Two With Morristown Ties Join State Board of Education

Two people with strong ties to Morristown joined the New Jersey State Board of Education Wednesday, according to a statement from Gov. Chris Christie's office. They're among four people joining the board in all Wednesday.

Claire Chamberlain Eckert replaces Kathleen Dietz, who resigned. Eckert is a trustee of the , a K-8 Independent Day School in Morristown. From 2006-2010, she served as president of the school, according to the statement.

Eckert has also previously been the vice president and director of general services at Goldman Sachs and Co. in New York. She was the lead coordinator for Goldman Sach’s partnership with Cities in Schools and was responsible for opening the Metropolitan Corporate Academy, a charter high school in Brooklyn, N.Y., the governor's office said. She is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Business School and attended Princeton Theological Seminary.

J. Peter Simon replaces Debra Casha, who resigned, according to the governor's office. Simon chairs the Health Foundation board. He also co-founded William E. Simon and Sons, and serves as its co-chairman and the William E. Simon Foundation, according to the governor's office. He serves on the boards of Lafayette College, the Morristown Memorial Health Foundation (Chair) and Covenant House New Jersey as well as Puck Holdings, which owns the New Jersey Devils.  Boards he served on previously are the Alliance for School Choice, the Gladney Center, the National Council for Adoption and the Peck School.

Also sworn in Tuesday, according to the statement:

Andrew J. Mulvihill replaces Josephine Hernandez, whose term expired June 30, 2009. He is the CEO of Crystal Springs and Mountain Creek real estate division and has worked in the development and building industry for the past 25 years. He is the owner of Mountain Resort Properties.. Mulvihill is the past president of the NJ Golf Club Course Owners Association, past member of the Newark Academy Board of Governors and is a founder and board member of Highlands State Bank. Mr. Mulvihill graduated from Stanford University.

Jack Fornaro is completing the term of Frederick LaGarde who resigned. . Fornaro holds a School Business Administrator certification and also has a background in law enforcement. He is a graduate of Rider University, where he holds a Master of Arts in Public Administration.

The State Board of Education adopts the administrative code, which sets the rules needed to implement state education law.