Park Board Information

Park Board meetings are held twice monthly on Thursdays. These public meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Winnetka Park District Administrative Office, 540 Hibbard Road. For more information, please call (847) 501-2040.

Resident's Guide to Park Board Meetings

Carolyn Kurtz, President, 449 Sunset Rd., (847) 446-5061
Kurtz, her husband and two children have lived in Winnetka for thirteen years. Their children attend Washburne and New Trier Schools. Currently, Kurtz is Senior Counsel and Director of Public/Governmental Affairs at the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care in Skokie. Kurtz earned a bachelor's and a master's from Northwestern University and a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. In 2001, she received a master's in health law from Loyola University of Chicago. Kurtz was an attorney with two Baltimore law firms before moving to Winnetka. She has expertise in municipal bond finance and governmental affairs. Kurtz was a volunteer at the Winnetka Community Nursery School, Greeley and Skokie Schools and has helped raise funds for the Harkness House of Children. She has in-depth knowledge of issues facing the Board and is committed to developing a long-term plan for the Park District keeping in mind the desires of its constituents. 

Kurtz currently is a Park Board representative to the Village Committee and Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association (NSSRA).

Ian Sherman, Vice President, 923 Oak, (847) 501-4829
Sherman, his wife and three children have been Winnetka residents for 17 years. Currently he is an attorney and partner with the law firm of Dykema Gossett PLLC, formerly Rooks Pitts, in Chicago, where he has practiced for 29 years. He graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana and earned a law degree from Boston University School of Law.

Community Service:

Sherman currently is a Park Board representative to the Village Committee and the Willow Road Enhancement Committee.

Richard Pierce, Commissioner, 1550 Tower Rd. , (847) 446-5967
Pierce and his wife have resided in Winnetka for fifteen years.  Their son currently attends The Skokie School. Pierce received his B.A. in History from Lawrence University, M.A. in History from University of Toronto, M.S. in Education from Northwestern University and his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law.  For the past thirteen years he has been teaching Advanced Placement European History and Constitutional Law at A.E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.  During that time he served as a consultant to the College Board AP Program.

Preceding his career in education, Pierce held the position of Associate Counsel at Francorp, a franchise development consulting firm.  For the previous thirteen years he was an independent futures trader at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Pierce served on the Board of Directors of the Old Willow Club as Director of Buildings and
Grounds.

Pierce currently is Park Board representative to the Outdoor Pool Task Force and the Winnetka Parks Foundation.

Susan Snyder, Commissioner, 1097 Ash St., (847) 501-5161
Snyder has a Bachelors of Science in Economics from University of the Pacific and an MBA from Harvard. She worked for AT&T Wireless as their VP President of Operations. She has served as Crow Island PTA president. Snyder has lived in Winnetka for 15 years. She has 3 active boys.

Snyder currently is Park Board representative to the Outdoor Pool Task Force.

John Thomas, Commissioner, 525 Ash St. , (847) 446-5401
Thomas and his wife have lived in Winnetka for 31 years. They have two married sons who went to  Winnetka grade schools and New Trier H.S. He attended The University of Michigan College of Engineering and School of Business Administration, earning both a BS and MBA in 1958. Now retired, he was in management of both companies and consultancies. He continues to publish The Procter & Gamble Alumni directory as a charitable fund raiser.

Thomas was 1999 Caucus Parks Chair and 2000 Caucus Chair. In 2002-04 he served on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Commission. Thomas was a board member of the Winnetka Youth Organization in 1986-2004 and twice chaired that board.

He currently serves on boards of the No. Illinois Girl Scouts Council, United Way-North Shore and chairs United Way-Winnetka/Northfield. His prior experiences in business, multiple boards and community service bring a broad perspective to the challenges and opportunities facing the Park District Board.

Thomas currently is Park Board representative to the Plan Commission and liaison to the Caucus Council.

Bob Vanden Bosch, Commissioner, 1570 Asbury, (8470 446-8412
Vanden Bosch, was born in Chicago in 1936. He was educated at Georgetown University (philosophy and English, 1958) and University of Chicago (MBA, 1964). He has been a Winnetka resident since 1970.

His entire business career was spent with Harris Bank Organization, a total of 41 years. The first 27 years involved commercial/international banking responsibilities including an 8 year stint running the bank’s London branch and 4 years running the firm’s overall international endeavors. In 1986, Bob moved over to Harris Investment Management as a Senior Partner heading up the client service/portfolio management unit. He retired in June, 2000.

In retirement, Bob serves as a Board member of Executive Service Corps and previously served as Board member of the Winnetka Zoning Appeals Board, United Way – Winnetka/Northfield, United Way North Shore and Advisory Board united Way Metropolitan Chicago. He is a Trustee of the Executive Service Corps Endowment fund.

He has been married for 42 years to Nan and has two daughters, Julie and Molly, living in Virginia and the Middle East.