2023 - ECC welcomes new District 509 trustees

The Community College District 509 Board of Trustees seated two new members alongside two reelected members at the special board meeting on Monday, May 1, 2023. Patrick E. Parks won his election for the four-year seat, while Patricia Arroyo was elected to a six-year term along with incumbents Jennifer Rakow and Sergio Rodriguez.

Parks, of South Elgin, has served as Senior Pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Elgin since August 2020. He attended ECC in the summers of 2017 and 2018 and went on to graduate cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry from Judson University in 2019. He has more than 25 years of experience in church ministry and community involvement, including partnerships with Food for Greater Elgin and the Willow Creek Community Church Mobile Food Pantry. He also serves on the board of directors for the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley’s Advisory Council, Committee of Elgin Religious Leaders, U-46 Faith Leaders, and the African American Christian Ministers Alliance.

Parks was born and raised on the south side of Chicago and is a product of the Chicago Public School System. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and an active member of Elgin Post No. 57 American Legion. He and his wife, Diane, are parents of four adult children.

Arroyo, of Pingree Grove, has been in the health care field for over 25 years, currently serving as Manager of Interpreting Services and Community Engagement at Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin. She volunteers with Saint Mary’s Church in Huntley and serves on various community boards and committees that help the most vulnerable in our communities.

Arroyo holds a bachelor’s degree in community health, with a focus on health care administration, with business and Spanish minors from Northern Illinois University. She is a graduate of the Elgin Area Leadership Academy class of 2016-2017. Arroyo holds a Bridging the Gap Interpreter Certificate and is an alumnus of Elgin Community College. She most recently received training on Crisis Intervention through ICASA.

Rakow, of St. Charles, is a human resources manager for a construction company and was first elected to the board in 2017. In 2023, Rakow completed her first term as chair, having also served as board vice-chair and secretary.

Rodriguez was first appointed to fill a trustee vacancy in 2022. A 2010 graduate of ECC, he is Vice President of Information Technology and Marketing for KCT Credit Union in Elgin.

Board leadership roles were elected at the May 9, 2023, board meeting. Donna Redmer, EdD, ’76, will serve as board chair; she has served on the board since 2009, and this is her sixth term as chair. Rakow was elected vice-chair, with Shane Nowak, ’02, elected as secretary.

The Board of Trustees is comprised of seven trustees elected at-large from Community College District 509, which includes all who reside within public school districts 300, 301, 303, and U-46. An eighth trustee is a student elected by the student body. Trustees serve six-year terms on a rotating basis.

For more information, including meeting dates and minutes, visit elgin.edu/boardoftrustees.