When I moved to Wyckoff, I knew I had found a place I wanted to call home. Since then, I have become deeply invested in this community by volunteering, coaching, supporting our schools and children, and showing up whenever I can. I am incredibly proud to call Wyckoff home, and that love for this community is what drives me to help protect what makes it special while continuing to make it better.

The words "Lead by Example" came naturally because that is how I try to live my life. If I am going to do something, I give it my all. I show up, I do the work and I follow through. I believe in respect and integrity. I believe you can disagree with someone while still listening and treating them with respect. And I believe there is nothing wrong with saying, "I don't know." That simply means there is an opportunity to ask questions, learn from others and grow. That is the approach I would bring to the Board of Education.

I am a parent and active volunteer, but I am also a legal professional who works directly with Boards of Education and understands the complexities, regulations and responsibilities that come with them. In my professional role, I work on complex matters where details matter and decisions can have significant consequences. I also evaluate technology and work with the owners of my firm to make decisions about our future direction. Those experiences have taught me that you cannot make a good decision by looking at only one piece of the puzzle. You need the full 360-degree view including the facts, financial implications, legal considerations, practical impact and, most importantly, how the decision will affect the people who have to live with it. When those people are our children, that due diligence matters even more.

That is why I started asking questions when my own child came home and told me how much time she was spending on screens at school. I began looking more closely at the role technology plays in education and the reliance on tools such as i-Ready.

I don't believe technology is inherently bad. It can be a useful tool. But i-Ready is not a teacher, and technology should never become the backbone of our schools. Our teachers should be. We have extraordinary educators who dedicate their careers to teaching, challenging and understanding our children. They know when a child is struggling, when a child needs to be challenged and when a child simply needs someone to believe in them. That human connection cannot be replaced by a program.

That is why decisions involving our teachers deserve serious scrutiny. When we consider cuts, restructuring or moving teachers around, we need to understand the real impact on our students. We cannot look only at where a spreadsheet says we can save money. We have to ask what we are gaining, what we are losing and whether the savings are worth the impact on our children's education.

Our district, like districts across New Jersey, is facing serious financial challenges, including rising healthcare costs. Our taxpayers deserve to know that every dollar is being spent thoughtfully, and I am not afraid of making difficult decisions. But cutting costs cannot be the goal. Responsible stewardship has to be the goal. We need to find efficiencies and savings wherever we can without making our children pay the price. We need to examine the entire picture, ask difficult questions and make decisions based on facts and long-term consequences, not simply choose the easiest place to cut.

Our community includes parents, teachers, administrators, students, longtime residents and families who are new to town. We will not always agree, and we shouldn't have to. But we should be able to listen, respect different perspectives and work toward the same goal: giving our children the best education possible while protecting the community we all call home.

I am not running because I believe I have every answer. I am running because I know how to ask questions, do the homework, look at an issue from every angle and work with others to find the best answer. I chose Wyckoff because I believed it was a community where my children could thrive. I want to make sure that remains true for them and for every child who comes after them.

At the end of every Board of Education meeting, I believe we should ask ourselves one simple question: What did we accomplish for our children today? If we keep that question at the center of our decisions, support the teachers who make our schools great, make informed choices and lead by example, we can navigate the challenges ahead without sacrificing the quality of education that makes Wyckoff so special.