Heather Baker grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and was involved with travel softball, cheer-leading, and music for most of her childhood. After high school, she attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received an Undergraduate degree in Music Education. After 4 years of teaching middle school band in the stateline area, Heather completed her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and accepted the role of Curriculum Director at Pecatonica School District in Pecatonica, IL. While in her first year as a school administrator, Heather suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest on February 1, 2018 at age 28. Her colleagues, having been trained in CPR/AED, saved her life by performing hands-only CPR and using the AED to shock her heart three times. Since experiencing Sudden Cardiac Arrest,  Heather has begun a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership, and spends much of her free time public speaking about her experience and advocating for CPR training in communities and schools. For fun, she plays the French horn with the Rockford Wind Ensemble, and spends time with her family, her husband Paul, her silver lab named Echo, and her two chunky cats named Little Dude and Zeus.