Board of Education

Christine Snyder moved to Little Egg Harbor over 16 years ago to start a family, and thus has had a vested interest in the township’s success from the beginning. As a mother to five children, Christine has guided her kids through primary and secondary education over a span of two decades. She has children ages 20,18,18,13, and 11. In that time, she has discovered the ways that public school education can successfully craft the minds of young students. By extension, Christine identifies ways that schools can be improved for the betterment of all students, including the Little Egg Harbor School District.

Christine holds Bachelors and Doctoral degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology, and began her career as a research specialist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She initially studied the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), contributing to a research effort that spanned four decades. Christine’s professional experience in both biochemistry and virology provided a unique perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic, and she will continue to utilize her skills to ensure the safety of Little Egg Harbor children. Beyond the scientific lens, her professional analysis has afforded her the critical thinking skills required to succeed in many different fields.

Christine’s career trajectory took a different path when she moved to Little Egg Harbor to raise her children. She began teaching as a way to meet the needs of her family, but the career change quickly sparked a lifelong passion for education. In the years since, Christine has taught at many higher education institutions, including Stockton University, the University of Phoenix, Purdue University Global, Kean University, and Ocean County College. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Stockton University, and designed all aspects of the “Chemistry of Coffee” course. Christine enjoys connecting with students and watching them flourish throughout their college career. Moreover, she is familiar with the rigors of teaching, as a seasoned educator herself, but balances that knowledge with her experience as a parent.

Christine has been a student, parent, and educator at various points throughout her life, and all of these roles have prepared her for the Little Egg Harbor School Board which she has done for the past 2 and ½ years and currently serves as board president. Her goal as President is to serve the best interest of all the students of the district, from those with special needs, the average student, as well-gifted and talented, so that everyone can get the best possible education and be successful.

Laura Erber is a Registered Professional Nurse and has worked in her profession for over 20 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from William Paterson University.  Laura worked as R.N. Supervisor in medical/surgical nursing and Infection Prevention for a large Senior Living Organization in Somerset County prior to moving to Little Egg Harbor 11 years ago. 

After moving, Laura accepted a School Nurse position in Port Republic, where she has served the school community for the last 10 years.  In addition to her nursing responsibilities, Laura is a Safety Specialist for her school district and works as recording secretary in the Atlantic County Nurses Association.    

As a person that has always been very involved in her own children’s education, Laura is committed to the improvement of all education that is delivered in New Jersey Schools.  This is the reason she ran for the LEH BOE, and the reason she continues to work so hard for the parents and children of this wonderful community.  Laura believes in the Little Egg Harbor School District and the families of Little Egg Harbor.  She wants to raise the bar and bring school achievement up to where it was years ago.  With the right administration in place and a transparent board that serves the public with integrity, we can get the job done!

Laura wishes to continue serving the community by addressing their questions and concerns in several areas, especially educational programs, and fiscal matters.  Parents are paying closer attention to what is happening in our schools, and they rightly should be.  Laura would like to continue to provide a welcoming place for parents to come to board meetings where their voices will be heard and respected.

Mr. Howard Berry moved to Little Egg Harbor Township in 1968 when he was 12 years old. He attended the LEH school district and still remembers his teacher, Mr. Downs, and the positive effect he made on his life and his education. After graduating from Southern Regional and Glassboro State College, Howard worked as a union carpenter from 1979 to 1986. He was employed as a wood shop teacher at Pinelands Regional School District in 1986 and has since retired.

God has blessed him with a wonderful wife of 42 years and three beautiful daughters. They have been blessed with husbands who love them, work hard and put their families before anything else. All of his children and their husbands attended the LEH school district. Howard is also blessed with six grandchildren, who are or will be attending the LEH schools. 

Family and friends are why he is an advocate for the school district and putting students first with financial accountability. Each generation has a responsibility to equip the next generation for success. Howard Berry will work to fulfill that task in a responsible manner, doing what is best for our children and the community we live in while serving on the Board of Education. 

Chris Filiciello is currently the Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Security Awareness Training Specialist for the cybersecurity company Keystone Cyber Protection. 

Chris attended both the George J. Mitchell School and the Frog Pond Elementary School back in the early 1990s.  Chris graduated from Pinelands Regional High School in the year 2000.  He is very proud to serve as a school board member in the same school district he grew up in many years ago. 

Chris has decades of experience in government, politics, education, and cybersecurity combined.  Earlier in his career, Chris was a presidential appointee in Washington, D.C. serving at the White House, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Department of Labor.  He returned home to New Jersey to get involved in state and local government and politics, including successfully running the mayoral campaign for the mayor of Atlantic City and becoming his Chief of Staff.  Following his service with the mayor, Chris worked as a teacher in New Jersey’s public school system.  As a teacher during the pandemic, Chris saw first-hand how technology and computer devices, such as the Google Chromebook and mobile devices, were becoming the dominant instrument of influence in students’ lives today.  He recognized that there is a tremendous shortage in the cybersecurity industry to help protect those same devices and information being transmitted and stored on them.  Leveraging his teaching experience, he entered the cybersecurity field as a Security Awareness Training Specialist, teaching businesses and their employees on how to avoid being hacked by cybercriminals. 

One of the main reasons Chris ran for the school board in 2022 was because of his son Mateo, now a second grader at the George J. Mitchell school.  Mateo was born with Down syndrome, and is part of the district’s special education student population.  Chris wanted to ensure that Mateo and all students in special education received the best possible inclusive education, and were afforded every opportunity to succeed.  Chris is also one of the parent co-coordinators for the Little Egg Harbor Special Education Parent Advisory Group (LEH SEPAG), which is mandated by law to collect input from parents of students with an IEP, 504, that receive services such as speech, OT, PT, etc. regarding their child’s special education.  The LEH SEPAG meets once a month to inform parents of the latest happenings within the district, and to solicit feedback from parents on any systemic issues that may need to be addressed by the Director of Special Services.    

When he's not working or attending Board meetings, Chris can be found on numerous athletic fields coaching (flag football, soccer, and basketball) their four young boys, ages 11, 7, 4, and 2.  His wife Lorena, is also a very active member of the LEH SEPAG.

Abby Martin was born and raised in Little Egg Harbor Township and attended both local school districts.  After moving out of state to attend college and work, Abby returned to LEH with her husband to raise their three children. She is a graduate of Pinelands Regional High school, an alumna of James Madison University (JMU) in Virginia and an alumna of Emory University in Atlanta, GA. From JMU, Abby earned her Bachelor’s degree in health communication in 2006 and her Master’s degree in Public Health; Health Policy & Hospital Administration from Emory in 2008. 

Abby has worked in healthcare for 15 years.  She started her career at Acuity Healthcare, a former National long term acute care organization based throughout the country with two NJ locations. She held several positions at Acuity, including Project Manager, Clinical Liaison and Regional Director of Provider Relations. Currently, Abby is a Product Consulting Director at Vizient Incorporated, the nation’s leading health care performance improvement organization. 

With two children attending the Little Egg Harbor School district and one at Pinelands Regional School district, Abby wants the best education for them along with ALL the children in our community. The Little Egg Harbor school district was always a high performing district, with a strong sense of family and community. We need to work together to bring that back and put students and those that teach them at the forefront. Abby’s goal as a board member would be to help improve student achievement, hire and bring in the best administration who is accountable for a transparent and responsible budget that puts the resources needed back into the classroom to foster the education of tomorrow’s future.

Allison Laurence has been a proud resident of Little Egg Harbor since moving to the community with her husband Gary and sons Matthew and Justin in 1993. Currently a Health & Physical Educator at Pinelands Regional Junior High School since September 2002, Allison has been very involved in a wide variety of school activities affecting students, staff, and her community alike. 

In addition to coaching in the early years of her tenure at Pinelands, Allison has served in the capacity of Project Graduation Advisor and is currently both the 8th Grade Student Government and JHS Special Olympics Advisor, the 8th Grade Field Day Coordinator, and a teacher with the after school Twilight program. She is also an active member of a wide variety of committees at Pinelands, most notably to date, the district's Scheduling Committee, the SCIP/Leadership Committee, and the School Reopening Committee.

Allison is also very active in fundraising and grant writing endeavors. In the past she facilitated a fundraiser that raised monies used to purchase the fence surrounding the varsity softball field and for the past 4 years she has conducted fundraising events twice a year to provide scholarships for graduates via the Pinelands Education Association, for which she also serves as Vice President and Social Chair.

Also active in grant writing, in 2016 Allison applied for and won a $15,000 Riding for Focus grant, which awarded the Junior High School 30 mountain bikes and helmets for use in physical education classes and  has routinely written and been awarded Atlanticare's "Healthy School, Healthy Kids" grant, which not only provides funding for healthy initiatives to benefit students and staff, but also provides AED machines to Health Services at the JHS.  

Dedicated to volunteerism and serving the community that she works and lives in, Allison initiated, created and runs The Legacy Center at the Wildcat Shack, which is a place of comfort for students and their families, as well as community members who are in need of extra assistance by providing food, clothing, basic necessities, and even access to laundry machines and dryers if needed. She was also one of the founders and 6 year president of the Wildcat Gridiron Club, a parent group supporting the Pinelands Regional football program.

Allison's passion for education reaches beyond the classrooms and gymnasiums of Pinelands Regional into the world of fitness. Allison loves empowering all people, regardless of age, skill set, or fitness levels, by teaching them, through movement and exercise, the benefits and joy that exercise can bring to one's life. Teaching locally for the past 36 years, Allison holds numerous certifications as a Group Exercise Instructor/Personal Trainer, and has traveled extensively as a Master Trainer for global fitness brand PILOXING, LLD, training and licensing new instructors,and presenting at fitness conferences along the East Coast of the United States.

When not in the classroom, you can find Allison at home in her kitchen baking, crafting, gardening, or spending quality time with her family. especially her granddaughter Charlize Skye.

Pamela Zeleznok was born and raised in Little Egg Harbor where she attended both the LEH and Pinelands school districts. Pam is a graduate of Ramapo College of NJ where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication in 2006. 

Upon graduation she lived in Central and Northern New Jersey as a human resources personnel before moving back to LEH in 2009.

Once Pam moved back, she began working as a bookkeeper for a local insurance company. She also has 15 years experience in the customer service field. 

Pam and her husband have two young children and are actively involved in the local community by participating in sports, dance, and several clubs. 

During COVID, Pam and her husband made the decision to move their children out of the public school to ensure they received the education and consistency they needed during uncertain times. 

It was this, coupled with changes in education that were happening around the state, that they believed it was best to transition their children at a young age out of the public school system. However, despite this, Pam was still dedicated to Parental Rights and decided to run for the LEH Board of education. 

Since joining the board in January 2022, Pam has voiced concerns at a local and state level, ensuring that parents are heard and are the deciding factor when it comes to the best interests of their children. 

Early education is such an important part of a child’s life that helps mold and shape them into the adults they ultimately become which is why Pam has prioritized student achievements, transparency, budgeting, administration and parental rights during her term on the Little Egg Harbor BOE.