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Chris Persaud

Late last year, our long-time IT Technical Operations Director, Chris Persuad,
left the District to pursue other opportunities. In his 8+ years as IT Tech
Ops Director, Chris managed a team of dedicated professionals and was
instrumental in many critical projects that supported District initiatives
and moved the District’s technology and support capabilities forward to
the benefit of students. Overseeing numerous computer and peripheral
refreshes, the on-going management and operation of the Data Center and
providing support resources for staff and schools, Chris always provided a
steady hand in steering the department forward. We wish Chris well in all of
his future endeavors and most certainly appreciate his notable contributions
to the District!

As part of the transition, we took the opportunity to realign some teams with
the department that best suits their work functions. The Active Directory
and Endpoint teams were moved under Ricky Saturnini of the Enterprise
Applications department.

Bruce Walsh

Bruce Walsh has been a part of IT for more than 30 years. During his long
tenure, he was instrumental to many upgrades, particularly those involving
voice and data. Dedication, commitment, consistency, and perseverance
can best describe his work ethic over his career.

Bruce was hired to the School District when typewriters, rotary phones,
and Key System phones were used - the main School District office was a
collection of trailers on Belvedere Road. His previous experience from AT&T
was critical during the transition from our Key System to a PBX and later to
the current standard VOIP. He was also instrumental in the School District’s
relationship with AT&T from the early IT days to the present.

During the 1990s, Bruce did not win a single football or basketball pool.
But he progressed in his career to Network Services Manager and a new
home at the McKesson Building. There his luck greatly improved, as he won
multiple football and basketball pools - including this year’s college football
pool! Bruce’s passion for sports of all kinds is well-known, including cheering
on his kids and now grandkids, in baseball and softball.

Bruce will culminate his School District career this Spring. He departs to
start a new chapter in his life. We will sorely miss Bruce’s leadership and
commitment to the IT Division but wish him well in retirement.

Jonathan Simcina
SPECIAL FAREWELLS
Jonathan Simcina, lead systems engineer on several critical enterprise-level
systems including the District Portal, left the School District in mid-February
to move with his wife and two young daughters to Chicago. Jonathan started
his District career in January 2010 as an ITSA at Berkshire Elementary. He
transferred to the IT Division in late 2011 where was repeatedly recognized
and promoted for his brilliant technical mind. When the District first
implemented an enterprise single-sign-on portal, Jonathan took ownership
of the solution to the point where the vendor took advice from him on system
weaknesses and recommended technical improvements. Jonathan was
very well known and respected within and outside of IT for his technical
skills including programming/coding, troubleshooting, problem solving, and
overall systems engineering. We miss him greatly but know he will be hugely
successful in the next phase of his career in Chicago.

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