LAUREN O’LEARY

I am Lauren O’Leary and I am officially on the ballot for Delaware Academy School Board. I have lived in Meredith with my husband and three daughters for the past five years. I have been searching for a supportive community my whole life and I have found it here in Delhi and I am grateful to have finally found a place to call home. I look forward to serving this community on the Board of Education where I can bring my unique skill set to help support and improve an already stellar school district.

As a mother and community member, there is nothing more important to me than our school system. I will be a representative that cares about every single child in the school from the athletes to the artists, to the academic club members, and to those students who feel they have not found their place or need additional assistance. I am skilled at creating annual plans that satisfy multiple objectives, allocating funds and negotiating to ensure very dollar is valued. I am also an excellent communicator and have years of experience presenting complicated marketing information to the public and dealing with crisis management. I value honesty and transparency above all else.

I hold an English Degree Summa Cum Laude from The University of Colorado and earned my Associate’s Degree from SUNY Delhi’s Culinary School in 2020. Before moving upstate I was Vice President of Beauty at several Public Relation firms in Manhattan. In this role I was in charge of managing multi-million dollar budgets for clients such as L’Oreal and Proctor & Gamble. My time as a publicist has taught me how to research, problem solve, communicate, and perform on tight deadlines and budgets. You have seen this first hand in my work with W.I.D.E., a women’s group I co-founded in 2020.

The goal of W.I.D.E is to enrich the lives of every kid in Delaware County through literature and the arts. Since its inception we have provided grants to the teachers and library at Delaware Academy and have started an educational program at the community libraries in Delhi, Andes and Walton with crafts and free books. We have sponsored holiday events for the entire community to enjoy such as our June World WIDE Family Festival and last year’s inaugural Menorah Lighting and Hanukah Party. We organized craft and bake sale booths to help bring back the Christmas Parade bigger and better than ever. I also volunteer on the Fair on the Square committee and I am excited to share with you, the new ideas we have to revitalize this amazing 49 year old tradition.

As your Board of Education committee member, I will work tirelessly to make sure all your needs are being heard and represented. I am excited for this opportunity to not just talk about what our students need, but to put in the actual work to achieve it. Although, I could live anywhere, I choose to live here and I hope you will give me yet another opportunity to serve this amazing community.