About Us


Welcome to New Trier Neighbors! 

New Trier Neighbors is a community organization founded by residents of New Trier Township to promote the ideas of common sense, free enterprise and the Golden Rule.     

Specifically we believe in:

  • Intellectual diversity
  • Academically rigorous, high quality schools
  • Common sense local government and management of resources
  • An entrepreneurial small businesses climate that creates vibrant communities and values individuals and human capacity
  • Civil discourse, honest and open debate among all our neighbors.

We also seek to build connections with underserved communities to help our fellow neighbors across Chicagoland develop and thrive.

We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization that seeks to be a voice of independent thought and reason on issues related to the New Trier Township area.  You can learn more about our work by signing up for our newsletter and checking our website for our latest news and events.


The Year in Review


Since launching in October 2017, your kind donations have made the following possible:  

If you like what you see, please consider donating!

Sustained issue campaigns to inform and educate on the D39 tax levy process and Wilmette’s mandatory minimum wage/sick leave debates and curriculum issues.

Evening events with famed CNN economist Stephen Moore (New Trier alum) attended by nearly 100 Individuals.

Screening and discussion of the critically acclaimed “How Jack Became Black” at New Trier High School, promoting diversity in racial discussions and attended by 300 individuals.

“Mix-n-Mingles,” Hosting our local village trustees, school board members, and speakers including: Nicole Neily of Speech First, Jason Hill of DePaul University, Ted Dabrowski of Wirepoints, Bob Muzikowski of Chicago Hope Academy and others.  With the development of COVID-19, we held bi-monthly webinars, including a program on the impact of the pandemic on learning with Ian Rowe of AEI, as well as other updates on safe school re-openings and IL’s progressive income tax.

Exposing race-based hiring practices and teacher segregation at an Evanston public school. Related media coverage appeared in The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and Crain’s Chicago Business.

Holding productive discussions with senior New Trier High school administrators on both exposing students to more intellectual diversity, and listening to students who are concerned about political bias in the classroom.

Publishing bi-weekly newsletters that keep North Shore residents up to date. Topics include: politicized “gun walkouts,” sexuality surveys in schools, and “must-know” information that you won’t find anywhere else.

Growing our mailing list of North Shore New Trier Neighbors to over 1800!


Meet Your New Trier Neighbors Board


James Conley lives in Glencoe with wife Sally and their five children.  He is an inventor, teacher and author with university faculty appointments in the U.S. and Europe.  He is a member of the New Trier East class of ’79 and has been a property taxpayer in the NT district for 25 years.

Ted Dabrowski lives in Wilmette with his wife Ellen and their son. Their three daughters also all attended Wilmette’s public schools and are graduates of New Trier High School.  Ted’s knowledge of finance, policy and government stems from a 16-year overseas career in finance and management followed by several years of public policy work at the Illinois Policy Institute and is now President of Wirepoints.org.

Beth Feeley lives in Wilmette with her husband Kevin and their three children. She is a native of Wilmette, graduate of New Trier (’87) and is a freelance writer and editor for various non-profit organizations. Previously, she worked in consulting and public relations for Hill and Knowlton and Arthur Andersen.

Betsy Hart lives in Wilmette. She and her husband Tom have a blended family of eight children. Betsy is a free-lance development writer for a variety of non-profits. Previously, she was a syndicated columnist, and served on President Reagan’s White House staff in the Office of Communications.

Tracy Kearney lives in Glenview with her husband and three children and works in the banking industry; she previously served as a congressional staffer and portfolio manager at the Chicago Board of Trade.  In her volunteer life, she has served as a school board member in District 39, on the Illinois Teacher Retirement System Board and in various leadership positions with the Romona School PTA and District 39 Educational Foundation. 

Adam Merrill and his wife live in Wilmette. Their five children graduated from New Trier between 2010 and 2022. He is a double BYU grad, former PriceWaterhouse auditor and former Kirkland & Ellis partner. In 2020, Adam founded Watershed Law LLC, where he practices commercial litigation, election law and federal criminal defense.

Jonathan Towers lives in Glencoe. He and his wife Ariel have three children, all Trevians. Jonathan is the founder and executive producer at Towers Productions LLC, a TV documentary company based in Northfield. His roster of shows includes American Justice (A&E), Gangland (History), Storm Stories (Weather) and, currently, Strange Inheritance (Fox Business).

© 2021 New Trier Neighbors