About Me

I’m Brian.

I was born and raised in New Jersey, although I didn’t grow up in West Orange.

My parents moved here from Ohio because of my dad’s job. He worked for Anheuser Busch. One of their main concerns was that the town we moved to had a good school system for my sister and I to attend, and they ended up moving to Edison shortly before I was born.

It was a great place to grow up, and I lived there for a while after I graduated from college. But eventually I found myself in a similar situation – looking for a home for my family.

When my wife and I started dating, she lived in South Jersey. We did the long distance relationship thing for a while, but as things got more serious she considered getting a new job in North Jersey. We planned to move in together.

She had three children from her previous marriage, and so our primary concern was where her youngest daughter would go to school. Where in Essex County were there great schools, where we could actually afford to live, and where the community was diverse and inclusive enough for our family to fit in?

We came up with a short list, and West Orange rose to the top. After a few months of house hunting, we bought our house and moved in. We never gave it a second thought, and we grow to appreciate the town a little more every day.

My Professional Background

I’m a career educator.

I spent over a decade teaching high school social studies in East Orange at East Orange Campus High School.

There, I taught a broad range of courses. I taught every grade level from freshmen to seniors. I worked with different types of students, including those who were classified with various learning disabilities and those who were English language learners. At times, I taught honors classes and Advanced Placement classes. My experience ran the full gamut of what it means to teach high school social studies.

I was also involved in extracurricular activities.

During my first year, I was invited to help out with the Peer Leadership program. I ended up being an advisor of the program for several years before it was discontinued. Through Peer Leadership, I was able to experience the amazing leadership potential of our students – as juniors and seniors facilitated activities with freshmen and served as their mentors.

During my second year, I was conned into becoming the yearbook advisor. The assistant principal told me it wouldn’t be much work, and that was a lie. But as hard as the job was, it was a labor of love. I maintained the position throughout the rest of my time in East Orange and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was rewarding to guide my students in capturing the memories of their senior year, and I had an opportunity to witness many of those moments myself. From sports championships to proms to ROTC Flight Competitions, it was great to see my students in a context outside the classroom.

It became abundantly clear to me that these experiences were crucial to their growth and development.

Throughout my teaching career, I was an active member of the New Jersey Education Association. I participated in every level of my union – from the local to the national – and was an outspoken advocate for public education. In 2019, I had the opportunity to join NJEA as a full time employee.

I currently serve as an Associate Director of Membership. My job is to help others in the organization better understand data.

My Education and Training

After graduating from Edison High School, I attended Rutgers University. I studied History and Political Science, and I eventually applied to the Graduate School of Education to complete the five year program in Social Studies Education.

I graduated with my EdM in 2007 and started teaching in East Orange. A few years later, I returned to Rutgers to pursue an EdD. My area of research was social studies education and educational technology. I learned a ton through my coursework and my research, and I was also able to take the courses necessary to obtain my Supervisor certificate. Ultimately, I struggled to find the time to dedicate to my dissertation. I eventually opted not to finish, and I’m currently ABD.

One of the great things about my time at Rutgers, though, was that it afforded me the opportunity to complete a graduate fellowship at the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Eagleton is a non-partisan institute within Rutgers that brings students from various disciplines together to understand the political process. I was a Governor’s Executive Fellow in the Class of 2014.

Other notable professional development opportunities and fellowships include:

I take my own education very seriously, and I’ve committed a lot of time to learning about our educational system, the social studies curriculum, and the political process.

Other Fun Facts

I was a founding member of the Civic Trust in Newark and a supporter of the Citizen’s Campaign. Along with Harry Pozycki, I had the opportunity to address the NJ State Board of Education about civics education. I was also invited to make a presentation with recommendations about civics to the State Board’s Strategic Planning Committee.

As a member of NJEA’s Congressional Contact Committee, I made several trips to Washington, D.C. to lobby our federal legislators. We met with members on both sides of the aisle, and through these trips I learned how to have constructive dialogue about educational issues with people whose political views I disagreed with. If you’re interested, ask me sometime about my first meeting with Representative Leonard Lance.

I’ve been a runner on and off throughout my life. I’m currently training to run the Chicago Marathon this October. Most days, you’re liable to catch me running the trails at South Mountain Reservation or the loop around the Orange Reservoir. I’m a member of the Essex Running Club, and I’m looking forward to the return of the STOP for Nikhil 5k Race this September.

I live in the St. Cloud neighborhood with my wife, our three kids, our cat, and our dog. My older sister lives in Gettysburg, PA, and she and her husband are both college professors. My parents are retired, and they only recently left our home in Edison to move to Jackson.