Directors & Staff

Ms. Allessandra West is the Orchestra Director at Downers Grove North High School. This is Ms. West’s first year at DGN, and she is teaching Concert Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra, Rock Band, and is co-teaching Concert and Symphonic Band. She is also one of the Illinois Music Honors Society faculty advisors at DGN. Prior to teaching at Downers Grove North, Ms. West taught at Metea Valley High School for three years. During her time at Metea Valley, she taught orchestra, orchestra technique, extra-curricular orchestral ensembles which perform film and pop music, music production, and was a Tri-M Music Honor Society faculty advisor. Prior to teaching at Metea Valley High School, Ms. West taught elementary and high school orchestra in Davenport, IA. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and Violin Performance from Augustana College in 2020, studying with Dr. Susan Stone.

Ms. West was recognized as one of ILMEA's Emerging Leaders of 2021, and presented at the Illinois Music Educator Conference in 2023. She is a member of ILMEA (Illinois Music Education Association) and ASTA (American String Teachers Association), and is a member of the Illinois ASTA Board. Ms. West was featured on the cover and in an article of the Illinois ASTA magazine, The Scroll in 2023. She is an active performer on violin, and played bass in the Augustana Symphonic Band for three years. Ms. West is a member of the Fox Valley Orchestra and the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra in the Chicagoland suburb area, and is Youth Mental Health First Aid certified. In her free time, she enjoys composing music and spending time with her friends and family. 

Robbi Hicks is a proud faculty member of District 99. This year she is happy to be teaching Symphonic Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, and Wind Symphony at Downers Grove South High School. She is also looking forward to her role as a co-teacher for the DGN Symphonic Orchestra. 

Before joining D99 staff, Ms. Hicks served as Director of Bands and taught Music Industry and Technology at Morris Community High School. She also built the beginnings of an accessible and flourishing music production curriculum. Prior to her position at Morris, she taught general music in the Joliet Public School District. Ms. Hicks believes in the importance of great music education at her core, no matter the discipline.

Ms. Hicks graduated from VanderCook College of Music with a B.M.Ed. in 2018, studying orchestral playing & pedagogy with Dr. David Eccles. She played violin all four years and studied privately under Dr. Michael Hall. She’s currently studying private violin under Rachel Ellis and cello under Tim Edwards. 

In her teaching, she prioritizes making music accessible, writing strong curriculums, and serving the whole-child. Ms. Hicks has experience writing comprehensive curriculums from start to finish at all levels of public education, and she holds certifications in yoga and mindfulness. Her time outside of work is currently devoted to raising her eight-month-old baby girl, Linnea, with her partner, Jeremy.

Ms. Gina Wych joined Downers Grove North High School as Fine Arts Department Chair in 2023. She spent the first 15 years of her career teaching band and a wide variety of general music classes at Minooka Community High School in Minooka, IL. Ms. Wych holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master's degree in Teacher Leadership from Concordia University Chicago, is currently working on upper level administration certification at the University of St. Francis, and will be starting a doctoral program in Music Education at Boston University in 2024. She currently serves in her second term as as Junior/Senior General Music Division President for the Illinois Music Education Association. Ms. Wych is passionate about making music education meaningful and accessible to ALL students. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, two children, dogs, chickens, ducks, and tortoise.