Born and raised in East Rutherford, Antonio Segalini is an example of the impact that a strong community and student-first school district can have on a child’s success. And he’s been willing to put in the work since being appointed to the Board in March 2021.
Antonio benefited from the East Rutherford public schools before attending Bergen County Academies. He later studied economics at Duke University before getting his Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Data Science from Fordham University. After launching a successful startup, Antonio now works as a Data Scientist and Project Manager for Command Financial in New York.
Since he was old enough to talk and write, Antonio has been involved in pushing his community forward. In 2007, Antonio led the Bergen Academies chapter of Amnesty International in a campaign to abolish the death penalty in New Jersey, swinging key vote Paul Sarlo on the matter. At Duke, Antonio was the most read columnist with a focus on University issues. In 2010, Antonio fought against cuts to teacher research funding and fought against large bonuses to the Duke endowment’s portfolio managers. In 2011, he led an effort to roll back a University decision on mental health withdrawals that was having a negative impact on student health.
In recent years, Antonio has put his money where his mouth is. Today, Antonio’s focus is using data and technology to help build better logistics and to reach more residents. His first research paper, “Using K-Means Clustering to Facilitate Community Engagement”, focused on actively meeting community residents where they are to better facilitate dialogue. For the school district, that includes collaborating with outside groups such as the East Rutherford Seniors and East Rutherford Civic Pride in order to bring the district to the community. It is his belief that, by improving our infrastructure, we can facilitate better communication with faculty and parents as well as streamline current projects to maximize probability of successful outcomes.
His second paper, “Determining Secondary Attributes for Credit Evaluation in P2P Lending” looks at ways to offer alternative sources of credit evaluation for individuals who may not have accurate credit scores, due to having low incomes or a lack of a traditional employment history.
His skillset also lends itself to being a practical asset on the Board of Education. Having a background in programming and technology, as well as connections to Bergen County Academies, can help the school district ensure that students are best prepared for a rapidly changing landscape. By working smart and rethinking our approach, we can make a difference for students while simultaneously reigning in the runaway freight train that is the district budget.
Finally, as a younger member of the community, Antonio remembers the impacts of poor management firsthand. Having attended Lincoln, Franklin and a failing Faust School during his time as a student, he recognizes the direct impact that poor infrastructure can have on student success.
Antonio Segalini 