Libertyville Area Moms Feature Board President, Kelly Dunn Rynes
January 14, 2019

We’re proud to share this feature from local website Libertyville Area Moms! You can view the original feature here:   https://libertyvilleareamoms.com/meet-a-mom-kelly/

Meet A Mom: Kelly

 Kelly Dunn Rynes is a Mom of three, board president of Montessori School of Lake Forest, a real estate broker associate at Berkshire Hathaway HomeService KoenigRubloff Realty Group, and proud North Shore native.

How long have you lived here and what brought you here?

I was born at Lake Forest Hospital and I’ve lived here ever since.  The nurse that was in the delivery room when I was born was the same nurse that assisted in the birth of my own three children.  Literally full circle life moments!  My husband is also from Lake Forest and both my maternal and paternal sides have roots in the Chicagoland area dating back more than 100 years.

The North Shore area is truly home for all of us!  It’s the type of place you want to grow up in and then return to raise your own family.

Do you have child(ren)?

I have three kids:

Daughter – Paige – age 8

Son – Parker – age 4

Son – Payton – age 3

They are my “3 p’s in a pod”  

 

Are you involved in a local organization or business venture?

Aside from my family, I have two passions that fill my days.  First is my career.  I have been in the real estate industry since 2003 and hang my license with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group.  I received my degree in Economics and I feel incredibly lucky to make a living in this field.  I pop in and out of beautiful homes all day which feeds my love of design, networking, and sales.

Most recently I founded  ChicagoToTheNorthShore.com  a boutique real estate service that specifically assists people moving in and out of these areas.  Chicago’s North Shore area is the only home I have ever known, it’s had a large impact on who I am.

A requirement of my job is to stay up to date with the top schools in the area.  This has led to my second passion, non-profit board work.  I am in my fourth year as a board member and first year as board president at the Montessori School of Lake Forest (MSLF).  Following a friend’s recommendation, my family enrolled in 2011 when my daughter was just 18 months old and we couldn’t be happier.  The teachers, facilities, and grounds are like nothing else in the area.  The school draws in children from more than 30 diverse communities and the philosophies transcend the classroom, they are learning how to be productive and engaged world citizens.

What are your favorite restaurants?  With your kids?  For date night?  

With my husband and I both in real estate, our evening schedules can be unpredictable and dinner is often a last minute scramble.  We are regulars at O’Toole’s, we’ve known the owners for years (another MSLF family!).  The atmosphere is relaxing and the food is great.

Local Milwalky Taco on Sunday for the ‘kids eat free’ is always a safe bet as well!  When it comes to date night, we head to our tried and true Deer Path Inn.  If we are feeling social we will head down to The Bar where we are sure to bump into friends.  But if we need a night to reconnect after a long week we will stay upstairs and hang out in front of one of the cozy stone fireplaces.  There is something so special about this romantic and charming English inn.

Can we also talk about my favorite place for dessert?  I’d have to say Lovin’ Oven.  We designed our custom wedding cake at Lovin’ Oven and it took up an entire 4 foot long table!  People still talk about that cake.  For a girl with a sweet tooth, Lovin’ Oven is a must!

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

We were married for 5 years before we started a family.  During this time we did a ton of traveling.  We spent a few weeks in Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora.  The over water bungalows ARE as amazing as they look.  We enjoyed some time in Switzerland, I couldn’t pull him out of the cafes and I ran into Oprah in one of the local shops!  We also went on a month long safari in Africa touring Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar.  That was the best trip we ever took.

I am waiting for the day my children are old enough to go back!  I am so grateful for these travel experiences, they are the best memories.  Jet setting isn’t in our cards these days so instead we look forward to long weekends when we can “staycation” in the city at the Peninsula.  It’s just far enough away we come back refreshed and ready to take on another week.

Where do you draw support from?

I met my best friend and now husband when we were 13 years old.  We started dating in college.  I am grateful to have such a great partner in life.  Likewise, I am incredibly lucky to have the world’s best parents.  Bonus: they live down the street from me!  I couldn’t do everything I do with out them.  They pick up my kids if my appointments run late or they run one child to a birthday party if the other ones are at swimming.  They have always shown me through example: be kind, be honest, get involved, and give back.  The women in my church guild are amazing, they too inspire me.  And of course I draw support from other local moms!  We are all in this together.  None of us have done this “mom thing” before.  We are all going to experience challenges.  Having support from “powerhouse mom” friends going through similar situations makes all the difference.  I am fortunate to feel this within our community.

What’s next for you?

Photographer: Matt Fedderman | Home Builder: PKPG Companies

Spring will be busy!  As a  mom : my 3 p’s have birthdays during this time of year.  Lots of planning and celebrating at our house.  As a  realtor : the real estate market traditionally peaks late Spring and I am looking forward to a very active year.  Interest rates are still low and clients that had previous been ‘thinking’ about selling the last few years are committed to it this year.  Inventory should be good.  As  board president : we will be hosting our Spring fundraiser and slating new board candidates.  We draw from across all industries and the North Shore area is densely populated with community members energized to give back.  It’s a very exciting time!

 

Graduation Message from Head of School, Hope Allegretti

By Teresa Pavelich • June 10, 2026
Hello everyone! Thank you for being here today to celebrate this year’s stepping up and graduating students. This day is always a bittersweet one as we celebrate all their accomplishments and all their hard work while also preparing to say good-bye as they join new classrooms and embrace new opportunities ahead. They’ve earned their key of knowledge, completed their Elementary cycle, and are graduating from the Adolescent Program and are moving on to high school. As hard as it is to say good-bye as these students step up or graduate, we do so with the confidence that they are better prepared for life having received the gift of a Montessori education. It’s been a true pleasure this past week watching key recipients receive their key of knowledge and wear it proudly for all to see. I have loved hearing all the speeches from our 3rd and 6th year stepping up students and our 8th year graduates as they share their fondest memories of MSLF and offer thanks to all those they are grateful to. I love hearing what memories they will take away from MSLF with them. Baking in their Primary classroom, building forts in Elementary, finding a turtle on a nature hike, learning to play the ukulele in music, visiting Nature’s Classroom with their classmates, performing in the school play, a research project they worked on with their friends, selling coffee at Friday Markets in AP. These are just a few of the memories shared by stepping up and graduating students over the years. These are all incredible memories to have from school and to be able to take with you. But what I’ve come to realize is these are really more than just memories. These are significant, impactful moments that will likely, in some way, shape our students’ lives. They may not know it yet. But 5, 10, 20 years from now, when these memories are reflected on and shared again, they will become part of each student's legacy—a collection of experiences, values, and lessons that help define who they are and how they move through the world. And just as important, they become part of MSLF’s legacy as well. Each graduating class leaves behind something meaningful: traditions, friendships and memories that become woven into the story of our school. The theatre student will remember the feeling of performing in their first school play. The entrepreneur will remember the excitement of planning for their first school market. The new parent will share their love of nature with their child as they remember nature hikes at MSLF. These memories are moments of self-discovery. Opportunities for our students to learn about themselves. Experiences that help guide their future. These memories will be their compass as they enter high school, college and beyond, guiding them towards a joyful life. And all those they thank are the ones who helped guide them towards that joy. Their teachers, their parents, their peers will have all impressed upon them knowledge and experiences that have helped them learn, problem solve, adapt and teach others, all of which are life skills that any of us need to succeed. They enter the world well prepared for what will come next thanks to the memories they have made here. And I hope to be here long enough to hear you share them again someday as you set out to do great things. So, Graduates, no matter where your compass guides you, I hope you will always remember MSLF as we will always remember you. YOU are our memories. YOU are part of our legacy. And YOU have helped shape our future, just as MSLF has helped shape yours. So, thank you!  Please join me in congratulating all our stepping up and graduating students today. Congratulations graduates!

Human Tendencies: Why Montessori Still Feels So Relevant

By Teresa Pavelich • October 21, 2025
From curiosity to self-control, Montessori aligns with the human tendencies that help children grow, adapt, and flourish.