Editor’s note: Four candidates are seeking three seats on the North Brunswick Board of Education. David Brockman, Richard Liguori and Howard Liu were profiled in the Oct. 18 issue of the Sentinel. Below is the profile for incumbent candidate Claribel Cortes.
Claribel Cortes has lived in North Brunswick for 13 years. Her daughter is in the fifth grade at John Adams Elementary School. Her son is a senior at Immaculata High School in Somerville but attended John Adams and Linwood Middle School.
Cortes is a media and business executive with more than 21 years in the field of Broadcast/Digital Journalism.
She joined the school board in April to fill an unexpired term, and currently serves as chair of the Committee Relations Committee and is a member of the Negotiations and Legislative committees.
She currently volunteers as a coach for Girls on the Run, an organization that implements an experience-based curriculum which integrates running for girls in grades 3-5.
“My passion for running and the community has also lead me to fundraise for NYRR – Team for Kids which helps inner-city schools learn to run and live a healthy life,” she said. “I’m also actively involved with fundraising for Camp Shriver which is summer camp which is a summer camp for kids with disabilities.”
Cortes said as part of Community Relations for the school district, she has already been working on initiatives to improve communication and delivery of meetings.
“I will work with our administration and township to implement a strong broadcast signal as well as improvement of our audio capabilities. With my substantial media experience, I will ensure that we establish multiple platforms and use social media such as Facebook Live, Livestream, Twitter and YouTube to provide delivery our various communications in addition to all the activities and developments within our schools.”
She said she wants to help secure grants to expand curriculum, as well as community-corporate partnerships, while also taking proactive measures to ensure secure environments for all students and staff.
Election Day is Nov. 7.