Meet Our Faculty

Chris Antonsen has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Rhetoric from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in Folklore Studies from Western Kentucky University, and a PhD in English from Ohio State University with joint emphases in Folklore Studies and American Literature. Prior to coming to Countryside eleven years ago, he spent time as a college professor, the founding managing editor of a small academic publishing house, projects manager and grants writer for the National Foreign Languages Resource Center, a web-delivered database developer, and a scout leader. He studied folklore at England’s University of Sheffield where he later held an Honorary Research Fellowship while conducting dissertation fieldwork. Mr. A is the proud parent of two Countryside alumni.

Ikro Joe received his B.S. and M.S. in Biological Sciences and a PhD in Molecular and Integrative Physiology from the University of Illinois. As a research scientist at Kim Laboratories, a biotech company, he worked on pathogen detection sensor development, and he founded biotech firm EnvirGen Inc. For the past five years, Dr. Joe has tutored students in all levels of high school math. In addition he teaches test prep for the SSAT, ACT, SAT, SAT Subject tests, and the calculus, biology, and chemistry AP courses.

Tara Santiago is in her fifth year at Countryside. She has a B.S. in Computational Mathematics from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the past, she has been a teaching assistant for undergraduate math courses, an SAT instructor, and a math tutor. When she isn’t teaching, she is probably at home playing with her cat, Luna Victoria.

Marty Stambaugh is in her twenty-second year at Countryside and thirty-third year in teaching. Prior to coming to Countryside, she taught middle school Science at Urbana Middle School for nine years and served as the on-site coordinator for University of Illinois secondary education students who were student teaching at UMS. Having completed 22 graduate credits beyond her M.Ed., Ms. Stambaugh has taken advantage of numerous workshops, seminars, and courses to develop her interests in science education and related areas, as well as conducting various workshops herself. In addition to the teaching degree, she holds a B.A. in Agricultural Communications with a news-editorial emphasis.

Gloria Arizaga is originally from Mexico City, Mexico, and moved to the United States in 2001. She received her Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the Escuela de Periodismo "Carlos Septién García" and Associates Degree in Public Policies from the Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública de Queretaro. She is currently a freelance writer specializing in Economy and Finance for CNN's Expansión magazine and worked previously as a reporter and editor for daily newspapers. For nine years she was the coordinator of Nuevos Horizontes, a Spanish-language radio program produced by the University of Illinois Extension, where she also developed an oral comprehension course for Spanish AP students in high school. In addition to being a Spanish tutor for several years, she taught Spanish as a Second Language for K-8th grade for three years prior to joining Countryside. She has a daughter who is a Countryside alumna.

Dee Chapman is an iOS developer with years of experience in education. She earned both her B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois and established a career at the University developing a virtual reality system with Caterpillar. In addition she has developed virtual reality applications for education and research through the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. In 2008 she co-founded a K-12 educational cooperative where she has taught and designed curriculum for a variety of classes including computer science. Mrs. Chapman has been a Girls Who Code facilitator at the University of Illinois, and worked to develop and program online educational content for MacMillan Publishers. She has developed numerous websites, is a freelance programmer, and is also the parent of Countryside alumni.

Jacki Loewenstein is the artistic director and owner of Class Act, a Champaign-based performing arts studio. Since 1992, she has worked professionally as a theater director, instructor, and private acting coach in Chicago, NYC, and Austin. Over the past decade, Ms. Jacki has directed local productions for Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company (CUTC), Urbana’s Station Theatre, and CUTC’s Penguin Project, a program featuring young people with disabilities paired with peer mentors. She received her B.A. in Journalism from UNC–Chapel Hill and her MFA in Directing from Illinois State University in Normal, IL. In addition, Ms. Jacki was our guest director for Countryside’s 8th grade production of Into the Woods, Jr. in 2016.

Whitney McComas graduated from the U of I with both her B.S. in Classics with a concentration in Latin and her M.A. in Classics with a specialization in Latin. While pursuing her Masters in teaching, she was recognized by her university students for excellence in teaching. Ms. McComas student-taught at Victor Andrew High School in Tinley Park, has tutored Latin, and has taught summer language camp for children ages 9-12 at the University of Illinois. Ms. McComas is in her eighth year teaching at Countryside.

Brooke Kim received her B.A in Art Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She taught art at Robeson Elementary School and has been a summer art camp leader at the Urbana Park District. In addition, Ms. Kim student taught at schools in Mahomet, at Centennial High School in Champaign, and at the Saturday Art School at the University of Illinois. Ms. Kim’s volunteer experience includes teaching bible study and volunteering with the homeless in Osaka, Japan, and leading weekly bible study discussions for college and graduate students locally.

Shane Woodcock earned his B.S. in Physical Education from Eureka College and M.S. in Sports Administration from Eastern Illinois University. This is Mr. Woodcock’s sixth year at Countryside. Through his creativity and enthusiasm about physical education, he has grown our program with several new activities. Mr. Woodcock established our archery program, archery summer camp, and the First Tee Golf program. He founded our ever-popular Annual Color Run and more recently, our Countryside Golf Outing. In addition to serving as our Athletic Director, Mr. Woodcock coaches Countryside’s boys’ basketball team, coed soccer team, and archery club. He is also a Middle School Advisor.