Kristin was first elected to the District 203 Board of Education in 2013. After being reelected in 2017, she was named President of the Board of Education by her fellow Board Members in 2017.
Kristin is a tireless advocate for the success of every student, championing the high achievement of all students and working to close achievement gaps. Kristin has volunteered extensively with SUCCESS, District’s 203’s family led organization founded to empower African-American/Black students and other students of color and their families to enhance academic performance, foster family-school connectedness, and ensure that everyone is welcomed, valued, and respected. For her school board advocacy and work with SUCCESS, Kristin was awarded the Illinois State Board of Education’s Award of Excellence for Outstanding Contributions to Illinois Education in 2018.
In her role as a school board member, Kristin has taken an active advocacy role. She is Co-Chair of the Legislative Education Network of DuPage. Kristin has also written Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) resolutions and testified on behalf of IASB before the Illinois General Assembly. Kristin has been awarded the IASB Master School Board Member every year since 2015-2016.
In addition to her work on the board, Kristin volunteers at Jefferson Junior High and Naperville North High School where her three daughters attend school, as a part of the Home and School Association and the School Family Community Partnership. Kristin is active in the community, serving as a part of the Advisory Team for Naperville Neighbors United. She has also volunteered as a Naperville Park District soccer coach and as a part of the Naperville Settlement Museum Board.
Kristin worked for twelve years in Washington D.C. as an education and health care policy analyst, providing counsel on legislation such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Individuals with Disability Education Act. After working on Capitol Hill, she founded her own policy firm, Fitzgerald Consulting, where she worked until her husband’s death from cancer.
Since her husband’s death from stomach cancer in 2009, Kristin has been a strong advocate for more funding for research to cure this deadly disease. In her advocacy work she has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce and Appropriations Committees. She has also served on the Corporate Advisory Board of Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer.
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