Sunita Manjrekar
Secretary, Hicksville Board of Education
Deputy Commissioner, Nassau County Department of Social Services
A devoted mother and trusted leader, Sunita Manjrekar has roots deep within the Hicksville community. As Deputy Commissioner for Public Assistance and Employment Services for the Nassau County Department of Social Services, she works daily to tackle some of the most complex socioeconomic and educational challenges facing local families and children.
As secretary and trustee of the Hicksville Board of Education, and co-chair of the district’s Curriculum Committee, she has helped to make crucial decisions that directly contribute to the success of all students. She served as vice president of the Fork Lane Parent Teacher Association, as well as chair of the national PTA Reflections arts program and the fifth grade graduation committee. She has also served as vice president of the Hicksville Alumni Association.
As the author of the Nassau County Summer Youth Employment Program, Ms. Manjrekar helped to provide high school and college students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds with opportunities for learning, mentoring, professional development, and skills and leadership training. Participants in the program typically achieve better results, make more meaningful academic gains, are more focused on their goals, and are more likely to develop the confidence to overcome any challenges they might face.
As the Deputy Commissioner of the Nassau County Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Ms. Manjrekar coordinates annual food drives to feed Hicksville families. The drives are conducted in collaboration with Children’s Hope India (CHI), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to nurturing the whole child through education, nutrition, medical care and career preparation. Through a partnership that she coordinates between CHI and the Hicksville School District, she helps to send the community’s underprivileged youth to an all-expense paid eight-week summer camp.
In addition to her work in public education, Ms. Manjrekar is a member of Hofstra University’s Professional Advisory Board, and serves as an adjunct professor for the City University of New York at Hunter College.
