Trio will run as slate for diversity, affordability, and transparency in Princeton Board of Education race

Three residents who are running as a team in the local school board election this year are focusing on diversity, affordability, and transparency in the Princeton Public Schools.

Karen Lemon, Paul Johnson, and William Hare have announced that they will run a joint campaign for the school board in the non-partisan November election.

Lemon, who lives on Moore Street with her family, recently retired as a senior executive at AT&T and held numerous leadership positions in human resources, customer service, operations, and sales during her career. At AT&T, she led efforts to build a pipeline of diverse talent, retain talent, and drive cultural change at the company. Lemon said she is passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion. Until 2020, she served on the board for the Tri-State Diversity Council and was a member of Catalyst’s board of advisors. She is currently on the board for Junior Achievement of New Jersey. She earned her bachelor’s degree in math education from the University of Cincinnati and her master’s degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Johnson, a Green Street resident,  is a second-generation Princetonian. He earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Virginia, where he played soccer for four years. He was also a member of the men’s national soccer team for the U14 to U20 level.After a collegiate coaching career at both Drew University and Rutgers University-Camden, he transitioned into the private sector as a coach and mentor to many of the area’s top student-athletes. He is the founder and owner of Inspire Sports Club and the G.O.A.T Lab. Johnson and his girlfriend, Ali, have five children between them, three of whom attend Princeton public schools. Johnson said he is a champion of children and diversity and is driven by a core belief that every child will succeed if given the right tools and support.

Hare, a Jefferson Road resident, is the parent of one son at Princeton High School and a daughter and son who recently graduated from Princeton High School. He spent three years on the board of education until his term ended in 2019. Hare is an engineer and patent attorney who focuses on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Throughout his career, he has worked with creative problem solvers and said he would like to see the Princeton Public Schools embrace creative problem solving to both reduce the achievement gap and keep Princeton affordable. Hare said he decided to run for the school board again after taking a break for a year because of all the opportunities for change in the school district with the retirement of the superintendent of schools and other administrators.