ARCELIO APONTE
President
Appointed in 2005
Piscataway, Middlesex County

• President, State Board of Education, 2010 - present
• Vice President, State Board of Education, 2006 - 2010
• Director of Operations and Management, Economic Development, City of Newark
• Former National President, Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity Inc.
• Leadership New Jersey, 2004
• M.A., Business Administration, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Management
• B.S., Electronic Engineering Technology, The College of New Jersey
  
  
• Married, two children

ILAN PLAWKER
Vice President
Appointed in 2009
Englewood Cliffs, Bergen County

• Vice President, State Board of Education, 2011 – present
• Retired, small business owner.  Display Design, Marketing and Sales
• U. S. Marines during Korean Conflict
• Attended Columbia University on the GI Bill.
• Volunteer Ambulance Corps EMT, four years
• Fifteen years of service on the Englewood Cliffs Board of Education. President, for five terms
• Councilman, Englewood Cliffs, first elected in 1996. Council President for 12 years
• Founder and member, North Jersey Community Bank
• Politically active in Bergen County
• Hobby:  Painting in Oil
  
  
• Married, three married sons, seven grandchildren, all residents of New Jersey

MARK W. BIEDRON
Appointed in 2011
Tewksbury Township, Hunterdon County

• Co-Founder, The Willow School, Gladstone, N.J., 2001-present
• Founder, Solid Wood Construction LLC, 1997-present
• Chair, Advisory Board of the University of Vermont’s Rubinstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
• Trustee, N.J. Conservation Foundation
• Former trustee and board chair, Cloud Institute of Sustainability Education
• Member, United States Green Building Council
• LEED Accredited Professional
• B.A., Business Administration, University of Vermont, 1974

RONALD K. BUTCHER
Appointed in 1990
Pitman, Gloucester County

• Vice President, State Board of Education, 2010 – 2011
• President, State Board of Education, 2007-2008
• Vice President, State Board of Education, 1999-2003
• Retired Faculty & Administrator, Rowan University
• President and CEO, Ronald K. Butcher & Company, S.P.
• President and CEO, EcoDeC, Inc.
• B.S., Business Education, Western Michigan University
• M.A., Education Leadership, Eastern Michigan University
• Ph.D., Educational Administration and Supervision, University of Michigan
  
  
• Married, three children

CLAIRE CHAMBERLAIN
Appointed in 2011
Bernardsville, Somerset County

• Goldman, Sachs & Co., 1985-1995
• Business Analyst, McKinsey and Company, Inc., 1981-1983
• Founding member, Women’s Health Philanthropy Council, Morristown Memorial Health Foundation, 2009-present
• President, The Peck School Board of Trustees, Morristown, NJ, 2006-2010
• Trustee, The Peck School Board of Trustees, Morristown, NJ, 2002-present
• Co-founder and Governor, The CWJ Classic Automobile Museum, Bernardsville, NJ 2000-2007
• Officer and trustee, The Drumthwacket Foundation, Princeton, NJ, 1994-2002
• B.A., Economics, Stanford University, 1981
• M.B.A., Business Administration, Harvard Business School, 1985

JOSEPH FISICARO
Appointed in 2011
Evesham Township, Burlington County

• Staff member, Special Education, Burlington County Institute of Technology, Medford, N.J., 2005-present
• Teacher, Philadelphia School District, 1972-2005
• Member, Lenape Regional High School District Board of Education, 1993-2011; president, 1999-2001; vice president, 1997-1999
• Member, Evesham Township Municipal Utilities Authority, 2003-present; chairperson, 2004-2005; vice chairperson, 2008-2010
• Member, Evesham Township Historical Preservation Commission, 1991-2003
• Member, N.J. School Boards Association, 2002-2011
• M.A., Education, Widener University, 1984
• B.A., American History, Widener University, 1971
• Italian Certification, LaSalle University, 1982
• K-8 Certification, Immaculata College, 1974

JACK FORNARO
Appointed in 2011
Oxford, Warren County

• Director, Constituent Relations, NJ State Legislature, November 1999-present
• Member, New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, 2004-2010
• Investment Securities Counselor, Jeffrey Matthews financial Group, LLC., 1997
• Mortgage Consultant, Beneficial Finance/Household, 1998-1999
• Interim Business Administrator, Township of Mahwah, 1992
• Senior Field Representative/Investigator, NJ Department of Community Affairs, 1982-  1991
• Staff Investigator, Division of Criminal Justice, Drug Diversion Investigation Unit, 1974-1975
• CEO, Private Detective Agency, 1970-1981
• Staff Investigator for Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Morristown, NJ 1970-1981
• Patrolman, Morristown Police Department, Morristown, NJ, 1968-1970
• M.A., Public Administration, Rider University
• B.A., Political Science, Rutgers University
• A.A., Criminal Justice, Morris County College

EDITHE FULTON
Appointed in 2007
Toms River, Ocean County

• Member, N.J. Advisory Commission on the Status of Women
• Member, N.J. Reads Board of Directors, 2004 to 2007
• Member, Literacy Volunteers of Ocean County Board of Directors
• Member, Executive Women of New Jersey Board of Directors, 2005 to 2006
• Past President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, N.J. Education Assoc. (NJEA), 1981 to 1985 and 1993 to 2005
• President, Partners in Education, 2003 to 2005
• Member, Privacy Commission and Streamlining Task Force, 2003 to 2004
• Member, Governor’s Commissions for Alternate Route, Master Teacher & Monitoring, 1981 to 1984
• Member, NJEA Delegate Assembly, 1971 to 1976
• President, Ocean County Council of Education Associations, 1972 to 1976
• President, New Jersey County Presidents’ Council, 1974 to 1976
• President, Lakehurst Education Association, 1969 to 1971
  
  
• Married, three children and six grandchildren

ROBERT P. HANEY
Appointed in 2008
Holmdel, Monmouth County

• Partner, Covington & Burling, present
• Trustee, Hall Institute for Public Policy New Jersey
• Trustee, New York City’s Assigned Counsel Corporation
• Member, New Jersey City University Foundation
• Member, Board of Overseers, Seton Hall School of Diplomacy
• Juris Doctor Cum Laude, Harvard University
• M.A., Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government
• Summa Cum Laude, Middlebury College
  
  
• Four children

ERNEST P. LEPORE
Appointed in 2004
West New York, Hudson County

• Director, Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science
• Co-author, What Every Student Should Know (Rutgers Press, 2002)
• Professor, Rutgers University, Philosophy Department
• Member, American Philosophical Assoc.
• Member, Society for Philosophy and Psychology
• Ph.D., Philosophy, University of Minnesota
• M.A., Linguistics, University of Minnesota
• B.A., Philosophy and Linguistics, University of Massachusetts

ANDREW J. MULVIHILL
Appointed in 2011
Andover, Sussex County

• CEO, Crystal Springs and Mountain Creek Real Estate Division
• Owner, Mountain Resort Properties
• Founder and member, Highlands State Bank
• Past President, NJ Golf Course Owners Association
• Former member, Newark Academy Board of Governors
• B.A., Political Science, Stanford University

J. PETER SIMON
Appointed in 2011
Green Village, Morris County
                                                   

• Co-founder, William E. Simon and Sons, (WES&S)
• Co-chairman, William E. Simon Foundation
• Trustee, Lafayette College
• Chairman, Morristown Memorial Health Foundation Board of Trustees
• Member, Board of Trustees, Richard Nixon Foundation
• Member, Covenant House New Jersey Board of Directors
• Former member, Gladney Center Board of Trustees
• Former member, National Council for Adoption Board of Trustees
• Former member, Peck School Board of Trustees
• B.A., Lafayette College

DOROTHY S. STRICKLAND, Ph.D.
Appointed in 2008
West Orange, Essex County

• Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Education and State of New Jersey Professor of Reading, Emerita, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
• Former classroom teacher; reading specialist; learning disabilities specialist
• Member and Past President of the International Reading Association
• Past President of the Reading Hall of Fame
• Service to numerous advisory boards and panels at the state and national levels
• Numerous publications in the area of reading instruction
• Received IRA’s Outstanding Teacher Educator of Reading Award; National Council of Teachers of English Award as Outstanding Educator in the Language Arts and the National-Louis University Ferguson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Early Childhood Education.
• Ph.D., and M.A., New York University
• M.S., Newark State College (now Kean University)
  
  
• Widowed, three children, eight grandchildren