Politics & Government

From the Candidates: Ana Vander Woude and Dennis Pavlik for Holmdel BOE

The following was written by Ana Vander Woude and Dennis Pavlik.

The following was written by Ana Vander Woude and Dennis Pavlik:

For the past six years and three years respectively, it has been an honor and a privilege to serve the Holmdel community as members of the Board of Education.  This year, we were humbled to be elected Board President and Board Vice President.  We take very seriously that our community has entrusted us with two of its most valuable resources:  its children and its money.  It is in this light that we respectfully present our credentials again to the Holmdel community and seek another term.

Ana Vander Woude

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Ana came to Holmdel in November 2004 by a rather circuitous route that included Puerto Rico, Keyport, Iowa, California, Japan and Hoboken.  She and her husband, Dale, celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary this year.  She is the mother of two children in the Holmdel schools (Derek is an 8th grader at Satz, and Anastasia is a 4th grader at Indian Hill).  Her family serves as her greatest source of inspiration. 

Prior to moving to Holmdel, Ana worked as a faculty member and editor-in-chief for UNAFEI, a United Nations criminal justice institute, in Tokyo, Japan.  She made the decision to become a stay-at-home parent in order to better care for her daughter who has Down syndrome.

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Ana strongly believes in giving back to the Holmdel community, which she feels has given so much to her.  Thus, in addition to her Board duties, she has served as president of ARISE, which supports families of children with special needs in our schools, and is an active parent in the schools.   Additionally, she presently serves as a lector at St. Catharine’s Church.

Dennis Pavlik

Dennis, formerly of Bergen County, NJ, has been a Holmdel resident for the past 14 years. He and his wife, Dawn, have been married for 14 years. He is the father of two children:  Nicolette who is eleven years of age and currently attending Indian Hill School and Jadeyn who is seven years old and attends Village School. Dennis is actively involved in the Holmdel community, including coaching an HYAA girls softball team for the last four years. He is a parishioner of St.Catharine's Church in Holmdel.

Dennis has been a police officer in Bergen County for the last 13 years, and was promoted to Police Sergeant two years ago. His areas of specialty include Crime Prevention, Community Policing, National Night Out Against Crime, Active Shooter Training, and School Security and School Lockdown.  Dennis is also currently on the Police Department Negotiations Committee.  Additionally he is a certified DARE Officer and instructor and certified in Autism Recognition and Response. His responsibilities include visiting schools to give seminars on safety awareness to students, teachers and administrators. He has lectured to thousands of students--from kindergarten to 12th grade--on Safety; Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying; and Drugs and Alcohol.

Shared Philosophy and Vision

We decided to run together because of our shared philosophical beliefs and vision for our school district:

  • Promoting student achievement for children of all abilities.
  • Strong vigilance of safety issues in all schools and school bus transportation.
  • Importance of parent and community involvement.  We are open to all input and suggestions when it comes to any issue that will help the Holmdel School System and, in particular, our students achieve.
    Serving as a resource to our community:  by helping individual families with specific issues; sharing school-related information with the community; or collaborating with our local government to work together as one community.
  • We believe that our school district must strive to maintain the high caliber educational experience that our students deserve without forgetting the severe economic hardship afflicting our community.  We understand and value the importance of supporting and maintaining our schools for the present and for our future. 

Upon reelection, we will continue to work to earn your trust by actively advocating for our children and our community, while remaining cognizant of these tough economic times.  

In short, our children and taxpayers are #1.

Respectfully submitted,

Ana Vander Woude and Dennis Pavlik


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