Politics & Government

Jeanne Marie Dauray: College of Lake County Board Candidate

Jeanne Marie Dauray is among five candidates running for two seats on the CLC Board.

Name: Jeanne Marie Dauray

Age: 41

Family: Married with a three year old son, while having co-purchased a home with my mother in Round Lake

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Education: AA from the College of Lake County, BA from Chatham College for Women, Paralegal Certificate from Roosevelt University

Occupation: Political Coordinator —working with national issue teams that address policy and legislation through a large group of coalition partners, and connecting this back to US Congressional members and legislative aides in order to assist in the crafting and/or promotion of various pieces of legislation and other political agenda items.

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Previous Elected or Appointed Offices: Precinct Committee Person - appointed in 2011, elected in 2012

Other community involvement: Currently, I do not have any one organization that I give significant time to exclusively, however, I do attend events, donate my time to various causes, collect items for donation to Nicasa, provide free tutoring and educational assistance, and provide pro-bono legal assistance in the area of family law where appropriate.

In the past (before my 3-year-old was born) I started a tutoring program for inner city high school students, coordinated an annual event that provided Easter baskets for children whose mothers’ were incarcerated due to drug abuse issues, assisted in the coordination of women’s healthcare events at college campuses, was a team captain for Christmas in April, occasionally assisted as a food server at a soup kitchen, was a trained facilitator for Rainbows (a group that helps children who have experienced the loss of a parent through divorce, death, or other circumstances), taught Sunday School/CCD with Confirmation preparation, volunteered at a pregnancy crisis and resource center, and have worked on many other projects and events over the years.

Position sought: Trustee on the Board at the College of Lake County

Campaign E-mail address: Jeanne_dauray@hotmail.com

Campaign committee: None

Campaign Website: None         

Campaign Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/DaurayforCLC

Campaign Twitter: None

Why are you running?

I have been a student off and on at the College of Lake County (CLC) since 1991, I received my Associate’s degree from CLC in 2005, I worked in the Writing Center as a tutor between 2005 and 2006, and my husband has been a part-time faculty member there since 2005. I, my friends, and my family have taken traditional classes, adult education and continuing education classes, participated in clubs and events on the campus, attended performances, forged lifelong friends through both classmates and faculty members, and continue to enjoy the resources that CLC has to offer. In light of all that the college has provided, I wanted to take this opportunity to try and give something back to an institution that has had such a positive impact on my life. I want to be a part of the board in order to help preserve and continue to improve the wonderful services that the College of Lake County provides to its residents, and to insure that others are able to enjoy those benefits as I have.
 
In what ways would the College of Lake County benefit from your service?

I feel that given my intimate relationship with the college over such a long duration of time, and due to my diverse experiences in the workplace and otherwise, I will help to bring a unique perspective to the board. I am not that far away from having been a student and having encountered some of the issues that many traditional and non-traditional students have. Additionally, with my husband being a part-time faculty member, this also gives me another unique perspective in relation to the college and, thus, I could provide a unique voice that is not currently represented on the board.
 
What is the biggest challenge the college faces and what should be done to address it?

I think the college is facing many challenges currently. The most obvious one is the shrinking funding to education. Currently, the state of Illinois is in financial trouble and the pension issue still looms large, and the mood in Washington is towards cutting funding. This means that the options for resources are shrinking, leaving tuition and/or property tax hikes the only other obvious avenues. That being said, we also know that the college is in good shape financially, however, we want to keep it there. Thus, I feel that we need to examine how resources are allocated, to continuously re-examine which programs are the most and least beneficial, how the ever changing demographics in Lake County affect the needs of the community in relation to the college, and what other possible revenue streams could be created. I am sure through continuous and intelligent evaluations, along with creative problem solving, that the College of Lake County can continue on its current successful path well into the future, and I would like to a part of creating those plans.

What do you think the college does well?

I believe the college does a tremendous number of things well. The quality of courses and instructors are on par with many high ranking universities in this country. The campus, while centrally located, continues to find ways to reach out to every area of the county, either through satellite campuses, the new mobile classrooms, online offerings, or working through various businesses and organizations in order to provide education wherever it is needed. The visual and performing arts at CLC are excellent and enrich not just the students, but the community at large. The array of services, vocational training, continuing education, certification classes, walk-in services and assistance, and other programs being offered are wonderful. I could go on, but as I stated earlier, there is a lot the college does very well.
 
What should be some of the college's priorities over the next several years?

I think there are two priorities the college needs to be looking at for the future. The first is “green” initiatives that promote sustainability and will help to cut the college’s long term expenses. Currently, there are long range plans in place, which appear to moving in a positive direction. The second is the changing demographics in Lake County, which is a bit more complex, since one must take into account the changing ethnic, religious, and economic factors throughout the county. As the workforce changes, so do the businesses and work options in our area. That being said, we need to consider how this affects what we are offering to students and whether or not it will meet their needs in the future. I also had a student come up to me recently to discuss if the college should have a role in immigration reform. This is a serious question given that one-third of Lake County is made up of “minority” populations that have seen a growth rate of over 50% between 2000 and 2010. Thus, while the college does much to continuously address the needs of the community, we may need to be thinking about things much differently than we ever have before, because those changes may have to do with situations the college has not yet had to encounter.  

What else would you like voters to know?

I have been a resident of Lake County for nearly 40 years. During my 20’s and 30’s I moved around the country multiple times, in addition to spending time abroad, while keeping Lake County as my home base in between. In the end, my husband and I chose to make our first and only home purchase here, in Lake County. It is a place I consider home, it is where I have my roots, and it is a community that I am committed to.

Additionally, due to my background, I bring a wealth of experiences to the table. Early on I worked at or with staff from various federal agencies in the Washington, DC area on small business projects and IT solutions. I have worked in the capacity of a writer, researcher, and editor. I served as a cultural liaison within the international banking community assisting multi-national teams with coming to the table through understanding one and others cultural, religious, and political differences without hostility in order to achieve better solutions. In more recent years I have done work as a volunteer coordinator, worked on campaign strategies, and briefed federal level candidates on upcoming pieces of legislation, in addition to being involved in the actual creation of policy proposals.

Given my unique background and my commitment to Lake County, I feel that I could provide an informed and intelligent contribution to the Board of Trustees, the College of Lake County, and the community at large. Additionally, given the arenas that I have and currently do work in, I have always made good working relationships a priority. That being said, coupled with the fact that this is a six year appointment, I feel that I would not only be a positive addition to the board, but a positive force within it, in terms of the continued promotion of good working relationships among the members themselves.


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