Board of Education
Front Row: William Grimpe (Board Vice President),Becky Pfisterer (Board President), Janine Freedlund (Board Secretary)
Back Row: Louis Camardo, Donna Johnson, Robert Rognstad, Kimberly Bianchini
General Board Email: boe@rtsd26.org
The River Trails School District 26 Board of Education (Board) consists of seven public officials who are elected at large from the geographic boundaries established by law for the River Trails School District. The Board can only take action as a governing body when it is convened at a formally advertised open public meeting. The members are elected on a staggered basis according to the Illinois School Code adopted by the Illinois General Assembly.
The Board, representing local community members, determines the philosophy by which the School District will be governed. The philosophy is expressed through the policies adopted by the Board. In order for the Board to carry out its legal charge given to it by the Illinois State Constitution, it has established a structure to govern itself. The Board annually elects three officers: president, vice president and secretary. The current Board functions under a committee structure in which three members are assigned to each standing committee by the president. The standing committees supervise the preparation of multi-year plans of action for finance, facilities and technology for Board approval.
School Board Members with the Eastern Redbud tree that was planted at River Trails Middle School in honor of School Board Member Appreciation Day 2023.
Meet the RTSD26 Board of Education
Mrs. Becky Pfisterer, Board President
Service: Mrs. Pfisterer was appointed to the Board of Education in September 2022 and reelected to a four-year term in May 2025. Mrs. Pfisterer served as Board Vice President from 2025 to 2026 and currently serves as Board President.
Family: Mrs. Pfisterer is a resident of Des Plaines and has two sons with her husband, Steve. Owen attends River Trails Middle School and Beau is at Indian Grove Elementary School.
Occupation: Mrs. Pfisterer is the Marketing Director for Dentist Advisors, a financial advisory firm that specializes in helping dentists.
Education: Graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with Bachelor of Science degrees in marketing and management. She also has a concentration in human resource management and a certificate in entrepreneurship.
Community Service & Hobbies: Mrs. Pfisterer is passionate about reading. She is a steward for a mini library with the Mount Prospect Mini Library mission. Her favorite school volunteer activity is mystery reader. She also loves playing board games, especially trivia and video games. Mrs. Pfisterer enjoys taking bike rides with her family.
Mr. William Grimpe, Board Vice President
Service: Mr. Grimpe was appointed to the board in October 2016 and elected to a four-year term in May 2017. Mr. Grimpe served as Board President from 2021 to 2026 and currently serves as Board Vice President.
Family: Mr. Grimpe is married to his wife Kristin, and has two daughters – Kendall, who attends Hersey High School Presley who attends River Trails Middle School in District 26.
Occupation: Has worked as a buyer for a leading e-tailor of tactical goods since 2021.
Education: Associate’s Degree in communications and over 19 years of merchandising and marketing experience in the business world.
Community Service & Affiliations: Has served on the District's Public Relations Committee, the Operations Committee, the River Trails Education Foundation and the Policy Comittee.
Mrs. Janine Freedlund, Board Secretary
Service: Mrs. Freedlund was appointed to the board in October 2018 and elected in April 2019. She served as board vice president from 2021 to 2024, following one year of serving as board secretary. Currently, Mrs. Freedlund serves as the Board Secretary.
Family: Mrs. Freedlund and her husband, Tim, have resided in Mount Prospect since 2011. They have three daughters who attend Euclid Elementary and River Trails Middle School.
Occupation: Mrs. Freedlund is a Special Education Teacher in District 214, following a range of impactful roles within the district, including Internship Advisor and Career Advisor focused on post-secondary planning. Before transitioning into education, she built a professional background as a medical underwriter and pharmaceutical benefits consultant.
Education: Mrs. Freedlund earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Northern Illinois University, a Master of Arts in School Counseling from Concordia University Chicago, and a Master of Teaching in Special Education from National Louis University. She maintains professional development requirements while focusing on courses related to diversity, equity and inclusion, instructional differentiation, trauma-informed practices, and SEL programming.
Community Service & Affiliations: Mrs. Freedlund serves as the chairperson for both the Policy and Negotiations Committees, and was a representative for the board during the district’s DEI development and past strategic planning process. While Mrs. Freedlund dedicates the majority of her time to her family, she makes room for recreational reading, creating art, volunteering, and gardening.
Mrs. Kimberly Bianchini, Board Member
Service: Mrs. Bianchini was elected to the board on April 4, 2023. Mrs. Bianchini currently serves as the IASB Delegate, Chair of the Public Relations Committee and an alternate for the NSSEO executive board.
Family: Mrs. Bianchini and her husband, Berto, have been married for 20 years. They have two children.
Occupation: Owns and operates Advance Preschool Inc., an early childhood education center located in Hoffman Estates.
Education: Graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in early childhood education.
Community Service: Serves on the core coalition for the Governor's Funding Coalition and the "We the Village" campaign. She is also a member of the Board of Hopeful Beginnings and an advocate for the early childhood community. She is actively involved in community service work and spends as much time as possible supporting her children in both school and extracurricular activities. Ms. Bianchini also served on the Euclid PTC board.
Mr. Louis Camardo, Board Member
Service: Mr. Camardo was appointed in November, 2021. He was elected to a 4-year term in April, 2023. Mr. Camardo serves as the RTSD26 Representative on the River Trails Education Foundation, Public Relations Committee and is Chair of the Finance Committee.
Family: Mr. Camardo and his wife, Stephanie, have two children, Fiona and Joey. They moved to Mount Prospect in 2016 and live in the Indian Grove neighborhood. They also have an adopted boxer/pit mix named Kita who they consider to be their third child.
Occupation: Mr. Camardo is the CFO for North and South America for Carlo Gavazzi Inc. He also operates his own dog accessory business.
Education: Graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in accountancy and obtained his CPA license.
Community Service & Hobbies: Coaches his son's soccer team for the River Trails Park District, participates in the Dad/Daughter Princess Program with the Zuni Tribe, golf and fitness enthusiast, aquarium hobbyist, and loves live music shows.
Mrs. Donna Johnson, Board Member
Service: Mrs. Johnson was appointed to the Board on August 8, 1986 to fill a vacancy and was subsequently elected on April 4, 1987. She served until September 1998 when she took a four-year leave and has served since her reelection on April 1, 2003.
Family: Mrs. Johnson and her husband were married in 1971 and moved to District 26 in Mount Prospect in 1978. They have two adult sons who were educated at Euclid School, River Trails Middle School and Hersey High School. They are currently raising a grandson who was also educated at Euclid, River Trails and Hersey.
Occupation: Mrs. Johnson retired in December 2018 after 25 years in the District 214 ESL Adult Education Program, the last 15 of those years as the Fiscal Coordinator responsible for a $2 million budget.
Education: Mrs. Johnson is considered the Board historian and offers insight when asked. She researched the history of District 26 and organized the centennial celebration in 1995. Her longevity in the community uniquely positions her to network with the park district and the village.
Community Service & Affiliation: Mrs. Johnson has served in all executive positions of the District 26 Board of Education. She has been president eight times, vice president seven times, and secretary eight times. She has served one time or another, throughout various years, as committee chairperson of Finance, Negotiation, Operations, Public Relations and Policy committees. She has served on each of the district's Strategic Plan Committees. In 1985, before she was on the Board, Mrs. Johnson served as the lead member of the Parent Advisory Committee to investigate and implement all-day kindergarten. In 2016, Mrs. Johnson served on the River Trails Park District Delphi Committee (their strategic plan) which assisted the park district in a review and discussion of facilities, finances, operations and programs. Mrs. Johnson has worked on various referenda for the school district, park district and village. She has been an integral part of the hiring process for six district superintendents.
In the neighborhood, Mrs. Johnson took responsibility for her subdivision's entrance markers. She and her husband maintain them and keep them from falling into disrepair. She is also known as the neighborhood's "Luminaria Lady," organizing the neighbors to light about 700 candles on Christmas Eve on Westgate Road and a portion of Greenwood.
Mr. Robert Rognstad, Board Member
Service: Mr. Rognstad was elected to the RTSD26 Board of Education in 2019 currently serving on the Operations, and Benefits committee. Mr. Rognstad also serves as the RTSD26 representative on the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO) Board. NSSEO is a Special Needs cooperative owned and operated by 8 member districts across the Northwest Suburbs.
Family: Mr. Rognstad resides in Mount Prospect with his wife Julie and their daughter Eleanor who attends Hersey and son Sheldon who attends Miner.
Occupation: Mr. Rognstad serves as Owner & President of Rosemont based ETS Technology Solutions. ETS provides Managed IT and Cybersecurity Services to middle market businesses across the region and globally. Mr. Rognstad is also the co-founder of SecureAGI which focuses on developing AI solutions for Managed Service Providers.
Education: Mr. Rognstad studied Business Administration at the University of Phoenix and Roosevelt University. Mr. Rognstad has earned several technical certifications including Microsoft’s MCSE, Citrix’s CCA and VMware’s VCP certifications.
Community Service & Affiliations: Mr. Rognstad has become an advocate for those with special needs and is active in the local and international communities seeking to educate and support those with extreme challenges. Mr. Rognstad actively supports local refugee support organizations such as Viator House and Exodus World Service. Mr. Rognstad is a member of Vistage Chicago and a parishioner at St. Emily's in Mount Prospect.
Individuals with Disabilities
River Trails School District 26 is subject to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as well as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Individuals with disabilities who plan to attend this meeting and who require certain accommodations in order to allow them to attend and/or participate, or who have questions regarding the accessibility of the meeting or the facilities, are requested to contact the Superintendent’s office at (847) 297-4120 extension 7301.