Board of Trustees
Bernard Akatu
Granger, Indiana
Curt Bailey
P ’23
Chicago, Illinois
Meg Caplice ’81
P ’10, ’12, ’14, ’17, ’19
Michigan City, Indiana
#whylalu
La Lumiere is about stepping outside your comfort zone and finding a whole community supporting you there and relishing your success.
Terri Carmichael Jackson
P ’17
Germantown, TN
#WhyLaLu
For our family, La Lumiere is more than a terrific school community nestled in the northwest corner of the state. For us, it is where our son came into his own, excelled. And where my husband and I learned how to parent a young adult.
Ryugo Kato ‘92
P '23
Tokyo, Japan
#WHYLALU
For me, La Lumiere was not just a school. In many ways, it was indeed my second home during my high school years, and I must say it was, without any doubt, the wide range of people of this community who had provided this “Home” for me. It is my time to pay back (or forward), and I am honored to be able to come back to the community that helped me to become who I am today.
Michael Kennedy ‘86
P '18
Chicago, Illinois
#WHYLALU
If you are a La Lumiere student, you are a part of a community where you are known and seen for who you are, where you will be cared for and academically challenged by the faculty, and where all those around you take a vested interest in your success. The La Lumiere student is part of a family and you will graduate with life-long friends, be well-prepared to succeed in college, and you will be equipped for a bright future where you will do well and do good.
Dan Kerrigan ’80
Hong Kong
#WHYLALU
I often tell young people the biggest mistake you can make is to not set your expectations high enough. La Lumiere is a place where you can discover and cultivate your gifts, and become the best version of yourself.
Keith Krause ’94
Park Ridge, Illinois
#whylalu
La Lumiere nurtures both the body and spirit through the freedom to explore ideas and cultures in a safe and open setting.
Mark McNabola ‘77
Chicago, IL
#WHYLALU
La Lumiere provides a chance of a lifetime for students to develop study skills and positive character traits that will serve them well throughout their lives. It also provides an opportunity to build lifelong friendships and memories.
Shetal Patel
P '19, '20
Granger, Indiana
#whylalu
As a La Lumiere trustee it is an honor to be involved in enhancing the future through education and inspiration.
John E. Rose ’94
Chicago, Illinois
Colleen Smith
P ’14, ’16, ’19, '21, '24
Richland, Michigan
#whylalu
La Lu is a second home for the Smith Family - compassion, faith, cultural, academic and athletic support on a daily basis has created a nurturing and morally sound environment for our children.
Bridget Van Eekeren ’88
P ’13, ’16, ’17, '25
Western Springs, Illinois
#whylalu
Because high school should be more than classes, grades and ACT prep, it should be a place where you can grow up, learn who you are, make mistakes and feel accepted. La Lu feels like home, and that feeling never leaves you.
Daniel Walsh ’95, Chair
Chicago, Illinois
#whylalu
La Lumiere isn’t just a school; La Lumiere is a family.
Britt Whitfield
Chicago, Illinois
#whylalu
La Lumiere is more than just a school, it’s a center point from which positive culture, community, and education radiate. It supports and bolsters a child’s strengths and gives them the confidence to address their weaknesses. The headmaster and all staff are clear, straightforward, warm and enthusiastic. If La Lu’s structure was replicated across America, we’d have a more thoughtful, more dynamic population of students.
Father Wayne Watts
Chicago, Illinois
#WHYLALU
I am from the Chicagoland area and am Pastor of Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Church in Wilmette. My why… I have been associated with La Lumiere for nearly forty years, about a third of them as a board member. The students and graduates exemplify character, scholarship, and living faith.
Andy Webster, Head of School
Brattleboro, Vermont
#WHYLALU
Because it provides a community of kindness and commitment to growth and learning for all of its students, challenging and guiding them to develop the inner resources they will need to be constructive and engaged citizens of the world.