The New Jersey School Boards Association recently announced that Mary Walter has joined the staff as a field service representative. She will provide services, programs and training to meet the needs of local school boards in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties.

Walter spent more than 20 years as a member of the Manchester Board of Education in Ocean County, serving as that board’s president from 2001 to 2011. She served on a variety of board committees, including the legal, curriculum, policy and publicity committees.

Walter served as the president and vice president of the Ocean County School Boards Association, and has been involved in NJSBA’s training of board members, serving as a long-time group leader at both New Board Member Orientation and leadership conferences.

She has earned the designations of Certificated Board Member, Master Board Member and Certified Board Leader under NJSBA’s Board Member Academy.

Walter joined her local board of education after some friends suggested to her that she should. The board was going through a difficult time, and Walter had been president of the local PTA, overseeing the organization at six schools. She quickly learned how helpful an NJSBA field service representative could be. “When I first became a board member, our NJSBA field service representative was Francine Case, and her advice and her presence were a tremendous help to the board as we worked through our difficulties,” she said. “I look forward to having the opportunity to help other boards of education as much as Francine helped ours.”

Previously, Walter was a licensed design consultant and a real estate agent for 17 years. She lives in Manchester Township with her husband of 39 years. The couple has two adult sons.

Mary Walter can be reached via email or by telephone at (609) 439-7935.