Three new members of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education were sworn into office on Thursday and the Board elected Nubia DuVall Wilson as the new Board president at the Board’s annual reorganization meeting
Before the start of the 32-minute meeting — one of the shortest Board meetings in recent years — Jeff Bennett, Deirdre Brown and Bimal Kapadia were sworn in. The three new members, along with the other six Board members, then unanimously voted to install DuVall Wilson as president, Will Meyer as 1st vice president, and Regina Eckert as 2nd vice president.
Nubia DuVall Wilson was elected president of the Board of Education.
DuVall Wilson thanked her colleagues and said when she ran for the board in 2022 she was “inspired by the opportunity to join a group of volunteers who are passionate about education.”
“I aspire to contribute to the collective effort to help our School District thrive,” she said. “But this isn’t just about me, it’s about all of us as a team. I want to shout out this amazing group of Board members who are going to continue to be a great support system for our superintendent and the District.” (Read DuVall Wilson’s full remarks at the end.)
SOMEA President Rocio Lopez, speaking as the head of the teacher’s union, welcomed the new Board members, applauded their strong campaign and joked with the rest of the Board, saying “this is not our first rodeo,” and then reminded everyone that the District’s teachers are still in need of a contract.
“I just want to remind you that around 750 people that work for you, they don’t have a contract, and it’s a little bit overdue,” she said. “So I hope that this Board takes very seriously trying to get together and make it happen so we can all move forward and finally be happy and work in the district that we deserve with the pay that we deserve.”
Bimal Kapadia with his wife, Swati, and their children after the swearing in ceremony. (Photo by Eshaya Draper, SOMSD.)
Deirdre Brown with husband, Dean, and daughter, Gwyneth, who was a CHS BOE student representative in 2023-24. (Photo by Eshaya Draper, SOMSD.)
Jeff Bennett, his wife Megan, and their children, after he was sworn into the Board of Education.(Photo by Eshaya Draper, SOMSD.)
From left 2nd VP Regina Eckert, Jeff Bennett, Deirdre Brown, !st VP Will Meyer, President Nubia DuVall Wilson, Shayna Sackett-Gable, Bill Gifford, Bimal Kapadia, Elizabeth Callahan. (Photo by Eshaya Draper, SOMSD.)
Nubia DuVall Wilson’s statement:
“I want to thank you, my board colleagues, for voting me as this year’s president. It’s an honor to serve you, our District and this amazing school community. When I decided to run for the Board of Education in 2022 I was inspired by the opportunity to join a group of volunteers who are passionate about education. I aspire to contribute to the collective effort to help our school district thrive. But this isn’t just about me, it’s about all of us as a team. I want to shout out this amazing group of board members who are going to continue to be a great support system for our superintendent and the district.
We are strong, and I want to remind the community why, in ABC order of first name:
Bill [Gifford], our SOMA historian who was born and raised here and ran for the BOE as a high school senior at CHS. Before we were running mates, we were strangers who unknowingly chose to run with a shared vision. Your expertise in renewable energy and construction is invaluable, and I know it will positively impact our oversight in FFT [Finance Facilities & Technology] and the long-range facility plan.
Bimal, your optimism and drive as an entrepreneur and communications professional are great additions to the board. You’ve already contributed to your community positively through volunteerism in sports and being vocal about the importance of the arts. Being on the Board is a natural progression in your advocacy for children.
Deirdre, when I read your professional title, I knew you were destined for the board. I quote “assistant director at the U.S. Government Accountability Office”, a non partisan congressional agency that makes fact-based policy recommendations. Policy work is one of our most important jobs. You will keep us accountable, and I can’t wait to see you in action.
Elizabeth [Callahan], aka Liz, I never thought I would meet another person who loves thorough note taking as much as I do. But seriously, your background in social and behavioral science, plus social emotional learning, has greatly contributed to your work as a special services committee chair, and it deserves praise. Your efforts exemplify your passion for helping students.
Next is our data wiz and fact finder, Jeff. As the 2023 FFT chair, I quickly realized that I was going to be getting many long-form emails about transportation data from you. I look forward to having your analytical brain power contribute to our efforts this year.
Regina, what would we do without your eagle eyes and ability to keep track of all the things. You are a hard worker who deserves public praise, from being a great leader on personnel as chair to consistently being a busy worker bee behind the scenes. You do a great job tracking progress on our goals and holding us all accountable.
Shayna [Sackett-Gable], you jumped right into the C&I [Curriculum & Instruction] chair role effortlessly, and have done a wonderful job. I love how you pair your experience as a former district teacher with the oversight role of a Board member, always contributing curiosity and insight, balance with camaraderie.
And last, but not least, Will, who many did not doubt would one day get on the board with his ongoing presence at all the meetings. You kept the policies rolling as policy chair and added more communication measures to further explain state-mandated changes to fellow BOE members. Your background in law and special education bring great insight into much of our work. Thank you and keep it up.
Again, thank you all. It is going to be a productive year, and I look forward to working with all of you to get the work done.
