Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan, who has been Morris County’s Interim Executive County Superintendent of Schools since 2018, was nominated today by Governor Phil Murphy to become the next Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE).
“A product of New Jersey’s public schools, Angelica has worked at all levels of education and knows exactly what our teachers and students need to succeed," Governor Murphy said. "She is an exemplary educator and I’m confident she is the leader we need to carry our school communities through the remainder of this pandemic and beyond.”
Allen-McMillan will serve as acting-commissioner until her nomination to lead state education as commissioner is confirmed by the state Senate.
She is replacing Interim DOE Commissioner Kevin Dehmer, who has held the top job since the July appointment of former DOE Commissioner Lamont Repollet as President of Kean University.
“I am a proud product of New Jersey’s magnificent public education system and I have dedicated my career to ensuring that the children of this state continue to get the type of education I received,” Allen-McMillan said. “I am extremely proud the Governor has put his faith in me to continue New Jersey’s tradition of educational excellence.”
In her role as Interim Executive Morris County Superintendent, Allen-McMillan headed the Morris County Office of Education, which is an arm of the state Department of Education, serving as a point of support, oversight and communications between local school districts and the state’s main office in Trenton.
For over 25 years, Dr. Allen-McMillan has worked as a teacher and administrator in various school communities throughout New Jersey. From 2017 to 2018, she served as Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education for the Newark Public Schools system, and prior to that, she served as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instructions in the Irvington School District.
She also served as a middle school Life and Physical Science teacher in the East Orange School District, as the Executive Director of the Marion P. Thomas Charter School in Newark, Assistant Principal of Clinton Elementary School in Maplewood, and Principal of the Marshall School in South Orange.
Allen-McMillan is a graduate of Cornell University, where she received a baccalaureate degree in Industrial and Labor Relations. She received a master’s and a doctorate degree in Education, Leadership, Management, and Policy from Seton Hall University.