Jaime Barraza, Alexander Brunk, Rick Heineman and Jenny Lupa receive Caucus endorsement for School Board in upcoming April 2025 Election
District 113 Caucus Chair, Ben Wilner, is pleased to announce the Caucus endorsed candidates for the upcoming April 1, 2025 Election. Jaime Barraza, Alexander Brunk, Rick Heineman and Jenny Lupa have received Caucus endorsement to fill four open seats on the Township High School District 113 Board of Education serving Deerfield High School and Highland Park High School. Alexander Brunk will be running for the open two-year seat. The other three endorsed candidates are currently serving on the Board of Education and are seeking election to continue for upcoming four-year terms.
Five prospective candidates, three who are incumbent board members, submitted applications seeking Caucus endorsement. On October 20, 2024, the Caucus interviewed all five applicants and, after deliberations, endorsed Barraza, Brunk, Heineman and Lupa based upon each receiving more than the requisite two-thirds majority of Caucus member votes.
Candidate Bios
Jaime Barraza, a Highwood resident, was first elected to the Township High School District 113 Board of Education in 2021. He serves as the board vice president and is the chair of the Policy Committee. Professionally, he is the Chief Education Officer for the Education Research and Development Institute. Previously, Jaime worked in District 112 as the district-level administrator of Dual Language and also as a social studies and world language teacher. Jaime has a Master of Education degree in Leadership & Administration from Benedictine University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin American/Latino Studies from DePaul University. He was a founding board member of the Illinois Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents and has also served as a board member of the Highland Park Community Nursery School & Daycare Center. Jaime has one child in PreK and another in middle school.
Alexander Brunk is an analytics leader and dedicated community advocate, currently serving on the North Shore School District 112 Board of Education since 2017. Throughout his tenure, he has overseen district-wide improvements in curriculum and instruction, record student performance, and strengthened financial health. As Board President from 2021 to 2023, Alexander shepherded the district through the successful passage of a referendum to modernize aging elementary school buildings, ensuring they meet the needs of today’s students and educators. Professionally, Alexander has built a career in analytics and market research across the healthcare, retail, and public affairs sectors. With expertise in machine learning, data engineering, and statistical modeling, he has designed and implemented numerous analytical models and data processes that drive operational efficiency and improve decision-making. He currently leads an analytics team at Health Care Service Corporation in Chicago. A native of Deerfield, Alexander graduated from Deerfield High School and District 109 public schools before earning a Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Georgia Tech and a Master’s in Political Science from Virginia Tech. He and his wife, Karuna, live in southwest Highland Park with their four children, who are set to attend District 113 schools in the coming years.
Richard “Rick" Heineman, a Highland Park resident, is a retired CEO of a computer software company. Previously, Rick had a long-standing career in management at Quaker Oats and other Foodservice companies in technology, marketing, sales, and distribution-related activities. Rick has actively served on committees in both Districts 112 and 113 as well as civic commissions for over three decades. Rick has extensive and current expertise in school finance, facilities, and inter-governmental activities as well as laws surrounding taxation and school funding. Rick has served on the District 113 BOE since April 2019, was Chair of the Finance Committee and is currently Chair of the Facilities Committee. Rick has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Rick has three grown children who graduated from Highland Park High School.
Jenny Lupa has served on the District 113 Board of Education since March 2024. In that time, she has become a member of the Finance Committee and is the District's Representative for the TrueNorth Educational Cooperative. Jenny previously served for 8 years on the school board of Hampstead Parochial School where she served on many committees and working parties including: finance, pay, admissions, and curriculum. Jenny hopes to continue serving the community by helping to make sure that everyone involved from teachers and staff to administrators and families has the support, encouragement and strategic outlook needed to achieve the goals of District 113 and provide the best education for all our students. Jenny holds a BFA in Theatre performance and currently serves on the board of the Youth Chorus of the North Shore. She hopes to bring her passion for music and performance to District 113 to help students reach their unique potential and feel connected to their community through the arts. Jenny has one child at Wayne Thomas and one who will be entering Highland Park High School next fall.
The Caucus believes these four candidates each bring unique and valuable skills to the District 113 Board of Education and they demonstrate both the qualifications and commitment to serve on behalf of all community stakeholders.
Contact: [email protected]
Phone: Ben Wilner, Caucus Chair 773-835-3746
Website: caucus113.com
Facebook: Township High School District 113 Caucus
Township High School District 113 Caucus represents the communities of Bannockburn, Deerfield, Highland Park, Highwood, and Riverwoods in Illinois.
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Caucus Interviews and Endorsements will take place in October 2024 for the April 2025 Election
In the upcoming April 2025 municipal election, four of the seven school board seats will be up for election on the Township High School District 113 Board of Education, serving Deerfield High School and Highland Park High School. Three of the open board seats are four-year terms and one open seat is a two-year term. Endorsement decisions will be made by the full Caucus membership after interviewing candidates on October 19, 2024.
During each election cycle, the District 113 Caucus gathers a large and representative group of interested community members to carefully consider prospective candidates and recommend qualified candidates to fill the available school board seats. Please refer to the Caucus timeline for more information.