CHICAGO — Since 2012, Cook-Illinois Corporation has worked closely with a National Advisory Team, which was created by the company to serve as an objective and critical sounding board and consultant group.
The members are well-known to the school transportation industry: Peggy Burns, Pauline Gervais, and Susan Englert Shutrump. Peggy is the former in-house legal counsel for Adams 12 Five Star Schools in Colorado and founder of Education Compliance Group; Pauline is the former executive director of Transportation Services for Denver Public Schools; and Sue is the supervisor of occupational and physical therapy services for Trumbull County Educational Service Center in Ohio.
Peggy and Pauline have retired, but continue their influence through appearances at the Transporting Students with Disabilities Conference, and the many resources they have made available to transporters in the course of their careers.
Of the team, Cook-Illinois COO John Benish, Jr. reports: “The companies of Cook-Illinois strive for continual improvement of service, and that starts from within. Peggy, Pauline, and Sue continue to bring an objective perspective grounded in safety, operations, service, and compliance. Their combined experience in the pupil transportation industry and the transportation of students with special needs adds depth and breadth of knowledge to the service our companies provide.”
The National Advisory Team meets with several levels of Cook-Illinois management no less than annually, and informally share relevant information with company officials, to support the company’s desire to anticipate issues and concerns that may be on the horizon on a national basis. www.cookillinois.com
