Where She’s From
Ann Schuster hails from Oak Park, Illinois outside Chicago, “the home of Cubs, Deep Dish Pizza and cruising along Lake Shore Drive.” A classroom teacher and school librarian for 12 years, Ann began her career in Illinois, followed by work in Nebraska, Minneapolis, and Kansas.
About Her Family
A black, 15-year-old domestic short hair cat named Lucky is a very important member of Ann’s family. Other family members include a sister in Chicago, a brother in St. Louis, another brother in Phoenix, and six nieces and nephews.
Why She Joined the League
A college friend from the Chicago area who was a LWV member there inspired Ann to check out the League. After serving as an usher for the LWVJoCo 100-year anniversary event in 2019, Ann became a member and knew right away that she was in the right place.
What she thinks the League does well
Ann notes that LWVJoCo uses its various communication platforms very effectively. THE VOTER, the website, the voter/issue education events and legislative coffees throughout the year are in Ann’s estimation exceptional. Not only do good communication tools add to the depth and breadth of members’ knowledge but also result in outreach, thereby growing the organization’s membership.
Where she would like to see the League focus in the future
Ann feels that the League in the future should continue and increase voter registration efforts and legislative monitoring, including observing at local Board of Education meetings.
What she does to strengthen our democracy
As an observer at the Blue Valley Board of Education meetings and as a former K-12 teacher Ann sees a role for the League in strengthening civic education in the classroom. She feels that addressing issues like book bans and fake news should be part of the K-12 curriculum.
Fun Fact
In March, Ann traveled the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky and visited several distilleries.
How she’s coping with the pandemic
During the time of the pandemic, Ann substitute taught for the first 12 weeks of the 2020-21 school year. She also conducted her own long term subject study, reviewing literature about change as well as performing volunteer work for several agencies and participating in the Johnson County Christmas Bureau.
