Meet The 2022 Secaucus School Board Candidates

SECAUCUS, NJ — Like all towns in the state, the Secaucus school board election will be held the same day as the midterms, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Patch asked the candidates to tell us about themselves and why they are running.

These five Secaucus residents filed to run for three open seats. Voters will be asked to choose three:

• Nicholas Mattiello, "Keep Moving Forward" slate
• Monica Berckes, "Keep Moving Forward" slate
• Kelli Ann Conroy D'Addetta, "For the Children" slate (D'Addetta has been on the Board before)
• Alexander de Hombre, "For the Children" slate (he ran last year for Secaucus Board of Education and lost)
• Christina DeBari, "For the Children" slate

Nick Mattiello: I am born, raised and educated in the town of Secaucus.

- Proud Secaucus public school district alumni (K-12)
- BA in public relations from Montclair State University
- MBA in marketing from Seton Hall University
- Served for 8+ years as a 911 dispatcher for Secaucus Police Department
- Currently serving as a volunteer firefighter with the Secaucus Fire Department for the last 10 years
- 5+ years of corporate experience serving as a senior-level marketing, communications and public relations manager for one of the Top 5 companies on the globe
- Adjunct professor at Seton Hall University
- Adjunct professor at Brookdale College

For the majority of my young adult life, I've served this incredible community and its citizens with an unwavering commitment to public safety both as a 911 operator and firefighter. I've always been engaged and involved with the community and have made some deep-rooted and lifelong connections with the folks across this town. I don't want my civic duty and service to the public to stop there.

Therefore, I strongly feel as though I can elevate myself to new heights by taking on the task of being a trustee on the Secaucus Board of Education. Having the honor to serve the students, parents, teachers, administrators, and taxpayers across the entirety of this town with the passion and fervor I have to advocate and champion for all constituents we represent is what ignites a spark in me to want to continue down the path of positive change for our district. Yes, I am outspoken, I am not afraid to go against the grain, and am proud to stand strong in my support for what I believe in — while also having an open mind to hear all opinions, concerns and ideas.

For a few years now, it's no secret how students, parents, taxpayers and more have witnessed our Board of Ed sticking to the status quo. It's time we shake things up and elect change agents to propel a path toward more truth, transparency and trust. We need more dedicated and devoted elected officials who will stand up for students, parents, teachers, staff, administrators and taxpayers who put their faith and trust in us (even those who don't) to represent all beliefs, all concerns, all ideas and all members of the community. It's due time to foster and harness more engagement and communication. That's what I believe and that is what I want to bring to the table. I look forward to the day where I have the absolute honor and privilege to serve this community in the capacity of a Board of Ed Trustee.

Monica Berckes: (Her husband is the cousin of former Secaucus High School principal Dr. Robert Berckes). Running with Nick Mattiello on the Keep Moving Forward for SBOE. Monica has 30+ years corporate experience. She worked at a senior-level in marketing, advertising and communications in addition to being a licensed NJ real estate agent.

She served for 2+ years on Secaucus Board of Education sub-committee called CERC (Community Education Relations Committee), created to bridge the gap of communication between the BOE and parents/school community.

She also spent 4+ years working in the district as a substitute teacher and is a 25-year resident of Secaucus, with two children attending school in district. She is an active board member for an international timeshare organization and volunteers across Secaucus and Hudson County.

"Throughout my life, whether in grade school, college, or today, I have always been passionate about giving back to my community. I have volunteered countless hours to help make even the slightest bit of change. People who know me, understand that helping others is just in my DNA.

Since my children started school in this district, I became very much involved within our schools. I attended board meetings regularly, began substitute teaching, and asked a ton of questions along the way. I wanted to be involved and in-the-know because my children's education is priority #1 for me. As their parent, that’s my duty.

Over the last few years, it became apparently clear that advocating for them, and all students in the district was the direction I needed to follow. I’ve had deep concerns about our children's education, mental health and social well-being. Having voiced my concerns numerous times to administrators and board members, I felt unheard. I felt that communication and transparency was non-existent, and as a parent, community member and voter, this should never be. If elected, I vow to restore the confidence in communication and transparency and advocate for parents rights and your voices to be heard. I am also well aware that teachers opinions and voices matter too, as they are the front line of our children's successes. And, while I am pleased to see some improvement made over the last year, I feel there is a lot more work to be done. I know I am up for the challenge.

"Having lived in town for 25+ years and being very active in the community, I am proud to be married to a life-long Secaucus resident and to be raising my two sons in this district. I am eager to represent you, the voters of Secaucus, and pledge to always KEEP MOVING FORWARD."

Kelli D’Addetta,"For the Children:" I decided to run for the BOE again this year after much consideration. I believe I would be an excellent candidate. I would be bringing with me 3.5 years of experience as a board member, 18 years experience as a volunteer and my years in corporate America.

I believe all of these positions made me the strong person and leader that I am today. I feel my strongest skills are organization, communication and financial planning. I am a team player and I am a person of integrity. The most important thing I want you to know about me is that I truly care about the children and I will work hard to make decisions that are the best for them. This is my number one goal and it always has been.

I am not afraid to speak up and, although I am running on a slate, I have my own thoughts, my own mind and my own opinions on things. And I will always vote for what I believe is best.

I will work for our teachers and administrators who are the backbone of our educational system and without their input and their trust in the board, we can not have an environment for the children that is conducive to success.

Lastly, I will work for the taxpayers and make sure that we seek out programs and grants that will allow us to keep our district current in all that we do without it being a burden to our tax-paying citizens. As to the why I am running: We need to get back to a cohesive environment where the number one goal is working toward what is best for the children of our district.

Alexander de Hombre, "For the Children:" My name is Alexander de Hombre, but I go by Alex to my friends and family. I'm running for the Secaucus Board of Education along with Kelli D'Addetta and Christina Debari under the ticket "For The Children."

I have been living in Secaucus for nearly two decades. I grew up just up the hill in North Bergen. As the son of immigrant parents from Cuba, they nurtured in me the need for strong family bonds, close community relations and a compassion for helping others. This desire to help others has guided me to strive toward my goal and to live by the motto "find a need, fill a need."

Since relocating to our town of Secaucus, I have done my best to serve the community in any way I can, starting as Den leader for the local Boy Scout Pack #87 and coaching several youth organizations in Secaucus. Additionally, I have been heavily involved in the Clarendon School PTA for the past six years. I continue as an active member of Immaculate Conception Church and a member of the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus, both serving our community with countless charitable programs, activities and support.

My main focus working for Hackensack Meridian Palisades is working with the healthcare teams and departments to provide patient safety and care to our patients and the community. I truly believe that this ideology and environment of collaboration are key if we hope to have a productive school board. My work experiences can only be of benefit to the board and the community if elected. I am a small-business owner, and I have more than 20 years of retail pharmacy management experience; in turn, my skills in budgeting, contract negotiations and understanding the overall necessities of management would serve the school board in many ways.

I care about the Secaucus children, and I envision us thriving and growing together, but we must start with investing in our children's education. We need to focus our efforts on getting our children back up to par after falling behind due to the pandemic by giving them the confidence and skills needed to achieve academic excellence. I also feel that lost in the shuffle has been the health and morale of our school teachers, staff and administration. We also need to help with continuing to provide a safe and encouraging environment for them so they, in turn, can provide the best education to our children. This is a collaborative effort, and it will take all of us to achieve this goal. They are the future of this community, and I want to see them and Secaucus prosper. I hope you all feel the same way and allow me to serve the community and our children.

Christina DeBari, "For the Children:" I was born, raised and educated in Secaucus. I went to Huber Street, the Secaucus Middle and High School, then received a cytology degree from the University of Connecticut.

I spent the last 22 years as a Cytology Lab Supervisor at Holy Name Hospital.

I have been happily married to Chris for 18 years and have two children, Ian (16) and Alexa (14). If you walk through the high school you will see me on the Hall of Fame wall. The quote I chose back when I was inducted was, “Treat others how you would like to be treated,” which I live by and have instilled in my children.

My character offers you a person who believes in kindness, helping others and excellence. My career has given me the opportunity to excel at managing budgets, policy writing, being a team leader while respecting everyone I work with, troubleshooting difficult situations and providing excellent patient care.

I was also given the opportunity to work in a hospital in Milo, Haiti to help develop a cytology lab and maintain its function.

My commitment to the town goes beyond my high school career of volunteering. I've volunteered coaching soccer and basketball for over 12 years, have been involved in school PTA’s, was President of the Middle School PTO, involved in town environment clean ups and planting programs.

I have experiences and life skills that I feel would benefit the Board of Education. When people ask me what I want to focus on, it’s promoting kindness and listening to people - we are here for “our children.” What do they need more or less of, what's working, what needs improvement and how can we help them grow to their maximum potential. I’m not an educator so I would be failing you if I told you what they needed, but I know the people who can answer those questions. Those people are our teachers and parents.

In a post-pandemic world we have gains we need to make for our students and our teachers need our support. Part of that is allowing them to be heard to help them educate our children. I want to hear from you, I want to work for you and most of all I want to utilize our tax dollars to their fullest for our children who, inevitably, are the ones who help our town shine. Please vote column I, #3 and give me the opportunity to work with and for you. I am running with “For the Children” and believe Kelli D’Addetta and Alex deHombre offer you the same commitment and intelligence to be great additions to the Board of Education team. You won’t regret voting our slate, Column I number 1, 2, & 3."