Get to Know our Consultants

Amanda Christensen

DeKalb County Regional Superintendent of Education
Amanda  taught in the area of English / Language Arts for 15 years at Granger Middle School in Aurora, Kishwaukee Education Consortium, and then at DeKalb High School. She earned National Board Certification in 2008 and has a Master’s degree and a Specialist degree in Educational Leadership. She was elected to the office of Regional Superintendent of Schools in 2012 and is always looking for opportunities to expand ROE programming in order to serve the needs of the community. 
Melissa taught at Hiawatha Elementary School in Kirkland, Illinois. During that time, she was actively involved in a number of leadership committees, including serving as chair of the district’s PERA committee, and as manager of the new teacher mentoring program. Prior to teaching, Melissa worked as an attorney. She is thrilled to be continuing her educational career as the elementary educational consultant for the DeKalb County ROE.
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Melissa Irick

Elementary Consultant
Strengths and Expertise:
  • Social/Emotional Learning
  • Social Studies standards
  • Instructional Coaching
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • English Language Learners (endorsed)
  • Elementary Curriculum Alignment
  • Elementary Classroom (licensed K-5)
  • Classroom Management
  • Continuous Improvement Planning 

Debbie Bible

Early Learning Consultant
Literacy Consultant
Deb Bible taught at the preschool center and several elementary schools in Carpentersville and West Dundee. During that time she was a district literacy leader, preschool special education teacher, and a literacy teacher/coach for grades K-5. In addition, she has also worked privately as a consultant for several early childhood centers, private schools, public schools, and educational publishers. She is delighted to be a part of the DeKalb ROE as the early learning educational consultant.
Miriam taught middle school Social Studies, Language Arts, and Pre-Algebra in Camas, WA prior to moving to Aurora, IL. Upon arriving in the Midwest, she served as a  home bound tutor, substitute teacher, and ACT tutor. She began her tenure at Aurora University in 2005 where she taught in both the teacher preparation and General Education programs. Miriam completed her Ed.D in Leadership in Curriculum & Instruction in 2017. Her dissertation research examined the experience of underrepresented minority students who learned mindfulness. She is the founding director of Resilient Mind Consulting, a non-profit dedicated to helping communities implement contemplative practices, and a board member with the Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (COSEM).

Miriam Ojaghi

Middle School Consultant
Social-emotional Consultant
Strengths and Expertise:
  • Culturally Relevant Teaching                                        
  • Social/Emotional Learning
  • Trauma
  • Mindfulness & the Brain
  • Instructional Coaching
  • English Language Learners
  • Middle School Curriculum Alignment
  • Elementary Classroom (licensed K-8)
  • Classroom Management​