Election 2022: Haddon Township School Board Candidate Andrew 'AJ' O'Malley

HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ — In the 2022 general election, residents of South Jersey will be voting for state and local officials. Patch has asked candidates in contested races to answer profiles about their campaigns.

Here is the candidate profile for Andrew "AJ" O'Malley, running for the Haddon Township Board of Education.

Editor's Note: Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will be published between now and the Nov. 8 general election. Local candidates who would like to participate but did not receive one (for whatever reason) can contact Michelle.Rotuno-Johnson@patch.com.

Name: Andrew ‘AJ’ O’Malley

Age: 35

Town of Residence: Haddon Township

Position Sought: Board of Education

Family: Wife Christine (Harper) O’Malley, Grace O’Malley (8), Morgan O’Malley (7), and Sadie O’Malley (4)

Education: Graduate with honors from Rutgers University - Camden BS Business Management; Graduate with honors from Villanova University – MBA Strategic Management

Occupation: Agile Transformation Lead and Executive Coach

Previous or current elected/appointed office have you held? None

Why are you seeking to run for the school board?

I am running for a seat on the Board of Education because I am Rooted in our Community and want to make a difference by returning Haddon Township to a premier educational school district. My children are third-generation Haddon Township students and will be enrolled for the next 15 YEARS! We need to improve our educational outcomes by better supporting our administrators, teachers and students. I have experience driving change in competitive industries in a fiscally responsible way. While change is inevitable, we must remain prudent and strategic on where to invest our time and resources to maximize the future for ALL CHILDREN.

What sets you apart from other candidates?

In addition to the age of my children, I believe I have unique perspectives due to my understanding of the education system and experience as a consultant and dynamic business leader.

My wife has been a teacher for over a decade with experience in multiple school districts and multiple grade levels. Many of my close friends are also teachers and I know the challenges teachers face each day and each year. I know how these challenges evolved during the pandemic and will continue to evolve. Spending time and asking questions of those I know best has given me perspectives I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

In addition to my understanding of our education system, I have extensive business and consulting experience. I have worked with some of the best leaders in the world while as a Chief of Staff in IT at Vanguard and now as an Executive Coach and Transformation lead for CVS Health, the fourth largest company in the world. My background working with talented analysts, designers, international leaders, IT executives, life coaches, and more have taught me how to engage and energize the people around me.
Lastly, in addition to my experience, I have the drive and passion to help those around me. I have pro-bono consulted for several local professionals and local businesses to help them change their career paths, expand their businesses and find efficiencies within their processes. I truly love helping others and those that know me best know how much I care for others.

What is your stance on the sexual education curriculum that Gov. Murphy put forth earlier this year?

I have read countless articles about the updated curriculum and understand the topic is polarizing. I want to provide my perspective on two of the most talked about components of the curriculum. First the language added around LGBTQ youth. From my perspective, the updated curriculum isn’t dissimilar from what was already in the former curriculum, which is about respecting others. The governor was specific when he mentioned that “the standards promote inclusivity and respect for every child, including LGBTQ youth.” I am in alignment that EVERY CHILD should be treated with respect.

Secondly, changes were made that are introducing certain sexual education topics earlier in a child’s learning journey. I believe this generation of children, whether we like it or not, is maturing at a faster rate than when I grew up in Haddon Township. The digital world and social media are introducing topics to young kids far earlier now than historically. While the trend of kids maturing faster is worrisome to me as a father, the curriculum is now preparing our educators to answer questions about sexual health and sexual situations which is a good thing. Teachers are well educated on how to communicate with appropriately aged children about sex education and I would prefer the record be set straight by an educator than a peer to our students. The updated curriculum is introducing this topic earlier, which worries me about our society, but not how educators are responding.

What is the most important issue in your district and how do you intend to address it?

Fiscal Responsibility - Taxes in Haddon Township are already high and it will be important to understand which areas of the educational experience we prioritize. If everything is a priority than nothing is a priority. I would like to understand the key performance indicators of our fiscal decisions to ensure we are meeting the objectives we set out to accomplish.

What other issues do you feel must be tackled in your school district and how would you tackle these?

Due to the focus groups over the past two years, I have been fortunate to hear from many members of the community on where Haddon Township could be better. Based upon that experience I would focus on the following areas in addition to the focus of fiscal responsibility:

Community Involvement - Over the last few years communication with the community has been good, but we can further improve by allowing people to contribute more than just their voices. I not only want to continue to hear more from the constituents, but also create ways for members of the community to get involved. Haddon Township is full of talented people looking for an opportunity to help make our school district better.

Focus - The board of education cannot boil the ocean. If we set out to accomplish too much, nothing will get done. We need to be focused and prioritize our time and resources appropriately. We can drive change quickly if we are disciplined in how we prioritize.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

What makes me different than others is my ability to ask questions and drive change. As a life coach I recognize that I do not have all the answers, nor should I. Instead, I ask questions and involve those who are most educated and well connected. My role would be to provide the environment, tools and resources to enable them to be successful. As a board member, you can expect me to lead with the same level of discipline to be curious and enable this district to reach even greater heights.