Hello Hopewell Valley!
My name is Dhruv Kapadia and I am running for the one-year Hopewell Township seat on the Hopewell Valley Regional School District Board of Education in the 2023 election this November. I am a proud community organizer, HVRSD alumnus, and soon-to-be graduate from Boston University, where I have double majored in Political Science and Economics and minored in Statistics, while also serving as the university’s Student Body President for 2 years.
I am a proud graduate of HVRSD. Growing up in Hopewell Valley, I have been a student at every level of our school system, from Stony Brook Elementary to the Central High School. Throughout my time at Hopewell, I was an advocate for racial and religious justice for all students. At 16 years old, I successfully spearheaded a campaign to have Diwali and Chinese Lunar New Year recognized as holidays on our district’s calendars. In my senior year of high school, I advocated for anti-racist measures in our schools, working with district administrators, teachers, and local legislators. Following my time at HVRSD, I have spent the last three years at Boston University, where I have been elected to represent my own constituency as Student Body President of 17,000 students. In this position, I have balanced and allocated multi-million dollar budgets and empowered marginalized communities on campus through progressive policymaking.
Over the past 5 years, I have also gained extensive policymaking experience, working in local, city, state, and federal government positions across the East coast. Most recently, I worked for City of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s Planning Advisory Council, a newly-established department centered around resilient, affordable, and transparent urban planning and development. In previous years, I interned for Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman’s district office, State Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker’s re-election campaign, and the New Jersey Attorney General Office’s Division on Civil Rights.
Now, as I return home to pursue a career in public service and civil rights law, I have decided to run for our community’s Board of Education. I am running on a platform centered around Equity, Community, and Success, tenets that embody my vision for our schools. These three pillars will guide my tenure as a prospective Board member and are detailed extensively in my platform document linked here. Here is a shortened overview:
- Equity
- Implementing inclusive, representative, and diverse curricula
- Reforming punitive drug policies & improving drug awareness education
- Diversifying faculty, staff, & administrators through inclusive hiring practices
- Community
- Bridging the gap between neighboring segregated school districts
- Encouraging effective community service from a younger age
- Connecting HVRSD alumni with current students by establishing a young alumni network
- Success
- Strengthening post-graduate advising for HVCHS students
- Empowering the voices of faculty, staff, and student leaders through monthly town halls
- Increasing mental health and wellness resources through student and parent crafted policy
Unlike my fellow candidates, I bring a unique and fresh perspective as a former student, politically-experienced activist, and South Asian community member. While my first few meetings as a Board member will occur during my time as an undergraduate in Boston, I commit to attending every Board meeting in-person, in addition to hosting monthly town halls for HVRSD students, faculty, and parents. After graduating in May, I plan to return home and find work in New Jersey.
I know what it takes to create change in the Valley, and I vow to spend the next year fighting for each and everyone of you. For more information, follow my Instagram at @dhruvforhvboe or my Facebook at “Dhruv Kapadia for HVRSD Board of Education.”
This November, don’t vote for the status quo. Vote for change. Vote for progress. Vote for Dhruv.
With power,
Dhruv Kapadia
