Sycamore Education Foundation names Distinguished Alumni Award recipients

SYCAMORE – The Sycamore Education Foundation recently named Sarah Gallagher Chami, Mark Pietrowski and Sally Stevens as the recipients of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award.

The awards are presented annually to Sycamore High School alumni, according to a news release.

The recipients are alumni who maintained a high standard of excellence and made contributions to their fields. The award also serves as a tribute to graduates’ personal, community or professional achievements.

Stevens graduated from Sycamore High School in 1948 and attended Lake Forest College. She worked as the Sycamore High School secretary and school board treasurer for 12 years.

Stevens also was secretary to six Northern Illinois University presidents for 32 years. She is a member of the NIU Women’s Club, the DeKalb Drama Club, the Sycamore-DeKalb Panhellenic, the Sycamore Women’s Club, 100+ Women Who Serve, the YMCA board of directors, and the DeKalb Public Library and Egyptian Theater fundraising committees.

Stevens also is a Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra board member. She was awarded the NIU Outstanding Philanthropist Award, Altrusa International Woman of Accomplishment, the NIU Alumni Association F.R. Geigle Service Award, Boy Scouts of America Tribute to Heroes Award and Kishwaukee YMCA Key Leader Award.

Stevens was inducted into the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame. She also chairs several fundraising committees. Stevens serves on the Sycamore Women’s Club board of directors, chairs the Memorial Committee Programs, held Oak Crest leadership positions, and was named an “NIU Huskie Legend.”

Gallagher Chami is the only child of Judge T. Jordan and Deborah Gallagher. She graduated from Sycamore High School with honors in 1996.

Chami studied at DePaul University and the Chicago Kent School of Law. She worked in criminal and civil courts, serving as a prosecutor in both Cook and DeKalb counties. Chami worked at the Turner Law Office and the law firm Dixon Gallagher Chami LLC.

She has appointments from the Sycamore School District, the city of Sycamore and various charitable boards.

Chami was appointed as associate judge of the 23rd Judicial Circuit in 2022. She currently lives in Sycamore with her husband, Elie, and their children, Michael, Norah, Sophia and Elena.

Pietrowski was a Sycamore High School student newspaper and basketball team member. He earned an associate degree from Kishwaukee College, where he was a student government senator and organized two forums.

Pietrowski transferred to Northern Illinois University, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication and a Doctorate of Education Degree in community college leadership.

He was an NIU Public Relations Student Society of America member, worked for the Northern Star student newspaper, was a Graduate Student Communication Committee president, and received the Outstanding Major and Martha D. Cooper Teaching Assistant Peer Leadership awards.

Pietrowski was selected for the University of Illinois Edgar Fellow system leadership program in 2018. He was elected to the Kishwaukee College board of trustees in 2009, as the DeKalb County Board’s District 3 representative in 2012 and as mayor of Cortland in 2021.

Pietrowski served as a 2012 National Democratic Convention delegate for President Barack Obama and was a 14th Congressional District delegate for the state of Illinois.

He was the DeKalb County Board chairman and DeKalb County Forest Preserve president in 2014.

Pietrowski is a Cortland Lions Club and DeKalb County Farm Bureau member. He also is a DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau board member, Joseph Glidden Homestead and Historical Center board member, Egyptian Theatre vice president and board member, and DeKalb Kiwanis board member and former president.

Pietrowski is the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology’s advising dean and director. He is an Undocumented Student Community ally, LGBTQA ally, CODE ally and facilitator, NIU Annuitants Association member, and Operating Staff Council and University Council member.

He was awarded the Supportive Professional Staff Presidential Award for Excellence in 2017. Pietrowski currently resides in Cortland with his wife and two dogs.