About

My husband and I moved to Glen Ellyn in 2006 and our oldest child began attending Lincoln Elementary in 2015. Our daughters are now in sixth and seventh grade at Hadley Jr. High. They have loved all their teachers and have flourished under the care of all the wonderful professionals that have made school feel like a second home to them.

I decided to run for re-election to the D41 school board because I believe in the promise of a high-quality public education. I've learned that our community wants to invest in students, celebrate strengths, and respectfully collaborate, to support continued excellence in a student-focused, data-driven, and financially sustainable way.

Thanks for taking the time to learn more about me. I'm glad you're here and I hope to earn your vote in April for D41 School Board.

Best,

Jess Buttimer

Professional Highlights

User Research Consultant
Prairie Food Co-op Board Member (start-up for-profit)
Raised $2.1M in community contributions and grants to fund the first community owned-grocery store in DuPage County
Developed a cross-platform app to support start-up grocery cooperatives across the US in managing their capital campaigns
Former GardenWorks Project Board Member (non-profit)
Studied Behavioral Science, Business, Communication, and Human-Computer Interaction

District 41 Highlights

Resident since 2006
Two daughters at Hadley Jr. High
Current D41 Board of Education Secretary and Finance Committee
D41 Kids Foundation Board Liaison
3.5 years on D41 BOE Policy Committee
3.5 years as Partnership for Educational Progress (PEP) Board Liaison
2 Years as PTA Council Secretary
D41-411 School Board Summaries
D41 Forward for Kids Referendum Communications
Lincoln PTA Website and Newsletter design

My Experience

Profession

I currently work as a user research consultant for a mental health provider in the UK. As a researcher, I have sold, designed, and led large global usability research and design engagements. I have traveled across the United States, Europe, and China to evaluate and improve cutting edge technologies.

Years of client management experience has taught me how to work well with others, manage expectations, be open to multiple perspectives, and collaborate towards consensus. As a researcher, I have learned to ask insightful questions, collect diverse data, avoid bias, and distill data into actionable information.

Board Experience

I have been serving on the District 41 Board of Education since 2019. I am currently the Board of Education Secretary, serve on the Finance Committee, and am the board liaison to the D41 Kids Foundation. For the past three and half years, I served on the Policy Committee and was the board liaison to PEP. I also am currently serving in a second 3-year term on the board of Prairie Food Co-op. In the past, I have been the chair of several committees for the Lincoln PTA and served two-year terms as Secretary for PTA Council and on the board of The GardenWorks Project.

Education

I earned a Bachelor of Behavioral Science, Communication, and Business from Millikin University and a Master of Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University.

Before joining the Board of Education in 2019

I have a long history of contributing to the D41 community and am proud of all that we have accomplished together.

D41 Kids Foundation

Through the work of 41 Forward, I found that many in our community wish to financially support our schools beyond taxpayer obligations. My work with the PTA confirmed that finding and highlighted difficulties in funding district-wide initiatives.

After organizing a few coffees to gauge interest in a District 41 Foundation, I co-led a planning workshop with Kathy Bayert. Our small group generated starting points for the foundation and identified next steps. The committee presented our plan to the D41 School Board in November 2018.

D41 Board of Education Meetings

Having attended a few Board of Education meetings during the referendum, I began to understand how difficult it is to be (and stay) fully informed. I began to wish that those "in the know" would summarize and report out what they observed. Without a timely source for summaries, I started to attend most meetings, often speaking during public participation. In May of 2017, with the help of other volunteers, we began posting agenda alerts and meeting summaries on our Facebook page, D41-411.

41 Forward for Kids - Referendum Committee

In January of 2017, I joined the 41 Forward for Kids committee that was successful in passing the referendum that expands and improves the safety and accessibility of our facilities, finally putting all students in permanent structures. I created the website, developed digital communications, and was instrumental in the development of brochures, info graphics, and mailers. It was important to me that our communications be clear, concise, accurate, and yet provide thorough context so voters could make the most informed decision.

41 Forward Brochure

41 Forward Poster

PTA Council

In November of 2017, I led a workshop with PTA Council to evaluate the alignment of PTA programs with the D41 Long Range Plan. At Lincoln, we then collaborated with Principal Schweikhofer to identify gaps in PTA programming and opportunities to shift focus.

Abe Lincoln PTA

After reading Beyond the Bakesale, I realized my expertise could best be used to enhance community engagement through clear and accessible communication. As a first step, I redesigned the Lincoln PTA website, newsletter, and Facebook page in 2016. The website has since been redesigned by fellow Lincoln parent, Don Mckenzie, founder of Digital Rein (who I can emphatically recommend after several engagements with GE organizations).