Deirdre Brown has lived in Maplewood since 2016. Professionally, she is an Assistant Director at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a non-partisan Congressional agency. She leads teams to conduct qualitative and quantitative policy analyses on various topics to improve government efficiency and effectiveness. Deirdre, and her husband Dean, have two children who attend(ed) South Mountain, SOMS, and Columbia High School. Deirdre’s daughter, Gwyneth, sat on the BOE as a student representative in 2023-2024. In Deirdre’s spare time, she enjoys gardening and spending time with her family, which often involves attending dance or musical theater events, her children’s passions.

Jeff Bennett has lived in South Orange since 2006 and served on the BOE from 2012-2015.  Professionally, he’s a research librarian who eagerly applies research and analytics to many school district and state education challenges, most recently transportation inefficiency and placement patterns in the III.  After his first board term ended, Jeff stayed very involved in the campaign for fair state aid, serving as Research Director for the Fair Funding Action Committee, a grassroots volunteer group that helped get NJ’s state aid law changed in 2018.  Jeffrey has three children who attend(ed) Marshall, Bolden, public PreK, and now SOMS.  In his spare time, he likes reading about history, walking in the South Mountain Reservation, and exploring historic sites, mountains, and botanical gardens with his wife, Megan, and children.

Bimal Kapadia has lived in South Orange since 2016. A media and technology career spanning 20 years, Bimal is the co-founder and COO for Meadowlark Media, a startup studio focused on storytelling through personality driven shows, films, documentaries and podcasts. He manages a creative and business staff across 3 states and is responsible for the day-to-day operations. It’s a job that reflects his upbringing and passion for the arts – seeded from art studies and practice throughout his schooling.  Together with his wife, Swati, they have two children who attend South Mountain Elementary.  In his spare time, you can find Bimal at one of the many public tennis courts in town or on the sideline at his kids SOMA FC soccer matches where he is also a volunteer for the program.