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 is posting endorsements for candidates from current and former elected officials who hold or held townwide office or higher, as well as endorsements by local organizations. We ask that endorsers coordinate with candidates for full guidelines. Read more election coverage here.
Patricia Azeez
To my South Orange and Maplewood neighbors,
I am proud to endorse Trish Azeez for the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. After three years on the board, including as Board President in 2025, I know what the next three years will require: members who speak frankly about our challenges, put students and teachers first, and stay focused on academic outcomes. I ran in 2022 to bring accountability and clear communication to the board and to help build a child-centric, effective district for every student. I see that same drive in Trish. Her education lifted her out of poverty, so she knows how high the stakes are for our kids. She has the skills and the passion to provide real oversight and advocate for every student.
The budget: Trish is the only candidate with a background in economics and finance, and budget oversight is one of a board member’s most important jobs. The 2027–2028 budget may be among the most complicated this district has faced, because many of the areas we once relied on for reductions are tapped out. The board needs members who ask critical questions and can read a budget the way an analyst reads a balance sheet: where the money goes, what it buys, and whether it works. Trish spent more than a decade as an economist and Wall Street equity analyst doing exactly that. She believes how we spend shows what we value, and she will weigh every hard choice against its impact on all students.
Investing in students and teachers: Trish is the only candidate speaking openly about navigating our Special Services and Curriculum & Instruction departments to advocate for her own children. That experience showed her the district isn’t fully delivering on its new Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), which are meant to reach every kind of learner and provide the interventions that close achievement gaps. As she has said on the campaign trail, “Teachers are not magicians; we have to support them.” We need board members who will insist that the classroom is the last place we look for cuts, and Trish will.
Oversight & Five-Yr Strategic Plan: Trish will advocate for the district’s new five-year strategic plan to be measured by results, not intentions. The board adopts the plan this fall, and newly elected members will be responsible for oversight. That means confronting hard truths: we are not serving all students well, and our budget constrains us. Trish will insist on evidence, asking what success looks like, how we will measure it, and whether each program has earned continued investment. She believes every district decision should be measured in this way. As a former martial arts instructor who taught hundreds of kids, she learned to meet each child where they are, adjust when something isn’t working, and expect excellence from every student. That is exactly what our district owes students.
Trish listens, asks hard questions, and keeps one question at the center: Will this help more children learn, grow, and reach their full potential? Please join me in voting for Trish Azeez, 4G on the ballot.
Thank you,
Nubia DuVall Wilson
2025 BOE President, South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education
