Candidate Spotlight: Sharyn Yuloff

Somerset County Board of Education

View Sharyn Yuloff's profile on Civoren →

For Sharyn Yuloff, one of the most important responsibilities voters have is doing their homework.

She believes people deserve more than campaign slogans, assumptions, or secondhand opinions when deciding who should represent them. That's one of the reasons she agreed to participate in Civoren's Candidate Spotlight series. She hopes voters who visit her profile will take the opportunity to learn directly from candidates, compare perspectives, and make informed decisions based on their own values.

"If what I say resonates with them, great. If it doesn't resonate, then don't vote for me."

That straightforward approach reflects the way she views public service as a whole. Running for office was never part of a long-term plan. In fact, when the filing period opened for the Somerset County Board of Education race, she wasn't considering a campaign at all. But as she watched increasing community frustration surrounding the current board and realized no one had initially filed for the seat, she began to feel that sitting on the sidelines wasn't enough.

"When there's nobody else, and we don't like what we're seeing, it seems to make sense to step forward."

Although this is Yuloff's first campaign for elected office, she brings decades of experience from education, business, nonprofit leadership, and community service. Her career has included roles as a teacher, entertainment industry accountant, human resources manager, financial services professional, and small business coach. Alongside her husband, she has spent the last 30 years helping entrepreneurs build and sustain successful businesses while also serving on numerous nonprofit boards and co-authoring 8 best-selling books together, including Partners in Everything.

Those experiences have shaped how she thinks about leadership. Teaching gave her firsthand insight into the challenges educators face and the importance of respecting professional expertise. Her nonprofit and human resources background taught her how to make difficult decisions while recognizing the impact those decisions have on real people. And her years working with business owners reinforced a lesson she believes is often missing from public life today: the importance of listening.

"We may not always agree. But we won't know whether we agree or disagree if we're not listening."

That philosophy sits at the heart of her campaign.

When discussing the issues facing Somerset County schools, Yuloff consistently returns to what she sees as the central responsibility of any Board of Education member, which is acting in the best interest of students. Whether the conversation involves budgets, staffing decisions, or long-term planning, she believes every decision should be measured against a simple question: Is this helping children?

"If it's not in the best interest of a child, then why are we doing it?"

Yuloff is particularly concerned about what she describes as a lack of transparency from the current board. In her view, many of the controversies that have generated frustration among residents stem from decisions being made without clear communication or sufficient public explanation. Even when no wrongdoing has occurred, she argues, a lack of transparency can create what she calls an "appearance of impropriety," making it difficult for community members to trust the process.

For Yuloff, restoring confidence in local government begins with openness. Residents should understand not only what decisions are being made, she says, but also how and why those decisions were reached.

Her interest in public service predates this campaign. Before moving to Maryland, Yuloff lived in Los Angeles, where she served for several years on one of the city's first neighborhood councils. The council worked closely with local elected officials, gathering community input and helping residents have a voice in local decision-making. Serving as secretary, Yuloff was responsible for documenting meetings and ensuring community concerns were accurately represented. Looking back, she sees the experience as an early lesson in civic engagement and collaborative problem-solving.

As Election Day approaches, Yuloff hopes voters will take the time to learn about every candidate in the race and evaluate them based on their qualifications, values, and vision for local schools.

"Politics matters. It's involved in your life whether you want to be involved in its life or not."

For someone who never expected to run for office, that belief ultimately became the reason she decided to do exactly that.