Summit Public Schools: Board Welcomes New Members, Reorganizes, Approves SEF Grants

Press release from the Summit Public Schools:

2021-05-14

Board Welcomes New Members, Reorganizes, Approves SEF Grants

The Summit Board of Education welcomed Melanie Cohn and Walidah Justice as the newest members of the Board during the reorganization meeting on Thursday, May 13, 2021.

Ms. Cohn will serve on the Operations and Policy Committees and Ms. Justice will serve on the Communications and Education Committees. Chris Bonner was sworn in as Board President and Michael Colón was sworn in as Board Vice President.

"It's a privilege to serve as the President of the Summit Board of Education and to be able to welcome our two newest board members," said Chris Bonner, Board President. "Both Melanie and Walidah are career non-profit, education professionals with experience at all levels and each brings a skillset the entire Summit community will benefit from. I can't wait to hear their thoughts and new perspectives on how we are doing as a district and how we can grow to be better."

Melanie Cohn is the Executive Director of the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey. Previously, she led Staten Island Arts, deepening its programs in art and healing, education and folk art. Ms. Cohn is active in arts advocacy and policy, and has served as a New York State Captain for National Arts Advocacy and on the Steering Committees of the NYC Arts Coalition and NY Culture AID (Active in Disaster). Ms. Cohn previously served as President and Secretary for the Rotary Club of Summit/New Providence as well as a Board member for Summit Public Art, and is an active Committee member on the Summit Mayor's Forum on Diversity.

Walidah Justice currently works as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey. Prior to Kent Place, Ms. Justice worked at Episcopal Academy in Pennsylvania where she served four years as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion and two years as the Associate Director of Admission and Multicultural Outreach. Throughout her career, Ms. Justice has worked actively with students of color, first generation students and LGBTQ students to provide safe spaces and support each individual student's success. Ms. Justice volunteers her time by working with Special Olympics and serving on the Villanova University Alumni Advisory Board.

At last night's Board of Education meeting, the Board approved 43 grants totaling $530,793 from the Summit Educational Foundation. Summit Public Schools sends our deepest appreciation to the Summit community and SEF for their unbelievable generosity, partnership, and support! For a breakdown of the grants, click here.

This press release was produced by the Summit Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.