Bio
Jared Martin is an accomplished professional in the Financial and FinTech industries for over 18 years, working at Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, State Street & Charles River. He’s an expert in deconstructing and reconstructing complex instruments and technological architectures delivering efficiencies and maximizing revenue to global financial firms. He regularly conducts seminars for industry professionals teaching how to leverage applied quantitative financial concepts within existing investment management frameworks. Jared was born and raised in West Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences. He was also a scholarship athlete for the University of Michigan Wrestling team. Jared and his wife, Marnelli, have been Wilton residents since 2015 with two wonderful children (Joah Taylor and Hara Ysabel) attending Middlebrook and Miller-Driscoll.
Op-Ed
[SPONSORED CONTENT]
UPDATE, Oct. 31 — DISCLOSURE: GMW did not receive the candidate’s op-ed submission before the deadline set out in our election guidelines. The Republican Town Committee has paid for this op-ed to appear as sponsored content, an advertising option available to the campaigns that both parties have utilized in past elections.
Excellence in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics is the foundation necessary for our children to lead, compete, and succeed on the global stage.
My name is Jared T. Martin and I’m running for the Board of Education for my sixth-grade son, first-grade daughter, and for all Wiltonians who treasure our local schools. I’m seeking this volunteer position as a steward of our community’s voice and not as an extension of the administration. The Board of Education is meant to represent the community in building the district’s leadership, ensuring responsible stewardship of the school budget, overseeing policies, and advocating for excellence. Policy implementation falls to the superintendent of the administration, whom the board is responsible for hiring.
As the son of an emergency room physician, I grew up in a world of medical encyclopedias, National Geographic, and tremendous appreciation of the value of education. At home, I was taught to think analytically and to challenge implicit biases. In high school, my parents impressed on me the importance of excelling in academics, and I learned the value of hard work and determination as a two-time state wrestling champion. I was fortunate to receive a top-notch STEM education during my K-12 years and went on to earn my bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at the University of Michigan. The skills in math, scientific analysis, and deductive and inductive reasoning that I learned there made a successful career in finance and technology on Wall Street — one I had never dreamed of — possible for me at firms including Goldman, Sachs, Bloomberg, and State Street. I can’t stress enough the opportunities for success in competitive global environments that a solid foundation in these core disciplines can provide.
While my work is demanding, my son Joah (a sixth-grader who has attended Miller-Driscoll, Cider Mill, and Middlebrook) and my daughter Hara (a first-grader at Miller-Driscoll) are always my top priority. I am fully invested in safeguarding the quality of Wilton’s public schools throughout the entirety of a four-year term.
The reputation of Wilton’s public school system was the primary factor in our family’s decision to put down roots in Wilton six years ago. When the pandemic gave me a break from commuting to the city and traveling around the world, I found myself sharing a home office with my two children and participating in their transition to the virtual world. The past two years have given me a front-row seat where I could see what and how they were being taught in school.
This experience made me, like other parents, focus on our academic standards and expectations. Even when I made allowances for the challenges that the pandemic dealt our schools, I felt that we could do much better. I believe our schools must do everything possible to encourage and enable all students to reach their highest individual potential. Many parents I’ve met feel that their children aren’t allowed to progress fast enough. Others with children who need more individual help find they don’t need it in all subjects but are still held back in other areas where they naturally excel. At the same time, our schools, and we, as a community, have a responsibility to provide excellent services to students with the most individualized learning needs, to identify their strengths, and to help them realize their full potential.
Doing all this and doing it well is a herculean task. I recognize this, but I also greatly admire our teachers and administrators, and I believe they’re equal to it. Occasional recourse to private tutors can help, but standardizing it as common practice is unacceptable. Wilton values academic success, it recognizes excellence, and it’s willing to invest in it. I know this, because the thousands of residents I have met have told me so. Our high school wouldn’t be rated as highly as it is if this weren’t true. But I know we’re capable of becoming No. 1! If we truly strive for that, we will be positioning our school system to equip our children for whatever technological and social changes may happen in the future.
As one of six members on the BOE, I will bring a commitment to increasing transparency, raising expectations, and challenging the status quo. The past two years have dramatically changed how the world operates. Wilton’s schools have the community, teachers, and talent to become global leaders in preparing the next generation for the world that’s transforming before us. It’s time for us to encourage our administrators, teachers, BOE members, students, and ourselves to raise our expectations for higher standards and academic achievement. My hope is that we can all work together to propel our schools into the future, so that all of our students can have the best possible opportunities to succeed.
This is must-watch TV if you have children in the Wilton school system! Very eye-opening. Board of Ed is a non-partisan body so party affiliation makes little difference. It’s more about approach, preparation, experience and who is willing to put the work in to shepherd our students, collaborate with teachers, administration, etc. Thank you Heather for these excellent in-depth interviews. Grab coffee and tune-in!
Yes, kudos to GMW for providing these in depth interviews with the candidates. They certainly are very informative and provide a clear picture of how each candidates’ personal experience and personal views would inform the policy decisions they may make on behalf of all Wilton children. Some candidates will claim they steer clear of party politics, but I urge voters to watch and listen carefully and it will become clear where their true party affiliation lies. Be wary of candidates who feel the need to scrub their social media before running for office. And yes, as of recently, I am no longer a Wilton voter, but after years and years of involvement with the Wilton Schools, I care deeply about their future. Vote and vote wisely.