Hi, I’m Darius.

I am a product of New Jersey public schools and the wealth of opportunity they offer.

My parents moved to Holmdel Township for the schools (not unlike why many move to Glen Ridge) where I attended the district’s schools from kindergarten through high school. I took advantage of nearly every “extra” our public schools offer: advanced, honors, and AP classes in elementary, middle and high school; music programs in middle and high school where I played the oboe and saxophone; athletic programs in high school where I swam competitively; and, as a person who stutters, weekly speech therapy sessions in elementary and middle school.

It was my public education that prepared me for college when I attended Columbia (and met my wife, Kara). It is my public education that prepared me to be a civically engaged member of the community today.

Kara and I moved to our current home at 30 Madison Street in Glen Ridge more than seven years ago. We have a daughter, Blythe, who is in the fourth grade at Ridgewood Avenue School, and a daughter, Malin, who is in the second grade at Linden Avenue School.

For almost fifteen years, I’ve been working in the financial services industry; specifically, liquidity and funding risk management. I bring to the Board my experience analyzing balance sheets and managing funding risks—a skill that can help effectively manage and allocate the district’s budget, which is essential to providing our children a quality education. I also bring my quantitative analytical and data skills that can help establish measurable goals to hold the Board and the district accountable.

I also bring to the Board skills related to policymaking and legal analysis that I have acquired while attending law school part-time at Seton Hall for the past three years. If law school has taught me anything, it has been effective time management. When I graduate this spring, I would have more than enough time to dedicate to service on the Board.