Faculty
Richard Meyer, Headmaster
rmeyer@northridgeprep.org / ext. 115
B.A. University of Illinois, M.A.Ed. Benedictine University, M.A. Middlebury College
Year Appointed: 2007
Mr. Meyer joined Northridge Prep as the Headmaster in 2007. Prior to this he spent eight years teaching both overseas at Colegio Altocastillo in Spain and at Neuqua Valley and Hinsdale Central in the Chicago suburbs. An alumnus of the University of Illinois, Mr. Meyer also has an M.A.Ed. in English Education from Benedictine University and an M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Middlebury College. He came to Northridge after working as an educational consultant for a regional technology firm. Rich and his wife, Anne, have six children – two of whom are on the fast track to become future Knights.
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Peter Searby '95, Head of Middle School
psearby@northridgeprep.org / ext. 403
B.A. University of Dallas
Year Appointed: 2009
Mr. Peter Searby is a graduate of Northridge Prep, Class of ’95. He hails from Virginia, where most of his family now lives. He graduated from the University of Dallas in 2001 with a BA in Political Philosophy. After University, Mr. Searby directed a supplemental education program for boys from the inner-city in Washington DC called The Tenley Achievement Program. He continued on his professional path in education by teaching at the Heights School for five years. During that time Mr. Searby taught a variety of subjects--mostly at the middle school level. He also helped direct, and wrote the music for, two school musicals. During his time at the Heights Mr. Searby produced a music album and performed at various local venues in the DC area. After teaching at the Heights he moved to New York City and began working at Anchor Academy in Norwalk, CT. Mr. Searby has now returned to Chicago to teach at his Alma Mater.
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Hugo F Chong, Head of High School
hchong@northridgeprep.org / ext. 432
B.A. Universidad Laica “Vicente Rocafuerte” , Ecuador
Business Administration (Gestión Empresarial), INDEG, Ecuador
Year Appointed: 2011
Mr. Chong has been an educator for over 25 years. He initiated his profession as an ESL teacher for the U.S.-Ecuadorian Binational Center and Benedict School in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Later, he joined the Centro Educativo Nuevo Mundo Bilingual, a prestigious International Baccalaureate school in Ecuador, where he was the head of the foreign language department. He was in the founding team of Unidad Educativa Torremar in Guayaquil, a school with the same philosophy and spiritual formation of Northridge Prep. He was the Head of Secondary School (grades 7th to 12th) until August 2007, when he was offered the opportunity of a teaching position in the Union County Public Schools System of North Carolina. Mr. Chong is also co-founder of Borealis Language Institute, a Spanish and English academy established in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2009. Hugo and his wife, Maria Eugenia, are the parents of three girls, whose education is guided by Embers and Willows Academy.
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Will Rey, Athletic Director
wrey@northridgeprep.org / ext. 117
B.A. Northeastern Illinois University, M.A. Concordia University
Year Appointed: 2004
Will Rey has coached basketball for more than 30 years at the high school and college levels. During his tenure as Northridge’s head coach, the varsity team has accumulated a 109-65 (.626) overall record and a 55-19 (.743) mark in conference games. In addition, Northridge teams have captured three IHSA Class AA Regional Championships, advanced to the state’s “Sweet 16” in 2009, won one conference championship in 2009, amassed three conference 2nd place finishes, and garnered 2 major holiday tournament championships. Will was voted Conference Coach-of-the-Year in 2006-07 and 2007-08, and IBCA District Coach-of-the-Year in 2008-09. In 2002, Coach Rey was inducted into the Five-Star Basketball Hall-of-Fame and in 2010 he was presented with Sports Faith International’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He and his wife, Diane, have three children.
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Dr. Bernoli Baello, Technology Director
bbaello@northridgeprep.org / ext. 408
B.S. The University of the Philippines, PhD. University of Illinois, Chicago
Year Appointed: 2000
A native of the Philippines, Dr. Baello completed his doctorate in Biophysical Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the spring of 2000. He was a teaching and research assistant at UIC and has published various articles and given several presentations in his field. He has also served as a volunteer instructor and advisor in programs for young people at Chicago's Midtown Center.
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Fr. Javier del Castillo, Chaplain
jdelcastillo@northridgeprep.org / ext. 415
B.A. Cooper Union, B.A., M.A., & PhD. Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
Year Appointed: 2009
Fr. Javier del Castillo was born in Mexico City. He graduated from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering in 1998. He subsequently worked as an RF engineer for Symbol Technologies in Long Island. He also studied at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Theology and a Master's and Doctorate degree in Philosophy. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2005 for the Prelature of Opus Dei. Prior to joining Northridge, Fr. del Castillo served as the chaplain at The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland.
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Faculty
David Amrein, Music/English
damrein@northridgeprep.org / ext. 431
B.A. University of California at Davis, M.A. University of California at Davis
Year Appointed: 2011
Mr. Amrein grew up in California and attended the University of California at Davis where he studied English literature and music composition and conducting. Before coming to Northridge Prep, he taught music at Lake Forest College and interdisciplinary arts (including music, creative writing, theater, art, and film) in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s Chicago Arts Program. Mr. Amrein has conducted and performed with concert bands, marching bands, orchestras, choirs, a cappella groups, chamber ensembles, world percussion groups, rock bands, and musical theater. His other interests include improv theater, children’s literature, instrument building, filmmaking, and bicycling. Mr. Amrein lives in Lake Forest with his wife and daughter.
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Robert Barder '93, Head of Advisory and College Counseling
rbarder@northridgeprep.org / ext. 427
B.A. Northwestern University
Year Appointed: 2011
Robert Barder is a graduate of Northridge Prep’s class of 1993. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and American Literature from Northwestern University, and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Counseling. Since 1997, Bob has worked in the non-profit sector for Misericordia Home, Lions Clubs International, and Midtown Center. He has also taught English in programs in Lithuania, México, and Spain. Bob and his wife, Julene, have three young children.
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Michael Burns ('93), Religion/History
mburns@northridgeprep.org / ext. 401
B.A. - University of Dallas, M.Ed. Lewis University
Year Appointed: 2000
Mr. Burns grew up in Rogers Park on the north side of Chicago and is the 19th of 21 children. He and his wife, Pascale, have four children: Barbara, Simone, Gabriel, and Nicole. In his free time, he likes to read classic literature, follow the Cubs, play cards and critique movies. He points to his heroes, his parents and John Paul II, as his inspirations
Kevin Clemens, Latin/Logic
kclemens@northridgeprep.org / ext. 411
B.A. Valparaiso University, M.A. University of St. Thomas
Year Appointed: 2010
After graduating from Glenbard North High School in 2004, Mr. Clemens completed a B.A. in philosophy, classics, and humanities at Valparaiso University, where he also met his wife, Renee. From there he went on to earn an M.A. in Catholic Studies from the University of St. Thomas (St Paul, MN). He wrote his thesis on the Blessed John Henry Newman’s theory of doctrinal development. He is an avid reader, particularly of St. Augustine of Hippo, and on occasion will pick up a book or two written after the fifth century.
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Jack Conroy ('03), Director of Admissions
jconroy@northridgeprep.org / ext. 112
B.A. University of Illinois
Year Appointed: 2008
A member of Northridge Prep’s Class of 2003, Mr. Conroy attended NRP for the full seven-year stretch from 6th through 12th grade. He went on to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he graduated in 2007 with a B.A. in Speech Communication and a focus in Political Science. Upon moving back to Chicago, Mr. Conroy returned to Northridge in early 2008 as Director of Admissions. He is a die-hard Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks, and Bulls fan, and also enjoys music and attempting to snowboard.
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Charles Cushnie, Math
ccushnie@northridgeprep.org / ext. 221
B.S. Notre Dame / M.S. Marquette University
Year Appointed: 1996
Mr. Cushnie hails from Kailua, Hawaii, and sometimes still wonders why he ever left there. After a BS in Chemical Engineering from Notre Dame, a short stint working at UOP in Chicago, and an MS in Chemistry from Marquette, he finally settled down in Chicago where, when not occupied with Math, he likes to immerse himself in Chicago's cultural offerings.
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Michael Egle, Physical Education
megle@northridgeprep.org / ext. 147
B.S- Illinois State University
Year Appointed: 1988
Mr. Egle is a graduate of Maine East high school where he was an all state cross-country runner. An accomplished competitive runner, he is a Horton physical education award winner, a national championship masters runner, ran an astonishing 4:07 mile in college, Chicago Area Runner of the Year three times and Chicago area masters runner of the year four times. Mike and his wife have one son, Justin.
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Matthew Englert '06, Assistant Director of Admissions
menglert@northridgeprep.org / ext. 437
B.A. Saint Norbert College
Year Appointed: 2011
A member of Northridge Prep’s Class of 2006, Mr. Englert attended NRP for 6 years from 7th through 12th grade. He went on to study at the Saint Norbert College, where he graduated in 2010 with a B.A. in History and a focus on Broad Field Social Studies. Upon moving back to Chicago, Mr. Englert returned to Northridge in 2011 as Assistant Director of Admissions. He is an avid Sox, Bears, and Bulls fan, and enjoys kayaking and golfing.
David Holzweiss, Civics
dholzweiss@northridgeprep.org / ext. 210
B.A. University of Notre Dame
Year Appointed: 2011
After receiving his B.S. in Physics from the University of Notre Dame, Mr. Holzweiss served in various capacities in the Marine Corps, ranging from commander of platoon and company-sized units to assistant operations officer of First Marines. Since his departure from the armed services in 1997, he held the office of Executive Director of the South Bronx Educational Foundation, a character building program for young men in New York City. While there he had numerous speaking engagements for Legatus, Men’s Leadership Forum in Boston, public school teachers in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
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Patrick Hunt ('88), Physical Education
phunt@northridgeprep.org / ext. 142
B.S. Loras College
Year Appointed: 1998
Pat graduated from NRP in 1988 and went on to St. Leo's College in Florida where he played Baseball. After graduating from Loras College with a degree in Physical Education in 1993, he taught five years at St. Mary of the Angels school in Chicago, before joining the Northridge team in 1998. While teaching at St. Mary's, Pat also coached Varsity Baseball at the Latin School, where he was named conference Coach of the Year. He was named Varsity Baseball Coach of the Year in the Chicago Prep Conference three out of six years. Pat and his wife Josette have four young children.
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Daniel Janeiro, English/Theatre
djaneiro@northridgeprep.org / ext. 414
B.A. Providence College, M.E. University of Dallas
Year Appointed: 2010
The son of Portuguese immigrants, Mr. Janeiro was born and raised in Connecticut. A love of reading and a flare for the dramatic spurred him to pursue bachelors in both English and Theatre Arts at Providence College, where he acted in over twenty plays and published his first poem. After spending the summer following graduation backpacking through western Europe, Dan moved to Dallas where he not only earned his masters in English but also met, courted, and married his wife, Bethany. While at school, he taught English, first at Faustina Academy, and then at Holy Family of Nazareth parochial school in Irving. He is thrilled to be joining Northridge this year, teaching 6th, 7th and 8th grade English. He lives in Park Ridge with his wife and young daughter.
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Dr. Thomas Kelliher, History
tkelliher@northridgeprep.org / ext. 107
B.A. Columbia University, PhD. Notre Dame University
Year Appointed: 1992
Dr. Kelliher is originally from New Jersey where he grew up rooting for the Yankees. After teaching at The Heights School in Maryland for six years, he went to graduate school at the University of Notre Dame. He has taught at Northridge since 1992, except for when he was Principal of Kingswood Academy for two years. He organizes Civil War trips for the school and enjoys reading, playing Diplomacy, and playing tennis.
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Dr. Paul Keough, Biology
pkeough@northridgeprep.org / ext. 412
M.B.A. Michigan Ross School of Business, Ph.D. Northwestern University
Year Appointed: 2010
Dr. Paul Keough holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. in Finance and Health Management from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He has published several biochemistry journal articles, dozens of biotechnology industry and company reports, and over 100 medical science articles. While volunteer teaching for over 20 years, Dr. Keough has worked on Wall Street as a biotechnology equity research analyst, a healthcare venture capitalist, and a biotechnology consultant. Paul and his wife, Lisa, have four children and reside in Westchester.
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John Kestler, Math
jkestler@northridgeprep.org / ext. 406
B.A. - DePaul University
Year Appointed: 1990
Mr Kestler has been in the teaching profession since 1973. Mr. Kestler was born and raised in Chicago. John has coached for many years at Northridge and was the first coach to bring a Northridge Cross Country team to the state championship. He and his wife, Sharon, have been married for 35 years and have raised seven children and have six grandchildren.
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Joseph Lechner, History/Theatre
jlechner@northridgeprep.org / ext. 111
B.S. Illinois State University, M.A.T. University of Chicago
Year Appointed: 1982
As a high school student at Maine North, Mr. Lechner was both captain of the gymnastics team and co-founder of the school's drama club. While in college, he was elected a member of the student assembly and performed as an acrobat in a fraternity circus that raised money for charitable purposes. After earning his Master of Arts in Teaching in Social Sciences and History at the University of Chicago in 1979, Joe taught for three years at Palatine High School, where he founded the Advanced Placement course in History and served as the technical director for ten major school dramatic productions. Joe joined the Northridge faculty in 1982 and is a member of both the national and state Associations for Teachers of Social Science. Mr. Lechner and his wife, Diane, have seven children and live in Deerfield.
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Gil Lee, Math
glee@northridgeprep.org / ext. 223
B.S. University of San Jose Philippines, M.S. Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
Year Appointed: 2002
Mr. Lee is originally from Cebu City, Philippines. Before joining Northridge in 2002, he taught Math in Manila, Africa and Chicago. Mr. Lee and his wife have three daughters and two grandchildren. He likes to spend his free time fishing, reading and watching the news
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Michael Maggio, English
mmaggio@northridgeprep.org / ext. 422
B.A. Loyola University, M.A. Marquette University, M.A.T. National-Louis University
Year Appointed: 2011
Mr. Maggio completed a B.A. in English with a minor in Theology at Loyola University in 1999. Afterwards, he received his master’s degree in English from Marquette University while also teaching freshman composition. Prior to joining Northridge, Mr. Maggio taught English at St. Joseph High School in Westchester and served as the English department chair. During his tenure there he also earned an additional master’s degree in teaching from National-Louis University. When he isn’t reading or attempting to teach himself to play the guitar, Mr. Maggio enjoys exploring the wilds of the Northwoods in his kayak.
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Vu Nguyen, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Graphic Design
vnguyen@northridgeprep.org / ext. 402
B.A. University of Notre Dame
Year Appointed: 2010
As Northridge’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Mr. Nguyen [that is, “Winh”], is excited to make sure that all of Chicago knows about the men of Northridge Prep and what goes on at their school. A native Texan, Mr. Nguyen traveled to the Midwest and received his B.A. in Design [Industrial Design and Graphic Design] and liberal studies from the University of Notre Dame where he was a member of the Squash team for two years, was the advertising officer of the Right to Life Club and the lead graphic designer for “Notre Dame on iTunes U” [itunes.nd.edu]. Having played the violin for more than a decade, Mr. Nguyen is always looking for a good jam session.
Steve Omachi, Mathematics and Science
somachi@northridgeprep.org / ext. 413
B.S., M.S. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M.B.A. DePaul University
Year Appointed: 2010
Steve Omachi comes to us from St. Benedict High School in Chicago, where he taught algebra, physics, pre-calculus and AP calculus for four years. There, he participated in a variety of school projects, including creation of a teacher mentoring program, and was named Teacher of the Year in 2009. Mr. Omachi has worked as a senior development engineer, project leader and financial analyst for International Truck and Engine Corporation and as an applications engineer at SoMat Corporation. State-certified to teach secondary school, Mr. Omachi is originally from the Chicagoland Area, and currently resides in Evanston.
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Patrick Reidy, Foreign Language/Religion
preidy@northridgeprep.org / ext. 410
B.A. St. Norbert University, B.A. St. John Lateran University Rome, M.A. Indiana University
Year Appointed: 2005
After graduate school Mr. Reidy spent three years serving Catholic youth with N.E.T. Ministries (National Evangelization Teams). He also spent five years studying for the Catholic priesthood in Denver, Colorado. During this time he also partially completed two theology degrees, a Master’s of Divinity and an S.T.B.. He taught for two years in Irving Texas at Cistercian Preparatory School before coming to Northridge Prep. Mr. Reidy coaches baseball and spends much of his free time travelling and giving presentations in the Catholic Spanish-speaking community.
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Gabriel Viego, Religion/Math
gviego@northridgeprep.org / ext. 405
B.S. University of Illinois-Chicago, M.A.Ed. University of Illinois-Chicago,
Year Appointed: 2011
Mr. Gabriel Viego taught middle school mathematics and science in Chicago schools for ten years prior to joining Northridge. He has a B.S. and an M.A.Ed. from the University of Illinois-Chicago where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics education. His research interests revolve around the importance of mathematics, language, and culture in learning and include lesson study as a means to facilitate mathematics teachers' professional growth. Gabriel has several publications, working papers and conference presentations as a result of this work. He has also served as program coordinator for several years with Midtown Center, an educational program for inner-city youth.
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William Whalen, Dean of Students
bwhalen@northridgeprep.org / ext. 118
Year Appointed: 2009
Mr. Whalen comes to Northridge Prep as Dean of Students after finishing a 30 year career with the Chicago Police Department. Much of his police career was spent in the Detective Division, specialiing in Cold Case investigations. He and his wife, Michele, have resided on the northwest side of Chicago for the past 30 years. They have two daughters who graduated from the Willows Academy and two sons who graduated from Northridge Prep. He is a member of the basketball coaching staff and is currently the head coach for the freshman team. He is an avid fan of the Chicago White Sox and attempts to play golf
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