Meet the Board
Christine Ferrarie
Christine has lived with her husband in Upper Saddle River for 29 years. Their three children have all graduated from the Upper Saddle River schools and Northern Highlands. Christine was born in Brooklyn, raised in Scarsdale and graduated with a Finance degree from the Catholic University of America. She worked as a computer analyst at Salomon Brothers and then stayed home to raise her children.
Among her many volunteer experiences, she spent many years as the Home and School Association President at Northern Highlands and the PTO Vice President at the Upper Saddle River elementary schools. She received the Volunteer of Excellence Award from the Girl Scouts and the Award for Excellence from the Upper Saddle River Educational Foundation.
Lisa Halperin
Lisa is serving her fourth year on the Board. She and her husband, have lived in Upper Saddle River for the past 14 years. Lisa is the proud mom of four boys, three who attend Northern Highlands.
Lisa was born in New Jersey, raised in Paramus, and graduated from Syracuse University, with a major in Psychology and a minor in Marketing and Spanish. She earned a Juris Doctor degree at Seton Hall School of Law. Lisa is an attorney turned full-time mom with a passion for community service and philanthropy.
With the birth of her children, Lisa put her career on hold. She has been President and Co-President of the JCO of Northern Bergen County, has been an active member of the PTO, and continues to support many community events. In 2017 Lisa was recognized by the Upper Saddle River Educational Foundation and named the recipient of the Award for Excellence.
Emily Kaufman
Emily and her husband have lived in Saddle River for 19 years. She was raised on Long Island and earned a Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis. After 11 years as a pediatric social worker at Mount Sinai Medical Center, she became a full-time parent of her two children, a daughter, currently at Virginia Tech and a son, who attends Northern Highlands. Six years ago, Emily returned to the workforce in customer service for the IT helpdesk of a software company.
Emily’s numerous volunteer activities include serving four years on the Wandell School Education Foundation, two as President; three years as Class mom for the Wandell Home and School Association; four years as Book Fair Coordinator for the HSA /PAWS of Wandell; seven years on the Run for Sue Committee; three years on the Saddle River Fire Auxiliary. She has served on the Saddle River Board of Education since 2018.
Maggie Liljegren
Maggie Liljegren and her husband have lived in Ho-Ho-Kus since 2006. Together they have three sons, two who attend Northern Highlands and one who attends the Ho-Ho-Kus School.
Maggie graduated with a BA in History from Middlebury College in Vermont and held various roles in the Sports Marketing industry at publications including Golf Magazine and Sports Illustrated. Since the birth of her boys, Maggie has been active in the Ho-Ho-Kus community, serving as President of the Contemporary Club, President of the Home & School Association, Trustee of the Education Foundation, and a coach in the HHK-SR Football Organization. She is currently a Trustee of the Ho-Ho-Kus Board of Education and Race Director of Richard's Run, an annual charity 5K in downtown Ho-Ho-Kus.
Rachel Milston
Rachel moved to Upper Saddle River in 2011 with her husband, and their two children, one, a Northern Highlands graduate, and one, a current Northern Highlands student.
Rachel grew up in Springfield, NJ and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BA in English. After college she worked in the School & Library Marketing Department at Random House, and then went on to hold various other marketing roles before the birth of her children.
Rachel has been active in the community since moving here. She was the co-chair of the Early Childhood Parent Association at Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley for two years and volunteered at the Robert D. Reynolds Elementary School library for six years. She is a member of the JCO of Northern Bergen County. She is currently a substitute teacher in the Upper Saddle River School District.
James Mulvey
Jim has lived in Upper Saddle River for 30 years with his wife , a graduate of Northern Highlands. Their four children have all gone through the Upper Saddle River school system, with a sophomore at Northern Highlands now and three having graduated. Jim grew up in Geneva, NY, and graduated with a BA in Economics from Hobart College. He managed institutional trading desks in Emerging Markets at Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital, and is currently involved in embedded finance with a fintech firm.
Among his volunteer experiences, he is on the advisory board/former Director for Harlem Lacrosse & Leadership - an in-school program for at-risk students, board member/secretary for the North Jersey Junior Lacrosse League, former President of Highlands Lacrosse Association.
Andrew Prince
Andrew has been a resident of Allendale with his wife and children, a Highlands junior, and a freshman, for the last ten years. He is an eye surgeon, born, raised, and trained in NYC where he continues to practice ophthalmology as an Associate Professor at the NYU College of Medicine, along with a satellite office in Bergen County. His involvement in our community includes a five-year stint on the Allendale K-8 school board along with his participation in scouting.
Andrew’s leadership experiences have been many in organized medicine including the Board of Trustees of the New York State Ophthalmological Society and American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Gail Trumbetti
Gail and her husband have lived in Allendale for 37 years. Gail was raised in Upper Saddle River, NJ and has gone through the entire school system from Bogert, Reynolds, Cavallini schools then graduating from Northern Highlands. Both her children, went through Hillside, Brookside and graduated from Northern Highlands. Gail graduated with a BS degree in Psychology, Art, and Philosophy from King’s College. She continued her studies to go on further with college to become certified as a therapist working with teens in Bergen Pines Psychiatric Hospital. Gail also has a TV Production degree.
Among Gail’s volunteer experiences, she has been a Liaison for the Northern Highlands need-based scholarship fund, We are Family Foundation with Niles Rodgers, Lions Club Volunteer, Hillsdale Food Pantry, CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children and Bergen County Vocational-Technical WorkFirst NJ One-Stop Single Parents programs. While on the Northern Highlands Board, Gail served as Vice President for 9 years, attending workshops, Board of Education professional training, seminars and weekend Delegate Assembly meetings as well as consulting with NJSB administrators on new digital video opportunities. Gail is recognized by NJ School Boards Association as a Master Board Member.
suzanne warzala
Suzanne and her husband have lived in Allendale since 2010. Their son is a junior at Northern Highlands and their daughter is in 8th grade at Brookside School.
Suzanne grew up in Waldwick and graduated from Union College in Schenectady, NY with a B.S. in Industrial Economics. She worked in the Private Equity M&A group at Marsh & McLennan for 10 years and then decided to stay home to raise her children.
She was the President and Treasurer of the Allendale PTO and is currently the club treasurer of the Americans Soccer Club as well as trustee of the Highlands Goal Club. She has been a volunteer girls softball coach for many years.
Sheila Yallowitz
Sheila and her husband, and their three children, have lived in Upper Saddle River for 25 years. She is Canadian born, but grew up in Los Angeles. She moved to the east coast to pursue her education. She has a Masters of Public Health from Columbia University and a Doctor of Medicine from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She worked as a Physician for many years before deciding to put her career on hold to raise her children.
Sheila has been actively involved in all three Upper Saddle River schools over the past 16 years; she has been on the Upper Saddle River PTO, as well as the Upper Saddle River Educational Foundation. Her three children have graduated from Northern Highlands.