Meet the Board of Trustees of the Ridge & Valley Charter School:  
 


Charter schools in New Jersey germinate within the hearts and minds of Founders. These are ordinary people—parents, teachers, concerned individuals—who come together to vision an alternative and innovative form of public education.

Founders spend countless hours visioning, researching, strategizing, fundraising and organizing to complete the application to establish a charter school in New Jersey. These documents can be 200 pages. These ordinary people, with families, jobs and busy schedules, pull together to develop the school's site, curriculum, staff and budget.

Once the charter application is approved, the work begins in earnest. Founders set up the school's governing body, the Board of Trustees, and in a few short months, they create a new public school.

APPLICATIONS TO JOIN THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
 Trustees are accepting applications for new members. If interested, contact trustee Kerry Barnett at the school.

  
 

• Kerry Barnett, Frelinghuysen, NJ
 Kerry Barnett is a resident of Frelinghuysen Township and a founder and trustee of Ridge and Valley Charter School, serving on finance and facility committees in particular. A member of the English and Foreign Languages faculty at Centenary College, Hackettstown, NJ, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame Great Books Program and a Master of Arts in International Studies from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Kerry has administered educational programs, taught, and tutored in England and Japan as well as in the United States. She lives on Genesis Farm with her husband, Mike Baki of the Community Supported Garden (CSG) at Genesis Farm, and her children, Albert and Muriel.

• Donna M. Best, Stanhope, NJ
Born in the summer of '65, Donna spent most of her childhood growing up with her brother and sister in Woodbridge Township. She graduated from Trenton State College with a degree in Electrical Engineering and married her husband, Scott. After several years in the business world, Donna began working in social services, creating computer accessibility options and systems for people with multiple disabilities. Deciding to start a family, Donna became a full-time "stay with children" Mom. She now spends her time watching her children grow and engaging in community volunteerism with a focus on breast feeding, natural childbirth, and attachment parenting issues. Seeing the Ridge and Valley Charter School as the perfect alternative to traditional public schooling, Donna first became involved in fundraising efforts, then joined the board of trustees in 2002.

• Evonn Berube-Reiersen, Andover, NJ
Evonn Berube-Reiersen is a founding trustee of the Ridge and Valley Charter
School and an accomplished experiential and outdoor adventure educator with a diverse clientele. As a program coordinator for twelve years with Project U.S.E., she developed and implemented thousands of programs that focused on the interconnectedness of humans and all living things. She has worked with students of all ages, teachers, DYFS, the juvenile justice system, and a variety corporations and nonprofits. She has led groups in canoeing, kayaking, backpacking, rock climbing, cross country skiing, archery, survival skills, ropes courses, wilderness, ecology and wildlife education, and Earth activities and games. Evonn is a graduate of the Earth Literacy Program at Genesis Farm. Playology is her own concept of integrating play for the purpose of human evolution.

• Lisa M. Kelly, Hardwick, NJ
Lisa Kelly is the mother of two children, Travis, age 13, and Tess, age 10. A founder and now trustee of the Ridge and Valley Charter School, she heads her own publishing consulting firm. She also worked for three years as development director for the nonprofit Hackensack Riverkeeper. She is a graduate of Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ (BA in Communication).

• Andy Marancik, Sandyston, NJ
Andy joined the board in 2006 and is a science teacher at High Point Regional High School in Sussex, NJ, where he developed and ran an outdoor education program/ropes challenge course. A graduate of Kean College of New Jersey, he is the father of a 10-year-old student at Ridge and Valley.

• David McNulty, Hardwick, NJ
David McNulty is a partner in an e-learning, multimedia and web-production business in Hope, NJ. He directs a staff that includes 15 full-time employees and freelance staff. He holds a BA English degree with honors from the University of Chicago. He has also taught video and photography to at-risk youth in various settings, including a residential drug rehab facility in Newark, a high school for troubled youth in Newark and the Goshen juvenile detention facility in New York state. He and his wife have two children at Ridge and Valley.

• Pati Uzar, Blairstown, NJ
Pati is the newest member of the board, joining at the end of the 2006-2007 school year. She is the parent of a Ridge and Valley graduate and two current students. She is the owner of Hontu Treasures and creates custom-made jewelry.