Board Members

President

of the

Board of Education

Michelle Lambert

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Michelle Lambert began serving on the board in 2010 and was elected to four consecutive full terms since. Mrs. Lambert previously served as Board Vice President and currently serves as Board President and is a member of the Finance Committee.  While her children attended township schools, she served as chair-person  for various functions hosted by CRAPTO and DDEPTO, as well as Treasurer for CRAPTO.

Mrs. Lambert holds a B.S. in Finance from St. John's University, and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. After law school she practiced corporate tax law for a number of years and currently practices in multiple areas of law with her husband at The Law Firm of James R. Lambert.

Mrs. Lambert and her husband James have lived in Freehold since 1992, where they raised their three children, all of whom attended the Freehold Township Schools.  Two of her children are currently graduated from college, working full time, and her youngest is a college junior.

Vice President

of the

Board of Education

Michael S. Amoroso

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Michael Amoroso was first elected to the Freehold Township Board of Education in 2011 and was elected to his fourth term in November of 2020.  Mr. Amoroso has chaired each of the committees and served as Board President in 2019.  He currently serves as the Vice President and is a member of the Curriculum Committee for 2023.

Mr. Amoroso holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Lafayette College, an MS in Software Engineering from Monmouth University and a CKD from the National Kitchen and Bath Association. As an active member of the New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA), he has also obtained a Certificated Board Member (CBM) status through the NJSBA Board Member Academy Program.

Mr. Amoroso and his wife Maria, have been residents of Freehold Township for 22 years.  They have three daughters who have all attended the Freehold Township Schools.

Renata Brand

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Renata Brand was elected to the Board of Education in 2022. She currently serves on the Finance Committee. Renata Brand was born in Palermo, Italy and immigrated to America with her family as a young child. 

She holds a B.S. in Accounting from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, graduating with a 4.0 in accounting and 3.8 grade point average overall.  After graduation Mrs. Brand worked for Arthur Andersen & Co. and earned her C.P.A. license in 1981.  Since then she has worked for private accounting firms and was self-employed.  Mrs. Brand is currently retired.

Mrs. Brand and her husband Arthur have lived in Freehold since 2016, having moved from Brooklyn, NY. They have four grown sons and 9 beautiful grandchildren. The oldest granddaughter graduated college in 2022 and the youngest grandson is one year old.

Mary Cozzolino

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Mary Cozzolino was appointed to the Board of Education in July 2017. She currently serves on the Curriculum/ Policies Committee.

Mrs. Cozzolino holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Rutgers University where she graduated with honors. No stranger to public office, Mrs. Cozzolino previously served on the Manalapan Township Committee and as the Township’s Mayor, becoming the youngest female in NJ elected to public office in 1998. Mrs. Cozzolino has also worked for the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance as Assistant Commissioner of Public Affairs and as

Special Assistant to the Commissioner. In the private sector, she worked as a public advocate, a public affairs associate, a paraprofessional, and Director of Administration for NJPLIGA. Mary is the former president of the Laura Donovan PTO, and has served as a soccer coach. She also teaches CCD at the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine. She currently is a stay-at- home mom.

Mrs. Cozzolino and her husband, Raymond Raya, have lived in Freehold Township since 2011. They have three young sons attending Freehold Township Schools.

Neil Garguilo

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Neil D. Garguilo was elected to the Freehold Township BOE in January of 2022. He majored in history at Fordham University and completed a teaching certification program. Mr. Garguilo taught special education in the NYC public middle schools for two years. Later, he transitioned to the corporate world and worked at FedEx as a manager.

Mr. Garguilo worked at other companies such as Hertz (Sr. Station Manager) and DCH Auto Group (Corporate Training Manager). Also, Mr. Garguilo taught at the college level for approximately two years as an adjunct professor teaching the principles of business. Later in life, he earned an MBA in General Business He retired in 2019 but is still active. He is a commissioner of the Freehold Township Historic Preservation Commission.

Mr. Garguilo loves to write and contributes articles to the Italian Sons and Daughters of America's newspaper. Mr. Garguilo has been a resident of Freehold Township for the last 6 years. He helped raise three children including one who is a teacher.

Elena O'Sullivan

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Elena O’Sullivan was first elected to the Freehold Township Board of Education in November 2016 for a three-year term and reelected for a third three-year term in November 2022.

Mrs. O’Sullivan holds a BA in Child Study and Science from St. Joseph’s College, Brooklyn, New York; MS Ed.in Neurophysiological Learning Disabilities from Brooklyn College; Graduate Certificate in Science and Math Education from Long Island University; and a 6th Year Professional Certificate from Staten Island College, in Supervision and Administration.

Mrs. O’Sullivan retired from the NYC Dept. of Education. She held positions as a teacher, Dean, Programmer, Assistant Principal and Principal.  She is currently employed with Brooklyn College, CUNY; teaching Science Education to Graduate Students. She also works with the Teachers Performance Unit in the Department of Education of the City of New York.  Mrs. O’Sullivan and her husband Michael have lived in Freehold since 1990 and her son Andrew attended the Freehold Township Schools.

Meg Thomann

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Meg Thomann earned her B.A. in History from The College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA) and the University of St Andrews (Fife, Scotland). After graduation, she was accepted by the Japanese Embassy to the JET (Japanese Exchange Teaching) Program, where she taught 40 classes per week in a public Japanese middle school near Osaka.

Kerri Vendittoli

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Kerry Vendittoli was elected to the Freehold Township Board of Education in November 2018. She currently serves as a member of the Personnel Committee.

Mrs. Vendittoli holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration/Management Information Systems from Montclair State University. She has served as President for the ECLC PTO, PACE and Our Place 2 Play as well as a volunteer for the Applegate PTO.

Kerry and her husband, Anthony, have lived in Freehold Township for 14 years. They have two young sons attending Freehold Township Schools.

Jeffrey Williams

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Jeffrey Williams was elected to the Board of Education in 2022 and is serving a three-year term.

Mr. Williams holds a bachelor's degree from Caldwell University in Criminal Justice. Having experience in public office, Mr. Williams previously served on the Union Beach Borough Town Council.  Mr. Williams currently works in the retirement plan industry with Ascensus.  Mr. Williams is also a volunteer basketball, soccer & softball coach with the Freehold Township Recreation Department.

Mr. Williams and his wife, Megan Earl, have lived in Freehold Township since 2018. Their two daughters, Bridget and Teagan, attend Eisenhower Middle School and Applegate Elementary School respectively.