Julie Novak
President
Julie Novak was appointed to the Board in August 2023. She and her husband, Jake, moved to Deer Park in 2010 and their three children attend Barrington Community School District 220. Julie received a B.A. from the University of Illinois and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and is an attorney in the pharmaceuticals industry.
Jim Lang
Procurement Officer
Jim has been a resident of Ela Township for 50 years, beginning when he started teaching Industrial Arts at Lake Zurich High School. Early on, Jim discovered the (volunteer) Lake Zurich Paramedic Rescue Squad and quickly joined – first becoming an EMT and shortly thereafter a Paramedic. But both teaching and working as a paramedic were not enough, as he also joined the Kildeer Police Department as a part-time officer, which he did for 30 years.
Jim also worked for 27 years (fulltime!) with a large company providing loss control, safety, and risk management consulting services. His clients required travel to 43 states, Canada, Mexico, and even a two-week “risk management study“of pubs in the UK. Quite the variety!
Jim and his wife, Ruth, are now both retired and live in Echo Lake. Jim has been on the LZRFPD board for 10 years, and is currently the Procurement Office, who ensures our three stations are saf and fully operational. He is very busy this year with a station remodeling project, large retaining wall replacement, and other tasks.
Mindy Dupee
Treasurer, Project Coordinator, Ethics Officer
Mindy Dupee was appointed to the Board in September of 2023. She and her husband moved to Lake Zurich in 2015 and then to Hawthorn Woods in 2019. She is the proud mother of 3 children. Mindy graduated with a BFA in Music Therapy from Illinois State University. She worked in hospice for almost a decade, a therapeutic day school for another decade, and in various other positions within the educational and psychiatric fields, including consulting for various Chicagoland school districts for most of her professional therapeutic career. She currently manages her family’s business of veterinary medicine.
Frederick Hutchinson
Secretary, FOIA Officer
Frederick Hutchinson was appointed to the Board in May 2025. He moved to Hawthorn Woods in 2017 with his wife Adriane and daughter Jade, a graduate of Lake Zurich CUSD #95. Frederick has been a Sociology faculty member at College of Lake County (CLC) since 2003, but began his education career in Washington, DC Public Schools as a 5th grade teacher. Frederick also worked for the City Colleges of Chicago and Lake Forest College before joining the CLC faculty. He recieved a B.A. in Sociology from Georgetown University and a M.A. of Sociology from the University of Chicago.
Hilary Winiarz
Dry Hyrdrant Coorinator, OMA Officer
Hilary Winiarz was appointed to the Board in May 2025. Born in Chicago and raised in Deerfield, Hilary, her husband, and her son have lived in Hawthorn Woods since 1998. Her drive toward civic and local issues was inspired at a young age by her father, a retired judge, and the stories she covered when she was a reporter for the ABC affiliate in Peoria, Illinois and for the Journal & Topics newspapers in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. Hilary has served as an officer in District 95’s PTOs, chaired fudraisers for CASA of Lake County, and continues in various chariatable endeavors. Hilary earned her B.A. in Mass Communications from Illinois State University. She is currently a writer for a large business services firm.