Maria Dripps-Paulson’s life was made brighter when she met Dennie Taylor, saw his smile, and heard his laugh.  He was a valuable resource for the Kaneland Arts Initiative (KAI), an art organization west of Route 47 that provides high quality, year-round Arts opportunities to the community.   His legacy lives on in us.

Maria is the executive director of KAI and teaches Foundations of Education to future educators at the Fox Valley Career Center located in Maple Park.  She has music education degrees from the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) and Northwestern University (Evanston) as well as an educational leadership degree from Aurora University (Aurora).

Maria lives in Sugar Grove with her husband, nearly adult children, and dog, Francisco Fermata Sese Dripps-Paulson!  She is thrilled to serve on the board for the Dennis Taylor Scholarship Foundation.