Current Board of Directors

Our board is dedicated to the mission of The Partnership. Learn about the current and past directors below.

John Fassero, President
John, the son of John, Sr., and Josephine Fassero, attended Ss. Simon and Jude Grade School in Gillespie; went to Benld High School as a freshman and moved on to Gillespie High School when the towns consolidated. He then attended St. Louis University where he earned a degree in marketing. U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School followed, as did a commission. He then attended Legal School and Gunnery School before joining his ship. He subsequently served three tours in Viet Nam in 1969, 1970, and 1971. After his USN service he joined his family petroleum business and became active in the Illinois state Petroleum Marketers Association, ultimately serving on its board of directors as treasurer. After the family sold their local business, John took a sales job with Aladdin Steel where he remained until it was sold in 2023. John and his wife Linda have three adult children. “I also joined a state team to evaluate vocational education programs in Illinois high schools,” he recalls, serving seven years. He has also served on the board of directors of HSHS St. Francis Hospital, was a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary International, and is the current president of the philanthropic Bertetti Foundation. He also takes great pleasure in playing in the municipal band, keeping “a bit of Americana alive.” John, a founding member of The Partnership in 1992, says it “has given me the opportunity to try to positively impact the educational experiences of the students of CUSD7" by “augmenting and improving teachers’ tools” with classroom and all-school grants. And our modest college scholarships often ‘light a spark’ to pursue learning beyond high school,” he says. “As a founding member and current president, I am honored and humbled to serve with our all-volunteer board of directors. They work with determination and intelligence - and without fanfare - to raise and distribute funds in the most effective way,” he says. John is the second President since The Partnership was founded.

Donna Prevedell, Vice-President 
Donna was born in Fresno, California, where her father served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Raised in Chicago, she attended Evanston Township High School, where she wrote for an English department newspaper and the yearbook. College began at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and concluded at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She graduated in the 1960s with a bachelor’s in literature and a master’s in the teaching of English. Her first professional job was training ESL teachers and teaching English to local businesspeople at the U.S. State Department’s USIA Language Institute in Taiwan. Once back home, Donna briefly taught writing at newly formed Parkland College in Champaign. She then took up journalism, first as a feature photographer for the Champaign-Urbana Courier and then as its farm editor. This ag focus quickly led to a job at the Chicago Board of Trade where she reported real-time trading in silver and soybean futures for an international news wire. Donna met her husband Bob in 1975 on a business trip to Japan. They married within the year and began life on the Macoupin County farm where they still live. Two married daughters have since built homes outside of Eagarville; some of her grandchildren attend CUSD7 schools. Rural living led to a then-pioneering concept: working remotely. That meant teletype and fax machines in the dining room. Her primary client was Progressive Farmer magazine where she was a contributing editor and also wrote for its affiliated publications. Next Donna parlayed her communication skills into business-writing seminars. Prevedell & Associates’ clients included John Deere, Country Financial, and the UN’s World Food Programme in Rome, Italy. Closer to home she did photo portraiture, made and marketed purses of her design, and did custom picture framing. In 1992 she became a founding member of The Partnership. Its mission matched a lifelong passion for education. In college she had tutored teens in Project Upward Bound. Locally she had volunteered at Benld Elementary School; taught high school Sunday School; and. tutored in the region’s adult literacy program. For the past 34 years - currently as vice president, she has been the donor relations lead and has written all Partnership publications. And with other committed Partnership volunteers has developed classroom grant and tuition scholarship programs. To date the boards hard work and the generosity of donors have allowed The Partnership to put more than $1 million into the hands of virtually every CUSD7 student. Other volunteer/work opportunities: lobbying for the Cahokia Watershed Preservation Committee; volunteering at St. Francis Hospital hospice; training as an EMT and driving a GBAAS ambulance; working at Memorial Hospital in Springfield as an ER technician; and serving as a volunteer “Ambassador” at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. She also chaired two statewide ag policy committees and served as an alumna member of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Board of Directors.

Rosie Emmenderfer, Treasurer

Rosie Emmenderfer was born and raised in Gillespie. A graduate of CUSD7 schools, she currently serves as treasurer of The Partnership for Educational Excellence. Previously she served as secretary. Rosie spent most of her career - 41 years - in banking. During those years, she worked primarily in customer-facing positions in St. Louis as a Loan Secretary and a Teller. She then moved into Data Processing Services. She traveled to community banks, helping them convert from existing installment loan systems to more efficient new systems. For instance, she was instrumental in creating a system that generated the appropriate completed loan documentation, ready for the customer’s signature, when the client’s information was typed in by the loan officer. Rosie finished her four-decade career as an Assistant Vice-President in Telephone Communications. She helped design and maintain a telephone routing system that gave Banking Center associates a considerably more efficient way to reach a variety of support units throughout the bank. A menu of options allowed bankers to connect to a full spectrum of services with a single phone call. When Rosie retired from Bank of America, she was an Assistant Vice President. Rosie is married and has a grown daughter who also graduated from CUSD

Mary Griffel, Secretary

My name is Mary Griffel. I have been a member of the Partnership Board since 2017. I live on a family farm north of Gillespie with my husband, Dave. We are the parents of two sons and grandparents of six grandchildren. Both our sons received scholarships from the Partnership. I retired in 2017 after 35 years of working in the Mt. Olive School District as a classroom teacher and Title 1 Coordinator. I have been a member of several educational organizations over the years and am happy to serve on the Partnership Board.

Nanci Grandone, Board Member
As a child in Decatur, Illinois, Nancy loved learning and knew she wanted to share this passion with others. This led to an undergraduate degree in education from Illinois State. Her first job was teaching high school speech, English, and theater. Later graduate degrees allowed her to enjoy other education-related jobs: theater, teacher training and supervision, and guidance counseling. Her longest assignment was twenty-two years as a middle and high school counselor in the Alton school district. Her professional career in education kicked off while living in San Antonio, Texas. Nancy and husband Bill, blessed with three daughters, found that early childhood education opportunities were scarce at the time, so she became childcare director for a large church school and childcare business. After the family returned to Bill’s hometown of Gillespie, she continued her education studies getting master’s degrees from Illinois State University and from SIU-E. Her professional career has included assignments in Decatur, Lebanon, and Gillespie as well as San Antonio. Nancy’s idea for The Partnership foundation sprang from a grad school educational leadership class which explored community involvement in schools. She was inspired! Her final presentation detailed the steps for forming a non-profit educational foundation. With the encouragement of the CUSD7 superintendent’s, in 1992 several town meetings were held. They attracted a number of like-minded volunteers who formed The Partnership for Educational Excellence. Nancy feels that probably her most important contribution to local education has been the founding of this not-for-profit 501(c)3 foundation. “I gain pride and joy from the outpouring of community support to help this educational foundation,” says Nancy, who has served as foundation president. “I would like every student in the district to be aware that The Partnership allows local donors to support them as they learn and grow. “I am always amazed at how much money has been donated by this community,” she says. “I love that our resources touch every student in every classroom. And hopefully more students - more than 500 have since 1992 - will take advantage of our scholarship program as they move on to higher education. We have faith in them and support their futures.” Nanci was the first and founding President of the Partnership.

Carole Scheller, Board Member
Carole Scheller, was born in Litchfield and raised in Gillespie, where she attended both grade and high school. After graduating in 1962, she attended Eastern Illinois University in Charleston and Southern Illinois University on the Alton and Edwardsville campuses. Ultimately she earned a Bachelor of Science in Education and was certified to teach Kindergarten through 9th grade. Her early employment was clerical work for the State of Illinois in the Department of Mental Health and Illinois State Museum. Her first teaching job was in Gillespie: first grade from 1967-1969. She and her husband Willard Scheller moved to Arlington Heights 1969, but by 1971 she was back, teaching fifth grade in Mt. Olive. And then she found her calling as a first grade teacher in Gillespie school district from 1971 through 2005. During her 70 year teaching career, Carole has also been an active volunteer, teaching Sunday School at the Christian Church where she was also a youth group teacher. A talented musician - accordion and piano - she also plays frequently for weddings and funerals. And Carole is secretary-treasurer for the Gillespie cemetery board in Gillespie. “With education being a top priority in my life, when I was asked to join The Partnership, I felt blessed,” she recalls. “Being a member of The Partnership Board affords me the opportunity to help decide how we can best support academic programs in the schools. Everyone on our board has a voice and is able to express their ideas.” One highlight in her involvement is working at the foundation’s annual fund raiser: “For the Love of Education” Trivia Night celebrating Valentine’s Day. “I’ve been involved contacting local businesses for their participation, collecting donations, decorating the Civic Center, and working with our usual crowd of lively players.” Carole also enjoys reviewing CUSD7 teachers’ classroom mini-grant applications for creative classroom teaching materials. “And, of course, it is always heart warming to read the scholarship essays by our graduating seniors,” she notes. “This program has really grown. We began with three awards of only $250 each! That’s all the money we had!” Today, thanks to the generosity of mostly local donors, The Partnership offers tuition scholarships for $2,000. “It is so moving to read the goals of these high school graduates,” she says. “In 2023, we were able to give scholarships to 38 percent of the GHS graduating class. And last year we handed out tuition money to trade schools, community colleges, and four-year universities to 25 percent of the Class of 2025. “On our 30th anniversary we contacted past scholars and found that they were all doing well in their chosen careers,” she said. “It’s very rewarding to see how our efforts are paying off for this generation.”

 Susan Stromsland, Board Member

Susan Stromsland and her brother Terry grew up in Gillespie, the children of Ken and Judy Cordum. Ken owned a grocery store and Judy taught elementary school. Judy became a director and secretary of The Partnership after retiring. Susan graduated from GHS in 1986 and in 1990 earned a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from the College of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. She then earned a master’s in health service administration from the same school. Susan and her husband, Pete Stromsland, returned to Gillespie in 1997 where Susan became a Medical Laboratory Scientist and later the Laboratory Manager at HSHS St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield. She is currently the hospital’s Laboratory Information Systems Analyst. Pete works for the Macoupin County Department of Public Health as Director of Maintenance. Their daughter was awarded a Partnership scholarship in 2013. She not only earned a B.A. but went on to medical school where she earned an M.S. in medical ethics and an M.D. in emergency medicine. Their son received a Partnership scholarship in 2014 to study marine biology. He now works as a Dive Master instructor, fishing guide, spear fishing guide and instructor. Susan and her family, all avid sailors and hikers, spend most of their vacations on ocean vessels or back country trails. She joined The Partnership in 2016, “embracing the group’s mission of providing all students with added benefits through individual classroom grants and all-school block grants for computer technology,” she says. The Partnership’s funding of post-secondary studies in accredited trade schools, community colleges, or four-year colleges and universities, is also a significant draw, she adds. “I was fortunate to have parents who valued higher education and were able to assist me financially. Not all students are as lucky as I was,” she says. “I am honored to be part of an organization that is willing to help all students achieve their dreams.”

Ken Tebbe, Board Member

Kenny Tebbe was born and raised in Sawyerville. He went to grade school in Benld and high school in Gillespie, graduating in 1982. “I enlisted in the United States Air Force in1984 and started a very interesting life serving others and traveling far and wide,” he recalls. “In 1994 I completed a B.S. in Human Resources Development from Wayland Baptist University and applied to Office Training School. I was commissioned and served an additional 11 years in various assignments, including special duty at Baylor University as an ROTC instructor, a General’s Aide, and Director of Operations in a Technical School. In 2000 I earned two master’s degrees from Webster University: one in management and the other in human resources. I retired in 2005 as a Major in the Air Force, culminating a 21-year adventure.” Kenny and his wife Nancy then returned to the Waco, Texas, area where he started working at Baylor University as an associate professor in Christian studies and as an academic advisor in the School of Education where he “had the opportunity to shape and mold our next generation of school teachers.” In 2017 Kenny and Nancy returned to Gillespie area to be near his parents, Ralph and Rose Tebbe, and other family members. Rose was a long-time treasurer of The Partnership. “Col. Lee Ashby had been my high school ag teacher as well as our FFA advisor, and he influenced my life and me more than he realized,” says Kenny. “Looking back I can see where several teachers molded and moved me. That is why I feel so strongly about helping teachers and students achieve their goals. I have always felt the desire to serve others and have tried to be involved in every community where we’ve lived. This is why I have elected to serve on the board of The Partnership for Educational Excellence.”

Julie Zirkelbach, Board Member

Julie graduated from Lawrenceville, Illinois, high school in 1978. She then studied at Ivy Technical College in Terre Haute, Indiana, under its operating engineers program. She continued her education at Rend Lake College where she studied Social Services. Julie went on to enjoy 19 years in the medical field. She worked at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and then at St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield. Subsequently she worked 16 years in Litchfield as an insurance producer. She was licensed for medical, life, home, and auto insurance. She continued her education in the insurance industry, achieving her Certified Insurance Service Representative designation. Now retired, both Julie and her spouse Dennis, are now enjoy rural living and travel. Two of their grandchildren currently attend schools in Community Unit School District 7. She is a member of Litchfield Presbyterian Church where she currently serves as Clerk of the Session and is treasurer of Litchfield Presbyterian Women. Julie also volunteers at the Litchfield Food Pantry.

 Becky Hatlee, Board Member

Becky a “proud lifelong resident of Macoupin County”, grew up in her family home in Gillespie, attending Maple Street School, Gillespie Elementary School, Benld Junior High School, and graduating from Gillespie High School in 1990. She then attended Blackburn College, graduating in 1994 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. After living briefly in Carlinville, she bought a house “just four blocks from home” in Gillespie.  She joined the workforce early, at the age of 15, working for Katie Blanchard at the Area News as a typesetter and ad creator. Over the past 38 years she has held several positions, including a Qualified Intellectual Disabilities Professional, Legal Assistant, Health Educator, Assistant Director of Clinical Services, Director of Business Development, and Grant Project Direcctor. For the p Later she worked as an Assistant Director of Clinical Services, Public Information Officer, Health Program Coordinator, Director of Business Development, Legal Assistant, Counselor, Client Care Coordinator, Qualified Intellectual Disabilities Professional, and Grant Project Director. For the past seven years she’s worked at the Macoupin County Public Health Department where she is currently the Chief Operating Officer. Becky’s greatest joy in life is spending time with her family. She loves to travel and experience new cities, camping with her children, and spending time outdoors. She also enjoys tending her abundant flowers, listening to live music, and attending concerts. She is skilled in wood-burning and has sold personalized items all over the world. Her artistic work has been features in Bride magazine and Martha Stewart Living. All of Becky’s children have received Partnership scholarships. The eldest graduated in 2022 from SIUE with a degree in economics. The second graduated from college in 2023,with a degree in Mass Communications and Strategic Media, is now works in public television. The Hatlee twins are completing their final year of college business, economics and geography. Becky says, “Having four children as Partnership scholars and having a heart for community engagement, it only seemed natural that I would want to be part of The Partnership.” Once all four children were out of high school she felt ready to express her desire to be part of “the amazing board that is The Partnership for Educational Excellence,” she says. As one of the newest directors, Becky “is open to all possibilities and roles.” With a strong background in marketing and business development, she says she understands brand awareness, return on investment, specialized programming, and solid relationships with community partners. She looks forward to being a part of The Partnership and making a difference in the lives of Gillespie students for years to come.

Ruth Gill, Board Member

Ruth Gill, one of The Partnership’s newest directors, was raised on a farm centered between Carlinville, Litchfield, and Gillespie. “Straight out of high school, I attended SIUE where I majored in biology with a minor in chemistry,” she recalls. Next she attended the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield where she earned a Master’s Degree in Medical Microbiology and Immunology. Her first job was at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis; then she joined Washington University School of Medicine. One of her first projects was developing 3-D models of the inner ear from four different species, that included mouse, guinea pig, monkey and human. This model was developed to measure drug movement through the inner ear. Ultimately Ruth worked on research in three different departments at Wash U: Otolaryngology, Neurology, and Ob-Gyn. “I retired from Wash U in early 2025 and have since worked as a part-time reporter for the Coal Country Times and Enquirer-Democrat in Carlinville,” she says. “In my free time I enjoy a variety of hobbies that include crochet, sewing, gardening, and working my animals. I have 2 dogs, cats, a miniature donkey, a goat, and three sheep.” Ruth notes that her family “loves to travel and discover new places. I have been to all 50 states and the rest of the family are not too far behind.” Her husband Bill, originally from Pinckneyville, works at Central Commodities Farm Service in Taylorville as a Controller. Their three children, all Gillespie High School graduates, are also all Partnership scholars. The eldest and his wife both work in finance; the next is an electrician; and their third is pursuing a college major in exercise science and nutrition. “I have become involved with The Partnership with the goal of improving the educational opportunities for other GHS graduates,” she notes.

Past PARTNERSHIP DIRECTORS

The Partnership would not be what it is today without the help of our past board members, thank you!