5 in 2019 as Assistant Regional Superintendent and Assistant Executive Director, and has been instrumental in supporting North Cook districts in the areas of curriculum and instruction, student services, and educator professional development.

Dr. Jordan obtained her B.S. degree from The State University of New York at Oswego in Elementary and Middle School Education where she was also a tri-sport collegiate athlete. She completed her master’s in Educational Leadership & Administration from Northern Arizona University. Pursuant of her doctoral degree, April studied Curriculum and Social Inquiry at National-Louis University. With a focus on social action, she researched the transformative nature of social action on female educators around the world.

April spent two and a half years in the U.S. Peace Corps in Thailand. Living in a small village and working with rural schools, she also partnered with the Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Thai Embassy. As director of Women in Development, a nonprofit organization founded by Peace Corps volunteers, she and her team assisted marginalized women across Thailand.

Upon returning to the States, April settled in Phoenix, Arizona where she taught English at inner city and rural desert schools. She ventured to the Midwest to further explore her career in education, teaching and coaching in the south suburbs of Chicago. April became a Curriculum Coordinator for middle schools and opened a new, diverse elementary school in the Valley View School District as the Assistant Principal.

Active in educational leadership, April was recognized by the National Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) as an Emerging Leader in 2007, one of only 14 educators in both the U.S. and Canada.

She also served as President of the South Suburban Illinois ASCD and as the Illinois ASCD Regional Representative for Region 5 for multiple years. Today, she is a member of the Illinois ASCD Board. As an international speaker, she traveled to Curaçao, Netherlands-Antilles with the Illinois ASCD to speak on the life of a new administrator. In addition, April served on the Board of the Illinois Principals Association (IPA) and was honored with the John A. Ourth Professional Development Scholarship in 2010.

Dr. Jordan earned a National NCLB Blue Ribbon Award while serving as principal at elementary schools in Mt. Prospect and Winnetka. Both schools also earned the Illinois Bright Red Apple Award and the Illinois Award of Academic Excellence. In her role as Director of Extended Services & Staff Development in Barrington School District 220, April worked to advance underrepresented students in gifted and talented programming. She has taught at National-Louis University and Concordia University as an adjunct instructor.

April is proud to have authored her first children’s book, Sweet Lily Pitter-Patter, What You Do Surely Matters (To the Trees & the Bumbling Bees) in 2014 and expanded into adult fiction in 2018. Her passions outside education are writing, paddle boarding, and photography.

ajordan@ncisc.org • 847-803-5604

Amy Stewart is an ICF certified, international leadership and wellbeing coach with multiple years of experience coaching individuals across all levels and functions at Fortune 500 and non-profit organizations. Her specialties include leadership development, diversity and inclusion, effective communication, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, change management, stress management, and resiliency. She is passionate about helping her clients focus on what is most important to them, achieve their goals, and bring out their empowered selves.

Amy graduated from DePaul University in Chicago and has a Masters in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. In addition to coaching, Amy is a Learning and Development Consultant with over 18+ years of experience successfully building and implementing solid, quality change management solutions to support organizations’ goals and objectives.  

Amy’s Coaching Philosophy

“I am an empowering coach that creates a safe space, with a dash of fun, that allows my clients to be authentic and real as they explore living their greatest life, both professionally and personally. As a coach, I value that my clients are naturally resourceful and that we will create a partnership that will allow them to maximize their potential and reach their goals. My coaching approach is to help my clients build self-awareness and to realize that their inner resources of knowledge and wisdom are at their fingertips. I hold my clients accountable to achieving the life and outcomes of their choosing.”

Three words that describe Amy’s coaching style are Compassionate, Supportive, and Encouraging

Amy is married and lives in the north suburbs of Chicago. She loves to travel, read, watch foreign movies, and play the guitar.  

Dr. Jean Sophie is a retired superintendent having served in both Lake Bluff Elementary School District 65 and Westchester School District 92 ½ for a total of 12 years.

She has been in the education field for almost 40 years serving as a high school business teacher, alternative high school instructor, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent for personnel in the state’s third largest elementary district and then as a Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Sophie has a wealth of experience in both elementary and high school districts in Illinois. She has also taught both Master’s and Doctoral level administration classes at Northern Illinois University.

In her career, Dr. Sophie has served on a state wellness committee, was President of both West Cook and Lake County Superintendents’ Associations, was President of the Illinois Association of School Personnel Administrators and was voted as the Lake County Superintendent of the Year in 2019 by her peers.

In her retirement, Dr. Sophie has managed construction projects at North Shore School District 112, has served as a principal mentor, and is a certified state teacher evaluation trainer for North Cook.