Members

Walidah Justice is serving as President of the Summit Board of Education for the 2024-2025 school year. She is the Chair of the Negotiations & Personnel Committee and a member of the Education & Student Activities/Services Committee. Ms. Justice was appointed to the Board of Education in May 2021.

Ms. Justice and her family moved to Summit in 2018. Ms. Justice currently works as the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey. She has worked in K-16 education for over 20 years. Prior to Kent Place, Walidah Justice worked at Episcopal Academy, in Newtown Square, PA where she served four years as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion and two years as the Associate Director of Admission and Multicultural Outreach. 

Before transitioning to independent schools, Ms. Justice worked for nine years at Villanova University in the Office of Undergraduate Admission, Center for Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Student Development. Additionally, she has worked at Temple University and the University of Delaware before entering independent schools. 

Throughout her career, Walidah Justice has worked actively with marginalized students to provide safe spaces, amplify student voices and support each individual student’s success. Ms. Justice volunteers her time by working with Special Olympics and serving on the Villanova University Alumni Association Board of Directors. Ms. Justice holds a B.A. in Communication from Villanova University. Ms. Justice and her husband, Breyon, have three children; one graduate of Summit High School and two of their children currently attend Summit Public Schools.

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Melanie Cohn is serving as the Vice President of the Summit Board of Education for the 2024-2025 school year. She is the Chair of the Communications Committee and a member of the Operations Committee. Ms. Cohn was appointed to the Summit Board of Education in May 2021.

Ms. Cohn is the Executive Director of the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, an AAM accredited museum, where she has led the organization in growing its community programs -- including the establishment of an art therapy program with New Jersey Veterans Affairs. Under her leadership, the Art Center has received several prestigious NEA and IMLS grants. Previously, she led Staten Island Arts, deepening its programs in art and healing, education and folk art. Before that, she spent seven years at the New Museum of Contemporary Art as an administrator in the Curatorial Department. 

She has served on the Advisory Committee for the Urban Art Program for the NYC DOT, and on panels for IMLS, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NJ State Council on the Arts, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. She led Staten Island Arts in receiving a 2009 Rockefeller Foundation Cultural Innovation Fund Grant, 2010 and 2013 NEA Grants, and a 2014 Design Trust for Public Space “The Energetic City” award. In 2013, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce awarded her the Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award. 

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). She serves as president on the board of the National Organization for Arts in Health, is a member of the Summit/New Providence Rotary Club.

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Kelly Stanton was appointed to the Summit Board of Education in May 2022. She is currently serving as the Chair of the Education & Student Activities/Services Committee, as well as a member of the Policy Committee.

Ms. Stanton’s passion and interest in Summit Public Schools resonates with her heavy involvement in the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) at Jefferson Elementary School, as well as additional volunteer work with school events and programming. Ms. Stanton served as President of the PTO President’s Council where she collaborated with 2020-2021 Board of Education President Donna Miller and Summit Superintendent Scott Hough throughout the 2020-2021 school year. Prior to and during her Presidency of the President’s Council, she served as the PTO President for Jefferson Elementary School from 2018-2021. She reviewed and updated PTO bi-laws to reflect the needs of the school’s demographic, established committees and subcommittees for events during the school year, and coordinated Executive Board and general PTO meetings with Dr. Cordero, Principal of Jefferson Elementary School. Ms. Stanton’s volunteer experience expanded to Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School where she helped organize the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 theater productions.

Ms. Stanton’s professional experience includes nearly 10 years of administration at River School in Jersey City, N.J., serving as Director from 2012-2016. She created, implemented, and oversaw project-based curriculum for more than 100 students ranging in age from two months to six-years-old. She also helped design, stage, and execute a successful opening of the school’s second location for 60 additional students and 30 additional staff members. Prior to her Director position, she was the Assistant Director of River School from 2007-2012.

Ms. Stanton received her Bachelor of Science from Florida State University in 2007. Ms. Stanton and her husband Robert reside in Summit and have three children currently in the Summit Public School District.

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Jennifer Sykes Erday joined the Summit Board of Education in February 2023. She is currently serving as the Chair of the Policy Committee and a member of the Negotiations & Personnel Committee. 

Ms. Erday has been a resident of Summit for 24 years and has always been active in the  community and schools. Jennifer cherished her time as a volunteer class parent at St Teresa of  Avila Preschool and Kindergarten, which ultimately led to her engagement on various committees at St Teresa of Avila Preschool, Washington Elementary School, LCJSMS and Summit High School. She was President of the St Teresa of Avila PTO as well as a member of the St Teresa of Avila School Board. During her time at Washington Elementary School, as well as currently with LCJSMS and SHS, she has chaired many committees, as well as engaged in a variety of charity-focused events. She has worked with a variety of her children’s teams ranging from sports to Speech and Debate. 

Professionally, Jennifer is the Founder of Harbour Bridge Consultants LLC, a Human Resources Consulting Firm. She is a recognized leader in her field, having attained the Senior Certified Professional SHRM Designation, the highest level of certification from the Society of Human Resources Management. Additionally, Jennifer completed the Certification in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from Cornell University, which gives her a unique and rare qualification to provide knowledge and resources to corporations in an ever-changing business environment. Jennifer is a graduate of Manhattanville College and previously worked for Hilton Hotels Corporation, Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher and Flom, LLC, and Schering Plough Corporation through its merger with Merck. 

Jennifer brings a unique and valuable perspective to the board, coupling her large corporate experience, entrepreneurial creativity, and patience as a mother of four children and wife of Tim. Her support of businesses in the areas of compliance, policy development, people strategy, training and development, compensation analysis, and employee relations will help her contribute to the many and diverse needs of the Board. Each of her four children attend or attended the Summit Public School system - two are graduates of SHS, one is in the SHS graduating class of 2024, and her youngest will attend SHS in the fall of 2024.

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Eileen Kelly was appointed to the Summit Board of Education in May 2023. She is serving as the Chair of the Operations Committee and a member of the Education & Student Activities/Services Committee. 

Ms. Kelly and her family moved to Summit in 2019. Ms. Kelly has served as Technology Chair for the Overlook Auxiliary, has assisted five Summit businesses to secure over $25,000 in COVID-19 grants, and has volunteered as an ESL teacher at the Summit YMCA. She is currently a mentor at American Corporate Partners: a Non-Profit mentorship program for Veterans. Ms. Kelly has also served on various boards in New York City including the Board of Harlem Dowling, Equishiu, and the University Club of New York.

Professionally, Ms. Kelly is Head of Business Operations at Dow Jones where she oversees the integration of all mergers and acquisitions activity. Prior to Dow Jones, she spent 15 years working in a variety of financial, operational, and strategic roles including four years in Buenos Aires, Argentina as an Economic Analyst. In 2016, Ms. Kelly also became a tech entrepreneur and Co-Founder of a mobile travel application called WingIt. 

Ms. Kelly holds a BA from Colgate University. She lives in Summit with her husband, Matthew, and their two young sons.

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J. Carlos Mahecha was appointed to the Summit Board of Education in May 2024. He is serving on the Communications and Policy Committees. 

Mr. Mahecha has served as a volunteer and youth coach for the Summit YMCA, Summit Girls and Boys Recreational Basketball, Summit Junior Baseball, and Summit Recreational Girl’s Soccer programs. He is also an adjunct professor at Union College of Union County and has taught Federal Taxation and Accounting courses.  Professionally, Mr. Mahecha is a Senior Finance Manager at Johnson & Johnson Corporate leading global financial systems implementation initiatives.

Mr. Mahecha holds an AAS from Union College of Union County, a BS in Accounting from Rutgers University, and an MBA from Saint Peter’s University. Mr. Mahecha is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants.    

Mr. Mahecha has lived in Summit for 24 years with his wife Laura and three children, including two graduates of Summit Public Schools and one currently a Junior at Summit High School. 

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Yon Cho was appointed to the Summit Board of Education in May 2020. He is a member of the Negotiations & Personnel, Communications, and Operations Committees.

Mr. Cho and his family have been residents of Summit since 2000. He served on the Board of the Summit Area YMCA from 2009 to 2022, as well as the Board for the Summit Educational Foundation from 2013 to 2019, and chaired the Investment Committee. He is very involved with the scouting programs in Summit, starting with Franklin School Cub Scout Pack 360. He has also been an Assistant Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 67 since 2012. Mr. Cho also enjoyed coaching in the Summit Rec Soccer and Summit Junior Baseball programs when his children were younger. 

Mr. Cho is currently retired after more than 30 years in financial services and real estate investment management at Lehman Brothers, and for the prior ten years at Pacific Coast Capital Partners where he managed the New York office and new investments for the firm. After graduating college, Mr. Cho proudly served four years in the United States Navy as a Surface Line Officer before starting his financial career. He has a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. 

Mr. Cho and his wife Francie have four children who all graduated from Summit High School.

Contact Yon Cho