Two New Members Added To Summit School Board

SUMMIT, NJ — The Summit Board of Education welcomed Melanie Cohn and Walidah Justice as the newest members of the board during its reorganization meeting on Thursday.

Summit operates under New Jersey Statute Title 18A as a Type I school board, meaning members are appointed by the mayor rather than be elected by popular vote. The selection process for board members begins with the volunteer application forms, available from City Hall. The board welcomes new members during a reorganization meeting each May. (Learn more here.)

Cohn will serve on the Operations and Policy committees, and Justice will serve on the Communications and Education committees.

“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."

He added, "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.”

Justice has three children, two of whom currently attend Summit Public Schools.

Cohn’s son currently attends Summit High School.

Justice currently works as the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Kent Place School in Summit. Prior to Kent Place, 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.

Justice volunteers her time by working with Special Olympics and serving on the Villanova University Alumni Advisory Board. Throughout her career, 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.

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. 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).

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.

Read more about the board, its meetings, and its members on the district website.

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