I have lived in Naperville with my husband and two daughters for over 12 years and am an active community member, volunteering at my daughters’ schools and serving as a PTA committee chair for many years. In 2024, I was asked to join the IPSD 204 Citizen Task Force, helping guide the school district towards the successful passage of a bond referendum. Professionally, I spent over 15 years as a Structured Settlement Annuity Broker, assisting claimants in managing settlement funds. My expertise in financial planning and budgeting now informs my work in ensuring the efficient use of Naperville residents' tax dollars. Since transitioning to the public sector in 2022, I have gained valuable experience in public policy, negotiations, and community engagement. I was first elected to the Board in 2021, and I have served as Vice President since 2022. In 2025, I was honored with the IAPD Master Board Member recognition for my continued dedication and leadership.
A top priority is a strong commitment to the community. I support responsible oversight of the District’s Indoor Recreation Space Needs plan following extensive community engagement in 2024. Expanding inclusive programming for all ages, abilities, and backgrounds is also key, as is maintaining a strong park district presence at events and diversifying the District's partnerships. Keeping programs affordable while making fiscally responsible decisions is crucial, including continued support for the growing Fee Assistance program. Environmental sustainability also remains a focus—I backed projects like permeable pavers, an electric golf cart fleet, and shoreline restoration. In 2024, I introduced the Dark Skies resolution, passed unanimously to conserve energy, reduce light pollution, and protect wildlife.
I support developing new indoor recreation space that aligns with the Indoor Recreation Space Needs Assessment, ensuring it reflects community priorities. Addressing the demand for additional space in south Naperville and dedicated indoor aquatic facilities is essential. Any large-scale development would require funding through a ballot referendum, giving voters a direct voice in this significant decision. Ultimately, the community will determine if they are willing to invest in a new facility, ensuring transparency and public involvement throughout the process.
The District's annual budget is a vital tool for guiding spending and purchasing decisions while upholding the District's mission, vision, and values. Any adjustments should prioritize fiscal responsibility and maintaining our AAA bond rating, demonstrating a commitment to long-term financial health. As a board member, my role is to ensure the budget aligns with the community’s broader priorities rather than personal interests. By adhering to these principles, we can make informed decisions that reflect the needs and values of those we serve while ensuring financial stability.
I am a 5th generation Naperville resident. Went to Bradley University, graduated with an Accounting and Spanish degree. I studied in Guadalajara Mexico and Seville Spain, I consider myself proficient in Spanish. I am a CPA. I currently manage a $250m budget, focusing on controls/process/improved financial performance. This is in comparison to the $50m budget for the Naperville Park District. I am a certified referee. I am 50 yrs old, and have worked in the finance field for 30 years. My children are getting older and they don’t want to hang out with Dad. I want to be a role model for my children. I’ve always admired how great our park district is. I don’t think any of the current board or the new candidates have financial expertise. This is my time to give back to our great city.
To be clear, I am not running to fix anything as my goal to continue the excellence that currently exists. Here are three areas I would like to continue to address;
1. Fiscal responsible decisioning with taxpayers’ money. I will challenge plans to ensure we follow process, get the best cost and most importantly maintain a high ethical standard.
2. Connected Trails and preserving open space – applies to all ages, families. Continue to find ways to connect and expand our open space.
3. Entertain the possibility of an indoor public pool. The closure of Edward Fitness and demolition of the downtown YMCA has reduced the swimming options. Explore public/private financing but due to it's size....this would be a referendum and let the taxpayers vote.
Yes I support additional indoor space, primarily aquatics as it was a reoccurring ask when I was collecting signatures and knocking on doors. Like all large projects this would be up for public review and comment, eventually leading to a referendum. My view is that Naperville has very successful residents and there could be private donations that would help subsidize part of the development, leaving a legacy for years to come. The main issue is the cost to build has doubled since building Fort Hill. It is easy to want something but harder to pay for it. If we can be creative, stay within budget and engage the philanthropic side of our constituents, it could be done.
I would like to ensure we challenge our spend profile. The common statement that we have remaining budget, how shall we spend it, is not something I agree with. If we have unspent budget, I propose we give back to the taxpayers. I want to make sure we have a culture of accountability to the taxpayer. Replacing perfectly functioning playgrounds, adding hardly used workout stations in parks....signal that we are searching for ways to spend money or we are not pushing back on the status quo. I could be wrong but that is why a financial mind would be good on the board.
My name is Natalia Dagenhart, and I have been a Naperville resident since March 2002. I am a mother of two and a grandmother of two. I have a bachelor’s degree in teaching music in elementary and middle school. I also graduated twice from College of DuPage. Since November 2013 I have been writing articles about classical music events that take place in the Chicago area. I am a community contributor. I also serve as an Election Judge. Since 2022, I have been a commissioner on the Special Events and Community Arts commission (SECA). I am running for the Naperville Park District commission because I want to serve my community. I care about Naperville parks and facilities. While collecting signatures to get on the ballot, I spent a lot of time talking to my constituents and learned a lot from them. I am looking forward to talking to even more people about their needs and their ideas of how we can together improve our parks and facilities and keep them safe, accessible and beautiful.
My 1st concern is that our taxes are going up. Many people can’t afford it. Some of them must work two jobs to afford a comfortable style of living and pay their taxes. We need to think about cutting some expenses or delaying some work that must be done. We must prioritize certain projects over others. We must prioritize the needs of our citizens. My 2nd concern is that we have a critical need for indoor space. Particularly, our residents want to have an indoor pool in Naperville. Many of them travel to neighboring towns to take their children to swimming classes. This must be fixed without overspending our budget. We can look at options such as finding and leasing an unused facility. In order to fund building a new facility that would have a pool, I think we should have a referendum. We should put this question on the ballot. Another issue is cost increases and the difficulty of registering for programs. We need to keep our costs under control and simplify program registration.
I think we should have a referendum and ask our residents if they want to pay for the new facility through their taxes. We should let our residents decide what to do in this case. If through the referendum they vote to build a new facility, we can consider issuing bonds in order to cover the expenses.
We need to think about cutting some expenses or delaying some work that must be done. We must prioritize certain projects over others. We must prioritize the needs of our citizens. I am ready to listen to my constituents and hear their ideas and suggestions. Together, we can solve all the issues that the Naperville Park District will face. I take taxpayers’ money seriously, and I believe there are ways to maintain the Naperville parks and facilities without overspending our budget.
I am an Indian-American daughter of immigrants who grew up in Naperville and am a graduate of Neuqua Valley High School (Go Wildcats!).
I am a public health professional, currently focusing on health promotion and advocacy in the areas of substance abuse prevention and maternal and child health. I am a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Health Sciences, and I have a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Benedictine University. After completing my education, I have dedicated my professional career towards improving health outcomes directly in our communities.
Outside of work, I am also a public health advocate, working with our elected officials on public health matters and educating them about the issues affecting our city’s residents. I have always enjoyed working with diverse voices to create meaningful change in our communities, putting my skills towards advocacy, collaboration, and leadership—all of which I will bring to the Naperville Park District.
My priorities include:
Promote Community Health-
I want our parks to promote not just physical health, but also mental health. I will use my experience as a public health professional to encourage physical activity and support mental well-being, and ensure our parks enhance the quality of life in our city.
Make Programming More Accessible-
I will work to ensure that programming meets the needs of our city. From introducing new activities, to making sure that our programs are affordable, I want to make sure that every member of our community has a place within our parks.
Maintain Fiscal Responsibility-
I am committed to maintaining the financial health of our Park District system, and I will work with my fellow commissioners to ensure we make responsible investments in our parks. With the next iteration of strategic planning coming up during the new term, I want our tax dollars to be used as efficiently as possible, and I will advocate for investments in improving public health.
Per the indoor needs assessment, community members expressed interest in indoor aquatics as the greatest need from their parks facilities.
They were also asked if they were willing to pay for an such a space, and a majority said they are through an additional $60-85/year in property taxes over the next 20 years, voted on through a bond referendum.
If a referendum passes, my priority will be ensuring long-term maintenance of a quality space that is accessible to all and creating fiscally responsible funding structures.
As a Park District Commissioner, I will support whatever our city’s taxpayers vote for, but the construction of an indoor aquatics space will be expensive. It will require innovative financing solutions that avoids undue burden on the taxpayers. That’s why I will work with the Park District Administration to look into developing public-private partnerships in financing such a construction to try to offset some of the costs to the taxpayers.
I want to leverage our city’s wonderful parks and programs to improve the health of our communities, not just physical health, but also social, emotional, and mental health.
I want to see investments in programming around chronic disease prevention and the improvement of mental health for all of our city's residents, youth, adults, and seniors alike. This would include creating partnerships with organizations and non-profits that address challenges like these, and reaffirming our existing partnerships with organizations like the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA), which works to ensure that individuals with disabilities and special needs still get to fully participate in our city’s wonderful park district programming.
Making sure the Park District remains inclusive to everyone in our city remains a vital part of improving the mental and physical health of our communities, and I am committed to making sure accessibility is a priority for the Board of Commissioners.
Current park district commissioner since 2021. I have learned so much about park district operations and how to be a representative as well as an asset to the team. My focus has been and will continue to be promotion of community, inclusivity, and visibility. I created the Commissioner's Challenge to help put us in the picture to further promote park programs and facilities. I also have worked closely with leadership to increase the visibility of our inclusion initiatives and to further improve our diversity, equity and inclusion footprint to keep us level with comparable park districts across the state and country.
Our indoor space needs assessment was a huge and exciting undertaking and it's the next big move for the park district. We have a large, diverse community to serve and we need to figure out how to address the needs for indoor space and requested amenities such as another fitness center, indoor aquatics, and space in south Naperville.
I support meeting the needs of the community in any way we can. The leadership team is great at finding alternate sources of funding such as grants and community partnerships. Many surveyed support referendum for something such as an indoor pool, so all of these avenues will need to be reviews. Ideally we could acquire an existing space to work from, but otherwise using all possible resources at our disposal will be needed.
My only priorities are serving the community. Anything we can do to further provide services, programs, and facilities should make top budget priorities. If we can find further funding or partnerships to help find the fee assistance program that would be ideal and something I would prioritize as well, as that is an important inclusion initiative. Same with the WDSRA.
Campaign Phone
630-270-8081
I grew up in Naperville and moved back with my husband to raise our girls here. My husband and I both graduated from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, and we chose the Chicago-land area to start our careers in, and settled in Naperville just over 6 years ago.
Before the pandemic, I was a manager for a photography company, responsible for 40 or more employees, depending on our staffing needs. I worked from home before it was all the rage!
After the pandemic, I shifted to an operations and administrative role at a tax company in Chicago and have been there ever since.
I also worked part time as a family photographer, and currently stay busy with my kids’ activities!
I wanted to make a difference in the community that has given me so much in my life, and the park district was a perfect fit for me. As a mom, I was already an avid user of the park district’s amenities and programs, so it really made the most sense to get involved there.
I am really excited to work on our indoor needs survey, which is a comprehensive survey we took to determine what indoor amenities Naperville wants most! I also am looking at ways to make our already inclusive and adaptive programming even more inclusive and adaptive to children and adults with special needs. I am proud to have supported updated policies for our employees, such as wage increases, inclusive language and protections for LGBTQIA+, and increased medical/bereavement leave. Employees are the face and the heart of the district, and we have to remain competitive to attract the best talent. I am excited to continue the progress that has already been made.
We just received our indoor needs survey back and I was very interested to see that a good majority of our respondents not only want more indoor recreation space at the park district, but are willing to pay slightly higher taxes to get them. For the past 4 years, I have only voted to tax residents the amount we need, and we will continue to be good stewards of tax payer's dollars by providing the best in public recreation.
Any major capital project such as a new indoor space would need to go to referendum, so it would be a question for voters to decide what they want, and how much they are willing to pay to get it. It's not a decision the board can or would make without taxpayer input and consent. For years we have tiptoed around the question of a pool, but I believe our comprehensive survey let us as commissioners know that we are ready to ask taxpayers that question, and to once and for all find out if we need a new indoor space, and if a pool would be a part of that project.
