Chanelle Scott McCullum was sworn into a seat on the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners on April 21.
She fills the seat left vacant after the sudden passing of Deputy Director Kenneth Armwood on March 29.
A resident of Piscataway for more than 40 years, McCullum has served on the Piscataway Township Council since April 2013, when she was appointed to fill then-Councilman Armwood’s seat when he left to join the Board of County Commissioners, according to information provided by the Middlesex County Office of Communication.
McCullum was elected to the Piscataway Township Council in November 2013 and re-elected to four-year terms in 2016 and 2020. During her time on the Piscataway Township Council, McCullum served two terms as council president and championed issues pertaining to wellness and healthy living, including founding a free annual Walk for Your Health event in Piscataway’s Johnson Park, according to the statement.
“On behalf of the entire Board of County Commissioners, I am pleased to welcome County Commissioner McCullum to the board,” Middlesex County Commissioner Director Ronald G. Rios said in the statement. “The loss of Deputy Director Armwood, a dedicated public servant and wonderful human, is a tragedy for all of us – both personally and professionally. Deputy Director Armwood left big shoes to fill, but I am certain that County Commissioner McCullum is up to the task. She joins the Board of County Commissioners with her own impressive record of public service, and I look forward to working together on behalf of the people of Middlesex County.”
“I am proud to join the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners,” McCullum said in the statement. “I am especially honored to have the opportunity to carry on the work of Ken Armwood, a dear friend and colleague. He left a legacy of kindness that was elevated by his hard work and commitment to the people of our great county. I will continue that legacy even as I work to establish my own path as a county commissioner dedicated to improving the lives of every Middlesex County resident.”
In addition to serving on the Piscataway Township Council for the past eight years, McCullum is a member of the Piscataway Municipal Alliance, a role in which she works closely with members of the community to educate citizens regarding the dangers of drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse and misuse, according to the statement.
She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Sterling Village, Piscataway Township’s independent apartment complex for senior citizens.
A licensed registered pharmacist since 1991, McCullum began her pharmacy career as a staff pharmacist at Pathmark Pharmacy in the City of Newark. She has worked for Merck for more than 25 years, according to the statement.
McCullum was educated in Piscataway’s public and private schools before earning her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, magna cum laude, from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and her doctorate in pharmacy from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, according to the statement.
She is the daughter of Retired Lt. Richard Scott of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Middlesex County Sheriff Mildred S. Scott, the first female sheriff in Middlesex County and the first African American sheriff in the State of New Jersey.
McCullum is only the second African American female to serve on the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners, according to the statement. The first was her mother, who left the board to serve as Middlesex County Sheriff and was replaced as county commissioner by Armwood.
The remaining year of Armwood’s term will be on the ballot for the Nov. 2 General Election.