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Members & Committees

2026 BOARD MEMBERS

Mrs. Joanne Calabria Barkauskas, President
3-year term 2026-2028
Email: jbarkauskas@mlschools.org

Joanne has lived in Mountain Lakes since 2003. She and her husband, Rich, MLHS Class of 1987, have four children, Richard, MLHS Class of 2015, Matthew, MLHS Class of 2018, Thomas, MLHS Class of 2021 and Emma, MLHS Class of 2024. Joanne has been an educator for the past 20 years, working first as a high school teacher and now currently as a high school guidance counselor at Parsippany Hills High School. Joanne earned an MA in Administration and Educational Leadership from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education and an MsC in Comparative Government from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Mrs. Jennifer Parker, Vice President
3-year term 2024-2026
Email: jparker@mlschools.org

Jennifer Parker and her husband Stuart along with their three girls Waring (class of 2023), Harrison (class of 2025) and Ashton (class of 2027) moved to Mountain Lakes in 2016 from the DC area. Prior to living in DC for a couple of years they were in London for 10 years. Jennifer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Kentucky University, a Juris Doctor from Widener School of Law and a Masters of Law from Georgetown University. Jennifer is a Corporate lawyer who specializes in asset management, and more recently securities litigation. Jennifer has been a lawyer for more than 20 years working for prominent law firms including Fried, Frank, Harrison, Shriver & Jacobson (a NY firm) and Freshfields, Bruckhaus, Deringer (a London “magical circle” firm). Jennifer also served on the Board of Directors for a private investment fund of funds group.

Dr. Aruni Don
3-year term 2025-2027
Email: adon@mlschools.org

Aruni lives in Mountain Lakes with her husband, Nish Kolonne, and their three boys – Jayden (MLHS Class of 2025), Liam (MLHS Class of 2029) and Gavin (MLHS Class of 2031). Aruni works for a global healthcare company to guide and shape the commercialization & market access strategy of new medicines. Prior to this role, she provided consulting services to the biotech and pharmaceutical industry for 5+ years. Aruni received a dual Bachelor’s degree (BA in Biology, BS in Microbiology), and earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine. She then completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Rutgers University. Commitment to education is a top priority for Aruni. Since moving to Mountain Lakes in 2016, she has dedicated her time to volunteering in the local community including serving on the Wildwood School Referendum Planning Committee, the Advisory Council of the MLHS Academy for Biotechnology, and a prior 1-year term on the MLSD Board of Education in 2020.

Mrs. Sara Forman
3-year term 2024-2026
Email: sforman@mlschools.org

Sara moved to Mountain Lakes in 2015, with her husband, Eric, and their children, Benjamin (MLHS Class 2024), Eli (2027) and Madeleine (2030).  Sara earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of South Carolina and also holds a master’s in political science from New York University. Sara has worked in political campaigns and as a nonprofit leader for over 20 years. Since moving to Mountain Lakes, she has volunteered with the Mountain Lakes Educational Foundation (MLEF), serving as the co-VP of Fundraising and as President of the organization, where she helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for our schools. Additionally, she serves as the President of the Mountain Lakes Boonton Ice Hockey Booster Club, on the board of the Laker Sports Club, and on the board of the Morristown Jewish Center. A two-time New York City marathoner, she has also completed London and Chicago and hopes to one day run Boston, Berlin and Tokyo to complete the world major marathon six star challenge.

Dr. James Hirschfeld
3-year term 2026-2028
Email: jhirschfeld@mlschools.org

James has lived in Mountain Lakes since 2003. He and his wife, Laura, have three daughters who are members of MLHS classes of 2021, 2023, and 2028. James practices ophthalmology at Lakeland Ophthalmology in Parsippany, which he founded in 2004. He is a board member of the Morris County Medical Society, and has previously served on the boards of the Lake Drive Foundation and the Medical Needs Foundation. James earned an AB in Economics from Brown University and an MD from NYU School of Medicine, where he also completed his ophthalmology residency.

Mrs. Aru Kulkarni
3-year term 2025-2027
Email: akulkarni@mlschools.org

Aru has lived in Mountain Lakes since 1989 with her husband Amol and raised their two children Amita(‘06) and Vivek (‘09) here. They were briefly relocated from 1993-1997 but came right back to Mountain Lakes.

Aru’s career in the fashion industry spanned almost 40 years working for some iconic American brands like Liz Claiborne and Ralph Lauren, from where she recently retired as President of Womenswear for NA wholesale. Her extensive experience in the corporate workplace taught her about the power of collaboration, and working for win-win solutions. She now wants to give back to the community, leveraging her background and skills to the important work of the school board.
 
While at Ralph Lauren, Aru was the Executive Sponsor of the AAPI community. She previously served on the Board of Jersey Battered Women’s Service (JBWS) and was President of the Board in the final year of her term.
Aru received “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in business” award in 2021 by the Asian American Business Development Center.
 
Aru grew up in India and graduated with a BS in Economics from the University of Mumbai and then got an MS in Economics at the University of Pittsburgh.

 

Dr. Lauren Silva McIntyre
3-year term 2026-2028
Email: lmcintyre@mlschools.org

Lauren has lived in Mountain Lakes since 2012 with her husband, James, and their three children. She was raised in Mountain Lakes, graduating MLHS in 1998. Most recently, Lauren was an adjunct professor in International Economics and Latin American Studies at Johns Hopkins University SAIS. Prior to this, she worked as an economic and financial analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She has been an active volunteer in the community, serving on the board of the Home & School Association (H&SA) as President, Co-President, and Cultural Arts Chair. Lauren earned an A.B. in Economics from Princeton and an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Julia McVeigh
1-year term 2026
Email: jmcveigh@mlschools.org

Julia moved to Mountain Lakes in 2021 with her husband, Tim, and two children (classes 2036 and 2038). Since becoming a resident, Julia has committed to volunteerism by serving on the Board of the Mountain Lakes Club, acting as Marketing/Communications Chair for the Mountain Lakes Home & School Association, and sitting on the Mountain Lakes Recreation Commission. Julia's professional background is in advertising, focusing on content marketing and copywriting. She grew up in Mountain Lakes and graduated from MLHS in the class of 2004. Julia earned a BA in English from Georgetown University.  

Dr. Purvika Sheth
3-year term 2025-2027
Email: psheth@mlschools.org
Purvika and her husband Milan have lived in Mountain Lakes since 2007. They have raised 3 children (MLHS class of 2023, 2025, and 2027) since in town.  Purvika earned her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Rutgers, the State University of NJ and went on to attend SUNY State College of Optometry in Manhattan. During her graduate studies, Purvika spent time as a volunteer performing eye exam for the Special Olympics Opening Eyes and Remote Area Mission in rural Virginia.  After completing her graduate degree, she pursued a residency and then entered the work force as an optometrist in south Jersey and Philadelphia.  She continues to work a part-time schedule in her field.  Purvika has volunteered in the community as Den Chief for her son’s Cub Scout den, as well as Troop Secretary for the  Scout Troop Committee.
Mr. Chris Johnson
2026 Boonton Township Representative
Email: cjohnson@mlschools.org

Chris serves on the Boonton Township Board of Education and is honored to serve as the Mountain Lakes BOE representative. Chris and his wife, Megan, have two children: Kevin (Class of 2029), and Ian (Class of 2029). Chris and his family have been happily living in Boonton Township since 2016, Chris is originally from Massachusetts and his wife was raised in Tokyo.  

As a volunteer in the community, Chris has helped coach youth sports teams at various levels over the past 10 years including Tri-Town Baseball, MLBTB Soccer, and Jr. Laker Basketball.  Chris is also a parent volunteer within the Boonton Township Boy Scout Troop. At RVS, Chris was the SEPAG liaison for the Boonton Township Board of
Education in addition to the Finance Committee chair. He earned a BS in Business Administration from Villanova University and his MBA from Rutgers University. Professionally, Chris has had a 20+ year career in Insurance holding positions within Information Technology, Operations, and Finance.

Board Committees

The Mountain Lakes Board of Education works as a board of committees; however, no committee may make any policy or decision. The committee’s role is to provide oversight and investigate issues closely. The committee then provides recommendations and information (both pros and cons) to the board as a whole so that the board may make thoughtful decisions. Each committee works closely with the district’s administration. Each board member is on an average of three committees. In general, committees meet monthly, but certain committees may meet more or less due to the scope of its work and the current conditions of the district. Each committee has a chairperson that is appointed by the board president as soon as practical after the annual reorganization meeting. The role of the committee chair is to set the committee meeting calendar and to communicate the schedule with the committee members. The chairperson assists in setting the agenda of the meeting and communicating the agenda with the members of the committee. The chair is also responsible for submitting the committee report to the business administrator who includes it in the board packet that each board member receives weekly. The chairperson is the spokesperson for the committee and makes a verbal report to the entire board at the public board meetings. Committee chairpersons are also the contact person for community members that have questions pertaining to board work. Committee members and the chairperson's contact information may be found below.

Click Here to view our Committees and Liaisons

 

While Board Committee Meetings are not open to the public, the Board always welcomes public participation in the development of policies and practices. Should a member of the community be interested in a particular aspect of Board committee work, the individual should contact the appropriate committee chair or the Superintendent to arrange an opportunity to meet with that committee.

Revised 9.22.21