There are four Hopewell Valley Regional school board races on the ballot this Nov. 5 general election but only one that is competitive.
The race will be a matchup between two write-in campaigns from Amanda Stylianou and Theresa Vogler for a one-year unexpired term representing Hopewell Township on the school board. On the ballot, the township voters will write the name of their preferred candidate in Column L.
The one-year unexpired term is available after the resignation of former school board member Lydia Liu, who moved out of the community.
Stylianou and Vogler both announced their write-in campaigns to Hopewell Township voters this month.
Stylianou is a mom of three and grew up in Montgomery. Her husband grew up in Lawrence.
“We chose to live here to raise our family because we value the strong, supportive environment that Hopewell offers,” she wrote in her write-in campaign announcement.
“As a licensed clinical social worker with a Ph.D. in social work from Rutgers, I’ve spent my career working with individuals facing mental health, substance abuse, and trauma. These experiences have reinforced my belief that our schools must prioritize the well-being of every child.”
Additionally, Stylianou is a Girl Scout troop leader.
If elected, she explained in her letter that she would preserve Hopewell Valley Regions School District’s (HVRSD) small-school culture by advocating for policies and practices that ensure students receive personalized support; maintain high academic standards by ensuring every student is challenged, supported and thriving; strengthen social-emotional learning by supporting curriculum that emphasizes building resilience and empathy; and enhance community engagement by ensuring community members have a strong voice.
“Our school system is at a pivotal moment, and I believe that with thoughtful, compassionate leadership, we can navigate these changes,” she added. “It would be an honor to serve and help guide our schools forward on a path that respects our past while embracing the future.”
Vogler grew up in Hopewell Township and graduated from Hopewell Valley Central High School. After moving away for college, graduate school, and law school, she returned to Hopewell Township in 1998 with her husband, Michael Ruger and three sons. Her sons also graduated from Hopewell Valley Central High School.
“My children and I were fortunate to learn, grow and attain an excellent foundation to build rewarding careers and lives,” she wrote in her letter announcing her write-in campaign. “I am running to ensure that future graduates also have promising opportunities.”
Vogler currently serves on the Hopewell Township Historic Preservation Commission, and prior served in school roles such as the HVRSD Future Planning Committee in 2014. She has also worked in law firms and accounting firms.
“My platform is simple. I’d like to see our community working together to advance our student opportunities and provide strong educational value with our tax dollars. We can start with responsible and realistic budgeting, revisiting starting time for middle and high schools, and strengthening academic freedom and outcomes.”
Vogler explained that she would bring her skills from having worked in accounting firms and law firms to the school district’s budgeting process, advocate for later school start times, and believes they can better prepare students for success with them having more exposure to alternate viewpoints and ideas in order to stimulate critical thinking and encourage their understanding of the global world.
Other school board races representing Hopewell Township:
There is an uncontested race for two, three-year terms representing the township on school board. Voters will have two incumbents – Jacquie Genovesi, who is serving as school board vice president and Dhruv Kapadia.
Genovesi is seeking a second three-year term on the school board and Kapadia is looking to earn his first full-term on the school board.
Genovesi: “I am pleased to announce I’m running for re-election for the Board of Education. I am a mother of three HVRSD graduates: Katie (class of 2018), Michael (class of 2021) and Joseph (class of
2024). Many of you may know my husband Rocco Genovesi, he works at the Hopewell Library.
“Our dog Korra is a certified AIR therapy dog that visits our local schools. In addition to serving on
the school board, I also serve on UL Research Institutes Office of Research Experiences and
Education board and the Family Leadership Council for the Nation Center for Learning
Disabilities.
“I founded and serve as the Executive Director for the Center for STEAM Equity at the Academy
of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. I hold a B.S. in Biology (Rider University), a master’s
degree in environmental education (University of Pennsylvania) and a Ph.D. in Educational
Leadership and Technology (Drexel University). I am honored to be a finalist (winners still to be
announced) of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering
Mentoring.”
Genovesi added that her current board commitments include serving as vice president, chairing the SEL (social emotional learning) committee, serving on the Education committee, and representing the board at the STRIVE PTO and faculty SEL meetings.
“We are entering a period of challenging financial decisions and there are many important initiatives supporting our students that still need attention such as supporting research- informed literacy curriculum, SEL, protecting our marginalized students, and finding common ground to pass a referendum to addressing our aging infrastructure, safety and growing population.”
Kapadia grew up in Hopewell Valley. While on the school board he served as a member of the Policy Committee and also the Education Committee.
He currently serves as a legislative aide for State Sen. Andrew Zwicker and previously served in U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman’s district office.
Kapadia graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University. He graduated from HVCHS.
Another race township voters will need to vote on is for a two-year unexpired term. Incumbent John Slotman is on the ballot for this uncontested race.
John Slotman currently represents Hopewell Township on the school board. He was appointed to the school board earlier this year after the unexpected resignation of former school board member Andrea Driver.
He is on the ballot to finish the final two years of Driver’s unexpired term.
Slotman has lived in Hopewell Township for more than 10 years with his wife Jessica and two children. He has been a coach and participated in the PTO.
Pennington race:
Pennington voters will also have a race for their representative on the school board. Incumbent Alex Reznik is on the ballot seeking a second three-year term to school board.
Reznik was born in the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in 1974 and arrived in the United States as a Jewish refugee in 1989. He resident of Hopewell Valley since 2003 and Pennington Borough since 2015.
He is a proud father of three daughters – a college graduate, a senior at HVCHS and an eighth grader at Timberlane Middle School. Reznik was first elected to the Hopewell Valley Board of Education to represent Pennington in 2021.
In his professional life, he is currently a global principal architect within Dell Technologies’ Telecom Solutions Business organization. In this role he is focused on helping Dell’s Telecom and Enterprise partners navigate the complexities of Edge Cloud strategy and turning the potential of 5G Edge transformation into the reality of business outcomes.
Reznik is a recognized industry expert in the area of edge computing and a frequent speaker on the subject. He is a co-author of the book “Multi-Access Edge Computing in Action.”
From March 2017 through February 2021, Reznik served as chair of ETSI’s Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) ISG – the leading international standards group focused on enabling edge computing in access networks.
He earned his B.S.E.E. Summa Cum Laude from The Cooper Union, S.M. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Princeton University.
Reznik held a visiting faculty appointment at WINLAB, Rutgers University, where he collaborated on research in cognitive radio, wireless security, and future mobile internet. He served as the vice-chair of the Services Working Group at the Small Cells Forum.
He is also an inventor of over 160 granted U.S. patents, an author of numerous publications and recipient of multiple Innovation Awards from his employers.
