Jane Marcoux
Founder, Co-owner & Teacher
Jane Marcoux is a mother of seven children through birth and adoption. She has spent three decades working in private, public, and homeschool settings teaching students from pre-K through high school. She has experience in a variety of learning environments, as a parent and educator. She holds degrees in both Elementary Education and Psychology as well as a Master IEP Coach certificate. Outside her work at ACES, Jane serves on the board of directors for the Children’s Research Triangle. In her spare time, she can be found reading, traveling, channeling her inner Nancy Drew and spending time with her family.
Patrick Marcoux
Co-owner, Director of
Strategy & Operations
Patrick Marcoux has been supporting ACES behind the scenes since its beginning and is excited to take on a greater role this year. He holds a degree in Economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as an Infantry officer in the US Army. Following his military service, Patrick held various leadership positions over a 25 year corporate career. He serves as the board Treasurer for the Children’s Research Triangle and Treasurer for the Old Reserve Hills Homeowners Association. In his spare time, he can be found reading, traveling, playing guitar, watching college football or basketball, and spending time with his family.
Dawn Kararo
Director of Human Relations &
Client Care Coordinator
Dawn Kararo is a homeschool mom to nine children, ranging in age from 10 to 26, and has one granddaughter (with another due Dec 2025!). Before starting her family, Dawn held various positions in the field of human resources. Now in her 18th year of homeschooling, she has children in 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grade, as well as two sons in college. Dawn has been with ACES Academy since 2021 and is thrilled to continue working with our amazing families and teachers! In her rare moments of free time, Dawn enjoys running, reading, baking, traveling, and spending time with her husband of 30 years, Jeff, and their children.
Katurah Mindock
Director of Student Information Systems
Katurah Mindock is a homeschooling mom of 4 children with 16+ years of homeschooling experience. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics with a minor in Information Systems. Katurah has many years of experience in the corporate world in designing, implementing, and supporting IT systems across a broad range of industries. Katurah loves spending time with her family, cheering and supporting her children’s various sporting activities or just snuggling them on the couch while reading a good book or watching TV together. In her spare time, you will most likely find Katurah in her garden or planning changes to her garden.
Corinne Yost
Assistant Program Director & Teacher (DuPage)
Corinne Yost is the mother of two children and has been teaching on and off in a variety of settings since graduating from Western Michigan University with her Elementary Education degree. Finding ACES recently was such a blessing as it allows her to teach in the way that she has always wanted to… with creativity and with the student’s needs specifically in mind. Corinne‘s undergrad teaching degree allows her to teach through 12th grade in math, science and physical education as well as general education through 8th grade. She also holds an Early Childhood Endorsement and a Graduate Certificate in Autism Studies from the University of St Thomas. Outside of teaching Corinne loves to watch (and/or coach) as her children play a variety sports and perform in theater! She also has a photography passion and small business that she is working on growing as time allows. Other hobbies include time with her family, crafts like macrame and knitting, hiking and travel!
Anna Hammond
Assistant Program Director & Teacher (Kendall)
Anna Hammond’s homeschooling journey started when she was nine years old. After receiving her high school diploma as a homeschooler, Anna went on to major in elementary education at Aurora University. Her career has been eclectic, including time managing a small business, directing communications for a nonprofit, and providing pastoral care within a church community. She is thrilled to be back in the classroom at ACES, where she can put students’ holistic growth as her first priority. Anna’s favorite role of all is mom to her two elementary-aged daughters, who are also homeschooled and are delighted to be part of the ACES community. She and her husband love living in the diverse and artistic city of Aurora, IL. In her free time, you might find Anna trying to perfect her chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, wondering why she can keep her houseplants alive but not her garden, or making a dent in her pile of books (even though she’ll never read them all.)
Lucie Moravec
Onsite Coordinator (DuPage)
Lucie is a homeschool mom to 2 children. She has been working in various administration positions, as well as spending time as a Nanny and an editor for a Czech magazine published in Chicago. Prior to joining the ACES team, she worked as a math teacher, billing coordinator and overall support of the original Stream Academy in Warrenville. Lucie’s favorite things are cooking, baking, painting and most of all, spending time and traveling with her family. She also enjoys meeting with friends, walking, music, colors and learning new things.
Veronica Weir
Onsite Coordinator (Kendall)
Veronica Weir is a wife of 37 years, mother of 5 and grandmother to 2 grandchildren and a granddog Harry. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. She homeschooled her children for 9 years and has taught music and technology in a private school for 11 years. She enjoys learning new things, gardening, traveling and all things music! She looks forward to fostering the curiosity of your children as we explore and learn together.
Candace Kelty
Teacher (Kendall)
Candace Kelty has been married for 30 years and is the mother of 3 children, ages 16 to 25. Besides her family, her passion is teaching and challenging all children to achieve their fullest potential. She has experience with developing and implementing new educational programs as well as teaching students in preschool through high school. Candace holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in special education, and she is continually seeking out new opportunities to learn and grow as a teacher. She believes in teaching children how to learn and solve problems through her creative lesson planning. She is looking forward to working with the children, parents, and teachers at ACES!
Julie Elzerman
Teacher & Teaching Assistant (Kendall)
Julie Elzerman is a mom of two wonderful girls. She holds a degree in art and brings over seven years of experience teaching a variety of art classes across multiple creative mediums. Julie loves to blend art history with hands-on techniques like drawing, painting, 3-D art, and printmaking. She tailors her lessons to meet the unique needs of students by helping children appreciate art, develop focus, and explore creativity. Outside of teaching, Julie enjoys spending time with her family, drinking coffee, playing guitar, and baking.
Kristen Dudding
Teacher (Kendall)
Coming soon!
Nancy Fisher
Teaching Assistant (Kendall)
Nancy and her husband of 27 years have lived in Aurora for 23 years. They have 5 children ranging from 26 to 14. Nancy has a B.S. and M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and has worked with adults and children in rehab, clinic, Early Intervention, & Early Childhood Education settings. Her family has been homeschooling since 2007 and has one child at SIU, two grads in the work world, and an 8th grader and high school senior still homeschooling. For the past 5 years, she has been immersed in the world of dyslexia and all the gifts and challenges associated with this different learning style. She has taught writing (IEW) and finds editing, grammar, and proofreading to be gratifying and enjoyable. Her interests include learning how to be a grandma (oldest daughter due in Dec.), all things home schooling, cooking, nutrition, strength training, hiking, swimming and reading. She thinks you can tell a lot about a person if you ask them, “Have you read anything good lately?” She has a goal of learning to play chess and wants her youngest son to have the patience to teach her. She feels thankful for the opportunity to to mix with a community filled with
teachers and families who love to learn together.
Sana Legatt-Zaidi
Teaching Assistant (Kendall)
Sana Legatt-Zaidi has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Intercultural Communications. Sana has been homeschooling for 19 years. She has 4 children, 1 heading into graduate school, 2 going to college and 1 currently homeschooled. Her favorite things to teach are elementary reading & middle school math. Sana enjoys gardening, traveling, reading non-fiction, spending time in nature & with family.
Kim Brackett
Teacher (DuPage)
Coming Soon!
Kristin Standish
Teacher (Kendall)
Kristin Standish and her husband of 30 years have been Aurora residents for 24 years. They have 5 children between the ages of 17 and 26. Kristin has a B. A. from Wheaton College, a background in music and foreign languages, and has homeschooled for 17 years. She has experience teaching languages and Sunday School, and is certified both in Suzuki piano instruction and in The Barton Reading and Spelling system, an Orton-Gillingham program. When she is not teaching or tutoring, you will find her spending time with her family, volunteering at church, reading Theology or fiction, pursuing her health and nutrition endeavors, or flying with her husband and youngest daughter. Kristin is grateful for the opportunity to join the collaborative, creative, and connected ACES community!
Ariana Garlt
Teacher (DuPage)
Coming Soon!
Angela Flaherty
Teacher (Kendall and DuPage)
Angela Flaherty calls herself the Writing Wizard/Grammar Guru to add a little flair to her fundamentals of writing classes. Angela has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English education with a minor in dance education. She taught freshman and sophomore English at Oswego High School from 1993-1999. When her children were young, she decided to quit grading papers full time and pull out her dance shoes. She taught dance at the park district for ten years and owned Dance With Flair studio for 15 years. Angela has also had experience as a substitute teacher for District 308 at all age levels. In addition to over thirty years of teaching, Angela has four adult children, her third child is deaf and on the autism spectrum. He has given her experience with sensory processing strategies and Individual Educational Plans (IEPs). It is Angela’s belief that all students can benefit from individualized instruction and strategies. Her goal is to make writing and grammar fun and even done with some movement. In her spare time, Angela enjoys traveling with family, participating in different ministries at her church, and being a volunteer at Special Olympics events.amily.
Colleen Williams
Teacher (Kendall and DuPage)
Colleen has been teaching in local homeschool co-ops and co-schools since 2010. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Humanities. Although her professional background is in business and marketing, she has found her passion in teaching young learners in homeschool classes and in teaching her own children at home. Her youngest son was diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, and an astigmatism/eye tracking disorder at a young age. These diagnoses challenged the methods she had used to teach her older children, and she spent many years working with specialists and tutors to find the right approach to help him develop the learning strategies needed to become the successful high school student he is today. This experience has informed her classroom teaching, helping her understand how to provide specific, individualized alternatives for all of her students with learning differences. Having grown up in a large homeschooling family, Colleen has seen firsthand the value of home education, and she loves supporting her homeschool students and their families. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, reading, creating art, and spending time with her family.
Amber Ruland
Teacher (Kendall)
Amber Ruland is a mother to 4 kids ranging from college to elementary school and is married to her best friend. She has been working as an educator for over 20 years in public education, homeschool education, as well as teaching pre service teachers at NIU and Lewis University. She holds a degree in Early Childhood Education with a special education endorsement , elementary education, as well as a Master’s in Educational Administration. Outside of teaching college courses and teaching at ACES, Amber can be seen at the many various sporting events her children play, volunteering to help with musicals at the local schools, or shuttling children. In her spare time, she can be found reading, traveling and camping in their 1975 Airstream, visiting one of our National Parks, hiking, enjoying her hot tub, and spending time with her family.
Carol Baumgardt
Teacher (Kendall)
Denisa Gilligan
Teacher
Coming Soon!
Francesca Cabrera
Onsite Coordinator Support (Kendall)
Francesca Cabrera has been a homeschool mom to her young daughter, Gabriella, since 2020. Francesca joined the Aces team in 2022 after discovering her own passion for teaching and early childhood development. She has a background in Human Resources Management and corporate education. She has devoted her time and energy into volunteering within the community as a Bible Instructor and as a mentor to old and young alike. When Francesca has free time, she enjoys assisting on her daughter’s softball team, traveling with her family, and enjoying hobbies such as painting, gardening and reading.
Melissa Van Boekel, M.S.Ed., BCBA, LBS1
Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Learning Behavior Specialist
Melissa Van Boekel earned her undergraduate degree at Eastern Illinois University where she majored in Special Education and Early Childhood Special Education. She earned her graduate degree from Northern Illinois University in Advanced Special Education specializing in Behavior Analysis. Melissa has four years of experience working with individuals ages 5 through 22 in a school setting as well as experience working with children with behavior challenges in the home environment. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys practicing agility with her dog, spending time with family and friends, and playing board games
Irene Wilkinson
Special Events
Irene Wilkinson is a former senior banker and manager. She spent 20+ years developing employees and raising two children. She has experience working with children with the challenges of ADHD, anxiety, and executive functioning issues.
Photo credit and many thanks to Dori M Photography