Dr. Annegret Harnischfeger, Director
Annegret Harnischfeger, Professor (ret.) of Education & Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. Prior positions in Education at the University of Chicago, Stanford University, Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung (M-P-Institute for Educational Research), Berlin, Deutscher Bildungsrat (German Council on Education), Bonn, Germany. Her research includes teaching-learning processes, school administration and evaluation.
Susanne Brendl, Administrator
Susanne was born and raised in Germany. She completed a degree in Business Administration at the Fachhochschule Ludwigshafen and obtained an MBA degree from St. John’s University in New York. After having worked as a marketing research analyst for BASF AG in Ludwigshafen and in the Mutual Funds Administration at Deutsche Bank Securities Corporation in New York City for several years, she stopped working in order to raise her two children. Prior to moving to the U.S. in 2007 she lived with her family in Fontainebleau, France for eight years. During this time she was actively involved as board member in building up the German Section of the International School. Her children are trilingual.
Mariam Pahl, Administrator
Mariam Pahl was born in Teheran and educated at the German School of Teheran. She completed a degree in business (Diplom-Betriebswirt) at the Universität Hamburg. After working in marketing for a fashion company in Munich, she joined her husband in his international assigments in Zurich, Berne, Stockholm, Greenwich CT, London, and now in Chicago. She has been very involved in the PTAs at her children’s schools. Currently she serves as the President of the North Shore International Network. Mariam and her husband, who is also German, are raising their three boys bilingually.
Danica Niemeier, Head Teacher
Danica Niemeier grew up near Hamburg with three younger siblings who ignited her love for teaching children. After Abitur (graduation from Gymnasium) she moved to the Chicago area where she worked as an au-pair and as a nanny. Among the children she took care of were also some with special needs (ADD, ADHD and autism). These experiences strengthened her resolve to go into education. She enrolled in Concordia University’s Elementary Education Program from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and Illinois elementary-level teaching certification. Frau Niemeier is thrilled to support the only German speaking school in Chicago. It is great joy for her to help students grow into independent and thoughtful individuals.
Petra Obritzberger, Head Teacher
Petra Obritzberger was born and raised in Austria. She graduated from the Pädagogische Akademie Wien (Teachers’ Training College of Vienna) in 2000. She taught in Austria for seven years, and then moved to Michigan where she taught four years at the German Language Center, at the Deutsche Schule Ann Arbor and at The International School. Petra spent many summers in Great Britain and Malta, where she chaperoned and taught international groups of students. In 2011 she moved to Chicago with her husband and her two pugs. She is excited about and looking forward to teaching at the German School Chicago.
Liza Goldstein, Teacher
Liza Goldstein moved to Düsseldorf, Germany from Latvia as a child. After Abitur she attended the Berufskolleg der Kaiserswerther Diakonie Düsseldorf from which she graduated with a pre-school teaching license. Liza gained teaching experience at the elementary school Yitzhak-Rabin Grundschule Düsseldorf, as well as, at various preschools including a bilingual (English/German) Montessori school in Düsseldorf. After moving with her husband to Chicago in 2011 Liza started at German School Chicago as a volunteer before joining the staff as a full-time teacher. She is excited to be part of a teaching team and use her skills to enrich German School Chicago.
Greg Horn, Teacher (English)
Greg Horn was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (1998) from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. After moving to Chicago he continued his education at DePaul University and received a Masters Degree and teaching certification in Elementary Education. Greg then taught fifth-grade student for five years at Melrose Park Elementary School in Melrose Park, IL. Once his daughter was born in 2008 he decided to take a leave from teaching and became a full-time stay-at-home dad. Now that his daughter has started the pre-school program at GSC, Greg is happy to be back in the classroom as GSC’s English teacher.
Kornelia Janik, Teacher
Kornelia Janik, from Bonn, Germany, came to Chicago in 2005. She discovered her passion for languages and communication at an early age, growing up with her mother, a German teacher herself. Fluent in German, English, Spanish and Polish, and intermediate in French and Italian, Nelia traveled Europe and the Americas as an interpreter and international spokes person for many different companies, while pursuing her general education at North-Eastern Illinois University and a Bachelor or Fine Arts at Harrington College of Design. While settling down in Chicago, Nelia has been teaching language to children 1 – 10 years old with Chicago based language academies and private students. The great success she achieved with the children motivated her to join GSC in order to utilize her creative art, music and language skills, grow with the school and pursue a career in education. Nelia’s fun and energetic attitude is sure to capture the children’s lasting attention.
Marijke Japs, Teacher
Marijke Japs studied English and French literature and linguistics at Westfälische Wilhelms-University of Münster, Germany. Parallel to her teacher training in Stuttgart, she successfully completed an extra qualification program for Media in Education. Marijke holds a teaching qualification for German as a foreign language and gained first international teaching experience when working as a German language assistant at a Lycée in Moissy-Cramayel, France. In July 2011, she finished her first year as a teacher at Max-Planck-Gymnasium, Böblingen. She joined the GSC staff in November 2011 and hopes to inspire the children with her passion for languages and intercultural learning.
Kathrin Piegeler, Teacher
Kathrin was born and raised in Greifswald, Germany, right at the shore of the Baltic Sea. After having completed her apprenticeship as a nurse in her hometown, she moved to München (Munich) to live and work there for one year, before she decided to go to Zurich, Switzerland. There she completed the training to become a nurse anesthetist at the Universitäts-Spital Zürich (University Hospital Zurich), the profession she worked in until she came to Chicago. Her training in Zurich included a 6-month rotation at the Kinderspital Universitäts-Kinderklinik Zürich (Children’s University Hospital Zurich). Since then she has been a member of the Pediatric Anesthesia Team at the Universitäts-Spital Zürich (University Hospital Zurich).
Kathrin started as a volunteer at GSC in March 2011 and she is now joining staff for the 2011-2012 school year. Kathrin very much hopes, that her time at GSC will broaden both her and the students’ horizons.
David Ben-Porat, Before/After School Care
David Ben-Porat was born and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut. He is a professional musician specializing in trombone and voice. In the fall 2002, after completing two years at Indiana University in Bloomington, David transferred to the Hochschule fuer Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin, Germany. After graduating, he remained in Berlin until spring of 2009 when he relocated to Chicago. He joined the GSC in hope of retaining his German skills and being able to help and witness kids grow with the added advantage of maturing bilingual.
