Interviews by Kimberly Crane 

Ivan Adorno is the vice president of the New Brunswick Board of Education, superintendent of recreation for the city of New Brunswick and an alumnus of New Brunswick Public Schools. 

 Gina Winters is the newly elected president of the Cherry Hill Board of Education, alumnus of Rutgers University with a master’s degree in public policy and a parent of three school age children.   

 Joel Mayer is a former vice president of the Cherry Hill Board of Education, a nationally recognized compliance and ethics consultant, and a former assistant prosecutor for Atlantic County.  

What does labor management collaboration (LMC) work mean to you as a BOE member? 

Ivan Adorno  

I see the LMC as a giant communications tool that allows all parties to have conversations, in a safe setting, to move projects forward. During the pandemic, New Brunswick was one of the first districts to have a plan in place.  

 I sat in LMC meetings as a community partner and thought, wow this took a lot of effort to put together with the union, superintendent and board. We were proactive instead of reactive. Our new BOE leadership continues that communication. We are working hard to make sure that we sustain high level relationships.  

I have a shirt that says, “Strong Public Schools = Strong Communities.”  I wear it as often as I can because it’s so true. The stronger we build our public schools, the stronger the community will be. 

Gina Winters  

The LMC has really been a transformational project. It changed the dynamic between the board, administration and staff. Our LMC work has inverted the decision-making process in a way that is much more healthy.  

 Before the LMC, the board would try to understand how our decisions impacted staff. Without direct conversation, we could miss things because we’re not on the ground in the classrooms.    

 We now tackle big problems in a collaborative way. It brings all the stakeholders together with different perspectives. When you do that, decision-making is much more reflective of consensus. It’s more robust. 

 LMC conversations humanize us and allow people to see why board members volunteer to do what they do. It’s because we care a lot. I think the conversation, very intentionally from the board’s side, has been to ask how we can help. 

Joel Mayer    

The LMC is a tremendously effective method of true communication, collaboration, understanding and respect between stakeholders in the district.  

 The dynamic of our LMC has grown to the point where I no longer sense hesitation from the group coming forward with a problem. They know we the board will listen and ultimately be part of a solution.  

 There are a number of things that go into building that trust. Primarily, it means that people feel respected and know that we are a district that wants to do right by them. 

 We recognize the importance of truly understanding the needs of the staff and supporting staff wellness. We want to do whatever we can to support staff and teacher retention and attract new teachers to our district.  

 We were fortunate to have had this work LMC adopted and adopted quickly. It’s been very well received across the district. We will do whatever we can through the LMC to create better outcomes for students. 

Kimberly Crane is an NJEA Communications Consultant and former president of the Highland Park Education Association. She can be reached at kcrane@njea.org.  

For more information on the New Jersey Labor Management Collaborative, email Mike Ritzius, NJEA liaison to the New Jersey LMC at Mike@lmcpartnerships.org.