Mokena REGISTER

Mokena Phone

(708) 593-5915

PORTAL LOG-IN
Arlington REGISTER

Arlington Phone

(847) 870-7946

Find Your Level

Meet Our Facility Leaders

Kristin Pharr

Operations Lead

Kristin has been swimming almost her entire life, starting with swim lessons at her country club. She joined a swim team at the age of 4 and competed all the way through college. Kristin has been working in aquatics for over 14 years as a swim instructor, swim coach and aquatics director. She is motivated to make a difference in children’s lives every day. She is excited to be a part of the Chicago Swim School Family where she can continue exploring her passion and act as a role model for others.
In her off time, Kristin enjoys watching tv (especially the Green Bay Packers), cooking, working out, and spending time with her husband, step-children, her dog Shimmer, and the rest of her family.

Brianna Ruhnke 

Aquatics Leader – Mokena

Brianna has loved the water since before she can remember! With a passion for swimming and a deep understanding of water safety, Brianna is dedicated to creating a fun and safe environment for ALL swimmers. She has years of experience as a competitive swimmer, certified lifeguard, and swim instructor. Brianna absolutely loves working with kids! She has a background in child education and has loved applying that knowledge to the program. Since joining the CSS family in 2022, she has been committed to inspiring the team and the students to reach their full potential in the pool! 

Outside of work, Brianna loves nothing more than spending time with her friends and family. She also has a deep love for all animals, enjoys being in nature, gardening, and trying new places to eat.


Riot Smith

Aquatics Leader – Arlington Heights

Riot moved to Arlington Heights in early 2023 and started as an instructor at CSS shortly after. Though they had never taught swim lessons before they always had a passion for working with children. They got their start by volunteering at children’s centers and theaters and have always loved inspiring joy and creativity in the kids of their community.

As soon as Riot stepped foot in the pool they knew this was going to be their happy place and they are excited every day to see the smiling faces of our students and staff. They are dedicated to keeping students safe and teaching them important life skills while having a blast.

When Riot isn’t working you can find them reading in a park or playing their ukulele. They enjoy all things creative and try to be outdoors as much as possible.


Imani Bowen

Customer Support Leader
Imani found her love for connecting with people at a very young age. She found people came to her for almost everything and even as a little girl she always felt the need to help them in any way possible. Imani has been in Customer support for over 10 years now, and her love for helping people and solving their problems landed her very important roles such as a Customer Success Manager, Director of Client services, Customer Service Manager, and even becoming an owner of her own company. All of these previous roles were awesome but her newest and most important role is being a Customer Support Lead here with Chicago Swim School. 
She loves interacting with people, families, and children, and her willingness to ensure that everyone is happy and enjoying their time is what she strives for. Imani is determined and very excited to build new healthy, and strong relationships with the families here at Chicago Swim School to be able to get to know you better and to be able to ensure satisfaction. Her strong background in customer care and her infectious positive attitude lets us know that she has what it takes to thrive here. 
In Imani‘s spare time you can find her at home watching movies, cooking, reading books, listening to music and hanging out with her family, her partner, her stepkids, and her fur babies!