We have spent time gathering the opinions and thoughts from local schools and organizations to help us better meet the needs of their district and students. We have and will add programming based on these conversations and are truly interested in developing partnerships with all districts and families.
We are committed to creating a well-rounded faculty and welcome input to help us reach our goal of creating a truly diverse community. Our Advisory Board reflects our efforts in this area, and we will recruit talented professionals from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Meet our team…
Mike Nekritz, Co-Founder/Principal
Mike has thoroughly enjoyed his career in education beginning as a social studies instructor and concluding as superintendent. He has served as a high school principal, dean of students, department chair, and coach. Mike has worked in Cook, Lake, and DuPage counties and has extensive experience with at-risk and special education students. Mike earned three degrees at Northwestern University and is proud of his unique perspectives on education due in part to his MBA education, his time in the private sector, and his life experiences.
Kent Sullens, Co-Founder/Special Education Director
Mr. Sullens is one of our valued co-owners at Felicity School. His open heart, open mind and over thirty years of experience working with special education families, local districts and community agencies are what make Felicity a wonderful place for staff and students alike. Mr. Sullens is known for always giving our students chances to grow academically as well as engaging them in hands-on projects around the school such as helping put together sports equipment or assisting in making waffles for students and staff. Not only does Kent teach one of our high school classes and assists Mr. Nekritz in co-ownership of our school, but he also is our Special Education Director at Felicity and makes sure communication with our school districts are smooth, in and out of meetings to create great individualized plans for student success. Kent’s wonderful sense of humor and levelheaded nature is also a great addition to our team and helps make students comfortable at Felicity to grow in socially, emotionally and academically
Dr. Susan Barker, Principal
Dr. Susan Barker has served in multiple roles as teacher and administrator in the general and special education settings, serving students from Early Childhood through Transition age. As a teacher, Dr Barker started at the primary levels teaching in general education classrooms. She quickly found her passion working with special education students and held a variety of instructional and administrative positions in both the public and private settings. Most recently, Dr. Barker was very involved in developing programs that provided special education students with the opportunity to be educated in their home school. Sue also enjoys working with animals, and over the years has partnered with her certified therapy dogs to help students with social emotional needs while at school.
Jenny Sugarman, Administrative Assistant
Ms. Sugarman is part of Felicity’s administrative team and focuses on providing a variety of lunch options for students and staff. She looks for creative and new ways to incorporate celebrations and fun into the school day. Ms. Sugarman is a former preschool and kindergarten enrichment teacher who enjoys working with kids. She is devoted to her family and loves to read and travel.
Amy Curley, Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Curley is excited to work at Felicity School as an administrative assistant. She has worked in a school setting for over 20 years, and for the last 15 years she has worked as an administrative assistant. She enjoys the opportunity to build positive relationships with both students and staff. Mrs. Curley enjoys watching the Chicago Bears (even if they don’t win), spending time with family, and traveling, especially to Utah to see her two children.
Cheryl Wright, Lead Teacher
Ms. Wright is a Felicity lead teacher and has a proven track record of success with special needs students throughout her extensive career. Ms. Wright is from the area, matriculated from Northern Illinois University, and brings a wide array of expertise to the Felicity team. In addition to her teaching career, Ms. Wright has an entrepreneurial spirit which she displayed as a part of developing successful retail businesses including a family restaurant. Ms.Wright is committed to her wonderful husband and son. In her free time, Ms. Wright enjoys traveling and can be seen participating in local Zumba classes.
Melisa Weaver, Teacher
Mrs. Weaver earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Chicago and holds an MBA from The Ohio State University. After working in the telecommunications industry, she found her passion for working in education and received her master’s degree in teaching from National Louis University. Mrs. Weaver enjoys spending time with her family and cheering for the White Sox.
Taylor Nightingale, Teacher
Ms. Nightingale is a teacher and graduate from Illinois State University. She received her Bachelors in Special Education. Taylor also has her Paraprofessional License and worked two summers in an Early Childhood Autism Program. She has three semesters of field experience, two were in high schools and the third was at a therapeutic day school. Taylor is excited to begin her teaching career and build positive relationships with all students and staff at Felicity.
Stephanie Horwitz, Teacher
Ms. Horwitz is our newest teacher at Felicity. Stephanie received her undergraduate degree from DePaul University in Elementary Education with minor in Psychology. Stephanie went on to obtain her Master’s in Special Education from Northeastern University. Stephanie has approximately 20 years of teaching experience, with a brief leave from teaching to pursue other avenues of the education field and making a difference. In her free time, Stephanie loves physical fitness and working out as well as spending time with family. Stephanie’s favorite quote for her role in this field is as follows, “It’s not about your disability, it’s about your ability”.
Michael Farca, Teacher
Mr. Farca is excited to be starting his first-year teaching at Felicity. After beginning his career in Special Education at Grayslake North High School, his alma mater, he is also a proud graduate of Illinois State University (Go Birds) in English Studies. In his spare time, Mr. Farca is a part time actor on both screen and stage, he hopes to bring the perspective and experience to Felicity students.
Lynn Mitchem, Paraprofessional
Mr. Mitchem has been with Felicity as a paraprofessional for a number of years now. Mr. Mitchem has an impressive past of previous basketball experience and is always willing to act as referee at a CAAEL game or shoot some hoops with a couple students during a movement break. Mr. Mitchem is also known around Felicity for being the designated “happy birthday” singer for students and staff with his beautiful voice. Most importantly, Mr. Mitchem is the perfect person to go to when you need some positivity on a challenging day. Felicity is honored to have him as one of our resident paraprofessionals!
Jacob Townsend, Paraprofessional
Mr. Townsend loves working with children and students of all ages! Growing up in Northbrook, Jacob graduated from Glenbrook North High School, and attended Illinois State University. At Glenbrook North, Jacob played football, lacrosse, and was a bowler as well. Jacob went on to bowl all four years at Illinois State for the Redbirds after realizing his 5’9 frame was not a prototypical “build” the NFL is looking for. After previously working as a youth sports camp, and program director, he is excited to bring a positive attitude and high energy to the classroom! When Jacob isn’t locking down the students on the court during Gym Class, you can probably find him at any assortment of local bowling alleys. A cheesehead at heart, he spends year after year watching the Packers get so close, yet so far away.
Matt Gielow, Paraprofessional
Matt enjoys working with kids of all ages! While studying at the College of Lake County, Matt worked full time in restaurants. He brings over 14 years of experience working in the restaurant industry, specializing in working alongside new team members in a training and management role. When not in the workplace, Matt enjoys playing video games or playing board games with friends. Matt is an avid Black Hawks fan and looks forward to seeing their rebuild come to fruition (and the Stanley Cup one day!).
Mike Skinner, Paraprofessional
Otherwise known as Coach, Mike has worked in residential for 10 years, psychological hospitals for 5 years, been a TA for 20 years, and has been coaching Basketball for 27 years!
Sofie Solomon, Paraprofessional
Ms. Sofie is excited to be joining the Felicity team as a paraprofessional! She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2023 with a BS in Psychology and a minor in child health and well-being. She has many years of experience working with children through nannying and working as a behavior therapist. Ms. Sofie is also going to graduate school in the fall to get her MA in professional counseling. Ms. Sofie is excited to begin her career and build positive relationships with all students and staff at Felicity.
Lawrence Patrick, Paraprofessional
Collin Patrick, Paraprofessional
Collin is happy to have the opportunity to work at Felicity School and lead our students towards a positive path to success. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work at the University of St. Thomas in 2022, located in St. Paul, Minnesota. After he graduated, he became a school counselor at a catholic school named St. Joseph Catholic Academy and worked with students grades Pre-K – 5th. He also played football for the same university for all 4 years and became a high school football coach at the same school he was counselor in. He enjoys watching or talking about sports, spending time with friends and family and is excited to work at Felicity School.
Tian Tian, Social Worker
Tian grew up in China and got her bachelor’s degree in social work and master’s degree in Education from two Chinese universities and then came to US for her PhD study of social work. She received her PhD and Master of Social Work degrees from the University of Utah in 2015 and worked as an educator of social work for 6 years in a small college. She is passionate about directly working with children and youth and is excited for the opportunity of working with the students in Felicity.
Scott Gielow, Counselor
Scott is a veteran counselor who has extensive experience working with young people understands the complexities facing students. With an expertise in substance abuse, Scott has been encouraging students make more positive choices. He has has worked with parent and family services within residential and outpatient programs for over 25 years. Scott has also provided counseling and support to at-risk children with mental disorders, along with parent support in several mental health mentoring programs. Scott is a part-time Felicity team member and assists all staff by collaborating with clinicians, teachers and co-facilitating two groups a week with Felicity students.
Madeline Mitchell, Social Worker
Carmela Medina, Art Therapist
Ms. Medina brings the artistic touch to Felicity School as our Art Therapist/ Counselor. Her passion for art and helping other is obvious to everyone that meets her. She is bilingual, and also has extensive experience in case management, and advocating for services and the rights of individuals and families in crisis. A graduate of the University of Illinois – Chicago, Carmela and her art studio provides great creative opportunities for Felicity students.
Catrina Hayes, Reading Specialist
Catrina is a Wilson Language Trainer who specializes in teaching decoding/spelling as well as reading comprehension. She is passionate about facilitating literacy development to prepare students for their optimal adult life. When not working with Felicity students, Catrina spends time training teachers locally and nationally on best practices for teaching reading.
Karen Schur, Speech Language Pathologist
Karen joined Felicity School’s clinical team as a Speech Language Pathologist. She strives to help her students become better communicators both in and out of the school setting. She believes that it is important for everyone to be able to articulate their thoughts effectively at all times.
Karen received her degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Illinois State University. She has worked as a clinician in public and private schools as well as in private practice throughout the northern suburbs. In her free time, Karen enjoys spending time with her family and friends along with traveling, knitting, reading and boating.
Lisa Johnson – COTA – Occupational Therapy
Lisa thoroughly enjoys coming to Felicity and providing Occupational therapy and consultations for students. Lisas career began with the Calhoun school district in Michigan and eventually continued to IL when she married her husband. Lisa’s favorite thing about therapy is being creative and being able to watch a student improve and enjoy their success. In addition to her therapy career, Lisa loves the outdoors, growing things, and camping with her family. In her spare time, she enjoys a good book and hanging out with her dog & family.
Donna Ianson- Job Coach
I come to Felicity as a retired teacher with 35 years of experience in the Special Ed Field. I have a bachelor’s from SIU in Special education and a master’s in administration from Northeastern University. During my last 15 years, I was a Transition teacher, as well as a vocational director assisting students prepare for life after high school. I am the mother of three and enjoy spending time with them as well as volunteering at a local cat rescue.
What’s In a Name?
‘Felicity’ has several meanings for us and provides a great representation of our school, values, and qualities that we strive to develop in our staff and students.
Felicity – The Definition
The word felicity states our approach to education. School must be a tremendous learning environment, but it also should be an enjoyable experience!
- The quality or state of being happy; especially: great happiness, joy
- A source of happiness
- A pleasing manner or quality especially in art or language
- A skillful faculty: felicity of expression
Felicia Beth Nekritz
Felicia Beth Nekritz was a wonderful person committed to the rights of others and the belief that all human beings deserve the best possible advocacy. For Felicia, this manifested itself in her passion in the State’s Attorney’s office where she served as a Juvenile Defense Lawyer. She held the fundamental belief that all people are inherently good. She feverishly defended at-risk youth and spent her spare time volunteering as a legal assistance to the homeless.
Most importantly, Felicia was a vibrant soul who enjoyed life and made life better for all whom she touched. She was an athlete, writer, lawyer, and good friend to many. Despite succumbing to breast cancer in her twenties, Felicia still serves as an inspiration to many. Felicity School is committed to living up to the high ethical and moral standards demonstrated by Felicia Beth Nekritz throughout her short life. We are incredibly proud to be tied to her spirit with our name.
Advisory Panel
Click here to learn more about our Advisory Panel members
