Mayor, Board Select Katherine Kalin for BOE

For Katherine Kalin, her first foray into public service will be different, but not unusual.

Kalin, who will be sworn in July 15 to fill the seat being vacated by Eleanor Doyle, is no stranger to new things. She's a dual citizen in the United States and Great Britain and has lived in at almost a dozen other countries including France, Switzerland, Spain, Scotland and Belgium.

The reason for the travel was Kalin's father who served in the the Royal Air Force. As a result she got bit with the travel bug, taking her first job as a French teacher before moving to the U.S. 20 years ago. 

Kalin and her husband Steve raised their first two children in Manhattan. But when she became pregnant with their third child, the family decided to settle in Summit.

"We had some friends in Summit," she said. "We figured this would be a great place to live."

The Kalin kids are now 16, 15, and 11 and all attend the Summit Public Schoos.

Kalin now works for Johnson & Johnson as the Vice President of Franchise Strategic Management. While this job may not seem like an obvious qualification to serve on the Board of Education, Kalin said there are elements to her job that are applicable to the work she'll be doing as a board member.

Kalin says there are three main functions to her job: marketing, new business development and business intelligence. This includes helping shape the future of her company and the products it develops but also how it communicates its message to customers, something the Board of Education has said it is striving to do better. 

However, it's her perspective that she thinks is her strongest qualification as a board member.

"I think I'm very open to understanding different ways of doing things," she said.

Board of Education President Jack Lyness said Katherine has the unanimous support for the board for this appointment.

"Her business education and experience, particularly in strategic planning will prove useful," he wrote in an e-mail. "I also think her background–having grown up  and been educated outside the United States–will provide a unique perspective as we try to prepare kids for the global marketplace."

But Kalin has a slight advantage coming in. She's friend with fellow rookie Board member Celia Colbert. And it was Colbert who asked if Kalin would be interested in having her name nominated for consideration.

While she admits at the time she had no idea what she was getting herself into, once she thought about it she realized this was a great opportunity.

"There's nothing more important in a community than education," she said. "And for families and people with children it's the number one thing on the list. And academic excellence has to be at the heart of it. ... What better way would there be to serve a community (than be on the Board of Education)."

She did have some concerns about the time commitment and wondered if she should wait until her children has graduated from the district. But it was Board President Jack Lyness, she said, who quelled those fears.

" 'There's no time like the present'," he told her. " 'You will get so much out of this.'"

"And you know he's right," she said. "I would be hard pressed to find a better way to serve my community."

Kalin says she will take a listen and learn approach to her early days on the Board.

"I don't want to come in with any ax to grind," she said.

While she says she hopes the budget doesn't overshadow the other things the Board does, she wants to reserve opinion on any topics until she's been on the board a while. She does, however, care a great deal about academic excellence, she said.

Kalin also said she would like to see the conversation about full day kindergarten vetted at the Board level.

"Let's air all the issues," she said. "Let's hear and air the issues on people minds."

When she's not at work or cheering on her kids at lacrosse, soccer and basketball games, Kalin said she liked to spend time with her yellow lab and garden.

Kalin will be sworn in July 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Board of Education regular meeting.