Instructors

Joe Connelly
Regional and Center Director
Joe Connelly is a 6th Degree Black Belt martial arts instructor.  His Taekwon-do Academy, Connelly's Academy, provides 19 community-based programs, serving 450 students on a weekly basis.  He has designed and taught programs that empower populations with special needs since 1981.  He is a special consultant to the Evanston Mental Health Association and National-Louis University's PACE Program.  His background includes 15 years of work experience in business education with IBM and The Fortune Group International, a training firm serving Fortune 1000 companies.  Joe has his master's degree in Human Services and is a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Anne Mason
Anne Mason received her BA from Michigan State University in Mathematics and did her graduate work in Systems Project Management.  Currently, she works as a systems consultant to the construction industry.  Anne is a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and has been a certified, full-force self defense instructor since 1990.  She was one of the original center heads for KIDPOWER Chicago and is now active as an instructor and teaching supervisor.

Richard Marberry
Richard J. Marberry has a background in corporate law and children's legal and social issues.  He has been a courtroom administrator in the Abuse and Neglect Division of Juvenile Court and has represented children in school board proceedings.  He is currently active as a member of Evanston's Recreation Board and the Evanston Citizens Police Academy Alumni Board.  He runs a school breakfast program for K-5 at Kingsley School and is interested in bringing KIDPOWER programs to schools to address bullying and peer aggression.

Susan Cahill
Susan Cahill is a licensed clinical professional counselor, a Dance Movement Therapist, and Internal Family Systems Practitioner, maintaining a private practice in Wilmette.  She also works part time for Mather Lifeways, a retirement community. Susan guest lectures in the Dance Movement Therapy Graduate Department at Columbia College and facilitates body centered therapy workshops in the community.  What drew Susan to KIDPOWER was seeing how the program utilizes physical action and story telling as a way to integrate new skills for safety.  She is committed to fostering programs that model and promote self leadership and healthy living.

Suzanne Burns
Suzanne earned a bachelor's degree in Child and Family Development and her background includes caring for children and adolescents with behavioral problems in residential facilities, and serving as a Student Life Instructor at the PACE Program at National-Louis University. At the PACE Program, Suzanne coordinated activities for college aged students with multiple learning disabilities.  Currently, Suzanne is co-owner of a petsitting company called WatchDogs and actively assists in Tae kwon-do school programs in Evanston. 

Cecelia Keleher
Cecilia Keleher is an effective KIDPOWER instructor who is certified in programs for all ages, from preschool to seniors since 1992.  In addition, Cecelia is a seasoned Human Resources Manager who has extensive experience in organizational training and change management, and who has brought the KIDPOWER training into corporate organizations as a family benefit to employees as well as to enhance development of corporate employees.  Cecelia is currently a Sr. HR Consultant with Hewitt Associates and is committed to incorporating organizational and training effectiveness within the KIDPOWER programs. In addition, she is also working with organizations to incorporate KIDPOWER programs as important work/life balance tools for employees.

Sterling Goodrich
Sterling Goodrich has been teaching self-defense internationally to people of all ages since 1992.  He has a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a first degree black belt in Hapkido.  Sterling earned his bachelor’s degree in Communications from Northwestern University and has a background in both corporate and community, not-for-profit work. He also is bilingual in English and Spanish.