About Danielle Walker
“My story is really a Jersey City story. I'm a lifelong resident, a parent of three JCPS graduates, and someone whose career has been rooted in supporting children and families — first in the classroom, then in housing counseling, and now in community development. At every step, I've seen the same truth: when families lack stability, students struggle, and when public systems are not transparent or responsive, communities pay the price.”
Danielle Walker has spent her career connecting the dots between housing stability, neighborhood conditions, and school success. She began as a paraprofessional in Jersey City Public Schools, spending nearly a decade supporting students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and specialized services, working alongside teachers, therapists, and families to ensure students with diverse needs were seen, supported, and set up to learn.
After leaving the classroom, Walker became a HUD-certified housing counselor at the Waterfront Project, helping Jersey City families navigate housing instability, understand their rights, and access the resources they needed to stay in their homes and communities. She facilitated workshops on fair housing laws, tenant rights, and financial management, and worked closely with families at risk of foreclosure.
Walker now serves as Project Manager for the Golden Neighborhood Homeownership Program in the City of Jersey City's Division of Community Development, where she administers federal housing and homeowner assistance programs for low- and moderate-income residents. In roughly a year and a half in this role, she has helped manage approximately $700,000 in down payment assistance and has advanced two Home Improvement Program projects with more than $40,000 committed, pending final contract approval.
Beyond her professional work, Walker has been a community organizer with Jersey City Together since 2018, founded the SoHo West Tenants Association, and served as Committee Person for Ward E, District 22. She knows what it means to show up for a community, to listen, and to follow through.
Danielle is running for the Jersey City Board of Education because she believes the same principles that guide her professional work should guide public education: transparency, accountability, and a genuine commitment to the people the system is supposed to serve. She is running to fight for well-maintained neighborhood schools, strong support for educators, honest long-range facilities planning, and a Board that answers to students and families first.
Why I’m Running
I’m running for the Jersey City Board of Education because I have spent my latter teenage years and all of my adult life working with the children and families this district serves, and I know how deeply school quality shapes a child’s future. As a paraprofessional, I saw firsthand how much teachers and support staff carry every day, often without the resources, staffing, or long-term planning they deserve.
As a parent of three JCPS graduates, I also know what it means to trust this district with the people you love most.
My Action Items:
Push for a transparent, community-driven long-range facilities plan with clear timelines, public benchmarks, and honest reporting on building conditions.
Demand stronger Board oversight of budgets, contracts, and program outcomes so families can see how decisions are made and whether spending is benefiting students.
Advocate for teacher and support-staff retention through fair compensation, better working conditions, and school-based supports that help students and educators thrive.
My Vision for the District:
Every Jersey City student deserves a safe, well‑resourced school, transformative teaching, strong advocacy, and leadership that is ethical, forward‑thinking, and a responsible steward of public funds.
How do our Five Pillars align with what you see as the problems and solutions?
The district's challenges are connected: uneven building conditions, gaps in academic opportunity, inconsistent support across schools, and a lack of public trust in how decisions are made.
Families and staff deserve more than short-term fixes.
That is why the five pillars matter. Academic achievement ensures every child has access to strong instruction. Stronger school buildings mean students should not be learning in deteriorating conditions. Equity across every school means a child's zip code should not determine their opportunities. A safe and supportive school culture means students and staff have mental health support, stability, and respect. And meaningful Board oversight means the public deserves transparency about where money is going and whether it is helping students.
Jersey City deserves a Board of Education that is honest about our challenges and serious about solving them.
Our students cannot wait for more delays, more confusion, or more decisions made without meaningful public input. They deserve leadership that is focused, accountable, and grounded in the real experiences of families and school staff.
My story is rooted in this city. I have worked in its classrooms, supported its families through housing instability, organized in its neighborhoods, and raised my own children through its public schools. I understand that education policy is not abstract, because every Board decision affects real students, real educators, and real families.
I am running to bring practical experience, community perspective, and a deep sense of responsibility to this role. I want Jersey City to have schools that are safe, equitable, and excellent, and a Board that earns the public’s trust through transparency, planning, and results.