A’Dorian Murray-Thomas of Newark was elected to her first term as District 2 Commissioner in November of 2023, and is the youngest serving member of the Board.

Commissioner Murray-Thomas is the Founder & CEO of SHE Wins Inc., a leadership and mentoring organization for girls who, like her, lost a loved one to gun violence. Born and raised in the city of Newark, Commissioner Murray-Thomas was the youngest woman ever elected to the Newark Board of Education, representing the largest school district in the state of New Jersey.

Commissioner Murray-Thomas has been recognized as a President Obama White House Champion of Change, Glamour Magazine “College Woman of the Year”, NAACP NextGen Leadership Fellow, InsiderNJ Top Millennial Leader, and School Board Partners Anti-Racist Education Policy Fellow. She currently serves as the Chair of the New Jersey State Democrats Women’s Caucus.

Commissioner Murray-Thomas has also served as an Associate Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, a translator for Spanish-speaking families, a middle & high school English teacher, and an advocate in alternative-education and restorative justice. She is a 2016 graduate of Swarthmore College, and is currently a candidate for a Master of Divinity concentrating in Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.”