This fall, four candidates are vying for three seats on the 9-member South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education: Trish Azeez, Liz Callahan, Kevin Diaz, and Will Meyer. Village Green has invited all candidates to submit a profile. Election Day is November 3. Read more election coverage here. The following profile is from Liz Callahan.
Hi, I’m Liz Callahan. First and foremost, I’m the proud mom of two incredible kids in our public schools. Professionally, I am an educator with more than 20 years of experience working in classrooms with students and teachers, and am honored to serve as First Vice President of the South Orange–Maplewood Board of Education.
I’m running for re-election alongside my friend and colleague Will Meyer. Three years ago, we ran together because we believed our district could deliver stronger academics, more effective special education services, greater equity and opportunity, and more responsive leadership. We also believed the Board needed to restore a culture of professionalism, collaboration, and mutual respect. Those commitments remain at the heart of why I serve.
My family has called Maplewood home since 2018. My husband, Mike, and I have two sons, a sixth grader at Maplewood Middle School and a first grader at Tuscan Elementary. I remain active in our school communities through the Tuscan PTA and Maplewood Middle School HSA. With children at different stages of their education, I have firsthand experience with both the strengths of our district and the challenges.
Today, as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), I work with students, educators, and school teams across New Jersey. My consulting work is hands-on: I work directly with students in classrooms, coach teachers and paraprofessionals on effective strategies, provide schoolwide professional development, and help multidisciplinary teams strengthen programming and problem-solving. I know firsthand the practical demands educators face and the systems they need to succeed. My background in applied behavior analysis and social and behavioral sciences allows me to connect individual student needs with the broader decisions about staffing, training, resources, and programming that shape educational outcomes.
On the Board, I currently serve as First Vice President and Chair of the Special Services Committee. I’ve also served on the Finance, Facilities & Technology, Curriculum & Instruction, Rutgers Implementation, and Negotiations committees. These responsibilities have broadened my understanding of the connections between instruction, student services, staffing, finances, and district leadership. My professional experience helps me ask practical questions about how policies and programs affect students; my Board experience helps me understand the governance, budgetary, and organizational decisions needed to make those programs work.
Our first term has included significant accomplishments. We helped hire a new superintendent, stabilized district leadership, strengthened early literacy and mathematics instruction, expanded our student intervention systems, built and expanded more in-district special education programs. We completed court monitoring of the Black Parents Workshop settlement, while continuing the district’s equity work. We’ve also helped move the Board toward a more collaborative, professional approach to governance, including individual NJSBA certifications for myself and Will, and certification for the full Board.
Not everything has gone as planned. This fall’s paraprofessional shortages and transportation issues have been difficult reminders of how deeply implementation failures can affect students, families, and educators. I know how essential paraprofessionals are because I began my career as one, and my work in classrooms has shown me how quickly staffing gaps and inconsistent services can disrupt learning. Experience, on the board or professionally, doesn’t mean getting everything right. It means recognizing when something isn’t working, listening to the people affected, taking responsibility, and using what we learn to do better. We have to bring that mindset to our challenges—not just to resolve the immediate problems, but to strengthen the systems and decision-making that will help prevent them from happening again.
For the next three years, the priorities Will and I have set are straightforward:
- Stronger academics for every student. Build on improvements in math and literacy, close achievement gaps, strengthen early intervention, and expand access to advanced coursework, arts, and enrichment.
- Better special education and student services. Make sure students get the services they need, families get answers, and the district follows through on its commitments.
- Equity and opportunity. Continue improving our integration initiative, address transportation and school assignment challenges, and continue the path of the Rutgers Equity Audit to ensure meaningful changes for students.
- Responsible budgets and better buildings. Fight for fairer state funding, protect classroom priorities, and develop a realistic plan to maintain and improve our aging schools.
- Accountability that delivers results. Strengthen oversight, communicate openly, listen to families, and measure success by what students actually experience, not just what the Board approves.
I’m particularly proud to be running with Will. We bring different professional experiences, complementary strengths, and a proven ability to work together. We don’t always agree on everything, but we know how to tackle difficult issues constructively and keep students at the center of our decisions.
We’re also grateful for the growing support our campaign has received from community members, educators, and current and former local leaders. Their endorsements reflect a shared belief in the progress our district is making and the work still ahead. You can read them at callahanmeyer.com/campaign-hub.
I’m not asking for another term because everything has gone right. My commitment to our public schools is absolute—I am a proud product of them, my children attend them, and they are my life’s work. My nearly three years on this board haven’t just given me governance experience; they have profoundly amplified my passion, care, and love for our schools and community.
I’m asking because we’ve made progress, learned from our setbacks, and have a clearer understanding of what it takes to make lasting improvements. I am more energized than ever to keep doing this work, continuing to bring my professional expertise and a steady, critical eye to the challenges ahead.
I hope Will and I can count on your vote on November 3. Let’s keep growing together.
Learn more about our priorities, How We Grow Together: Our Vision, at callahanmeyer.com.
Follow our campaign:
- Instagram: @callahanmeyerboe
- Facebook: Callahan & Meyer for BOE
