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Come and know me better! Here you will find a campaign that is less concerned with trite rhetoric, and instead focused on creating a movement to change how the Board of Education conducts itself while advocating for common sense policies.

For the first of my top three priorities, permit me to convince you that the “how” is often overlooked by candidates, when I contend it is just as important as the “what.” How the Board of Education works is just as crucial as what it works to do. The latter is policy; the former is procedure and operations.

Yet, even the best policy will fail to find traction if the operations of the Board of Education are factionalized and broken by political agenda and competing groups.

I intend to put the civil back into civil service and to return open-minded and respectful debate to the public forum. Ideas deserve a fair shake no matter where or who they originate from.

My second and third priorities are: the responsible use of AI and fiscal responsibility.

Fair Lawn is in my blood. Truly. My family has been here for six generations. I have always felt compelled to volunteer my time and efforts to positively impact my community. I firmly believe civic duty is a virtue, and that we forge, with our own hands and labors, the environment and culture we wish to see where we live.

To that end, I am a Commissioner on the Historic Preservation Commission, pro bono counsel to the Garretson Forge & Farm, and a member of both the town’s 100 Year Anniversary Committee and 250th American Independence Anniversary Committee. You may have encountered me in educational roles guiding trolley tours (often dressed as Teddy Roosevelt) or presenting on various local or national history topics.

I’m a lawyer by profession, which can be useful on a Board of Education that often has to interpret, write, or enforce rules, regulations, and laws.

I am not alone in observing that politics has pervaded the Board of Education. What was to be the last bastion of nonpartisan policy making in our town— in this oasis by the city — has become a board that has grown inefficient, fractured, and increasingly hostile from the undue influence of political agenda and personal animosities borne from political differences.

This dysfunction has been noted by members of the community in public comments, in newspapers, and even by other towns throughout the state.

A good neighbor philosophy is sorely needed. We cannot forget that we are a community. Those we oppose one day, are those we see at town events, gatherings, and live side by side with on another. Respect, a willingness to hear one another out, and dignified debate must prevail to preserve our sense of prosperous and enjoyable community.

I intend to usher in a new way for how the Board of Education operates. There is still time to change the legacy that this generation leaves behind.

As a prospective BOE member, my top goals are effective board management, keeping students as the priority in all decision making, and maintaining a focus on successful and stable administration. In running for the one year unexpired term, I am realistic about what I want to achieve if I am elected to the Fair Lawn Board of Education. My top priority is to help restore transparency and basic order to board meetings; in the past year, meeting lengths have gone from around 2 hours to 4 plus hours, largely in chaotic and unproductive ways, costing our community trust in the board, efficiency in administrative oversight, and money in related fees. I plan to serve the Fair Lawn community and board by properly sitting on BOE committees, doing the work needed behind the scenes to support our school system. Lastly, I hope to support maintaining a stable administration, as this is the best way to assure the continued success and improvement of our schools for our children and community.

Before being a stay at home parent, I worked in media. In that industry, I gained experience balancing priorities & learning to work in varying teams. I have experience with educational pedagogy & classroom realities as a teacher with Barnert Temple’s religious school for the past six years. My time serving on various boards is what has most prepared me for a BOE position. Since 2013, I have volunteered on a charitable board’s grant committee. I served on the Radburn Board, managing micro & macro issues within the community. I am the chair of a standing committee at my temple & have served on multiple special task forces in leadership & committee roles. In town, I volunteered on the Arts Council & with the Green Team, & I volunteer with Fair Lawn All Sports on the baseball committee. My diverse experience serving on different boards & committees has given me an understanding of the responsibility of a board member, & how to measure a board’s success in the roles it is tasked with.

I strongly believe in the value and importance of civic service. Simply, if there is something that needs help, and you can help, you should. I have tried to live this in my adult life, and model it for my children. It is the reason I have coached recreational soccer, basketball, baseball, and softball, the reason I am a co-leader of a girl scout troop, and a regular PTA volunteer. I am fortunate enough to have the ability to dedicate time to my community and my family in these ways. As a parent with two school-aged children, I would like to take the same energy and effort to helping our school system be the best it can for all Fair Lawn students, and the most efficient and thoughtful it can be for our entire community.