Peterson is picked for township school board vacancy

She will complete the last seven months of the unexpired term of Linda Mitchell

By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
   Leigh Ann Peterson, of Maple Lane, Hopewell Township, was appointed to the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education on Monday night.
   The full board voted unanimously in favor of the move. Ms. Peterson will finish the last seven months of the unexpired term of Linda Mitchell, who resigned from the board July 31.
   Ms. Mitchell, who was board president when she stepped down, has moved to North Carolina. She has since been replaced as board president by Melvin Myers of Hopewell Borough. Jeffrey Bartolino and Aaron Tellier, both township residents, are co-vice presidents.
   Ms. Peterson, who is vice president, Equities Compliance, for Lehman Brothers, Inc., New York City, has a bachelor’s degree in distributed studies, economics and French.
   Ms. Peterson has lived in the school district for three years. She and her husband, Michael Shine, have a son, Aidan, who is nearly 2 years old.
   A member of the Alumni Board of The Hun School of Princeton, Ms. Peterson will receive the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award for 2009.
   She fills one of Hopewell Township’s seven seats on the regional board. Hopewell Borough and Pennington have one seat each.
   The board voted to appoint her after deliberating in closed session for an hour following brief interviews of the seven candidates.
   The other candidates were: Deborah Chitester, of Newman Court, Hopewell Grant; Laura Desai, of Federal City Road; Edward Rankin Gainsborg Jr., of Washington Crossing-Pennington Road; Brian J. McHugh, of Masters Way, Brandon Farms; Kim Robinson, of Harbourton-Rocktown Road; and Neil Seftor, of Blake Drive, Hopewell Grant.