Councilman Vernon Pullins, Jr. was elected at the November 5, 2019 General Election to serve as Councilman of the Third Ward. He was raised in the City of East Orange and attended Elmwood Elementary School, Washington Street School and Vernon L. Davey Jr. High School. In 1990, he graduated from East Orange High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Rutgers, The State University and in 1998 his Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Rutgers School of Law-Newark. Councilman Pullins continued to pursue his passion for education and in 2015 earned a Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration from New Jersey City University. He has made a career of advancing educational goals for students and has worked with the Newark Board of Education for 16 years where he currently serves as Supervisor of Guidance for High Schools.
In the late 1990’s Councilman Vernon Pullins, Jr. served as a Third Ward Democratic Municipal County Committee Leader and became the Vice Chair of the Third Ward under the leadership of Mrs. Armelia P. Grooms. In 2005 he served as a Commissioner of the East Orange Water Commission. He was appointed as a Member of the East Orange Board of Education twice and has served as Vice President of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission.
Councilman Vernon Pullins, Jr. serves as the Executive Director of the Ted R. Green Foundation, a 501C3 non-profit organization committed to building on twenty years of active community engagement by its founder Ted R. Green. The Foundation provides scholarship opportunities to high school graduating seniors to pursue post-secondary education who otherwise would not have the financial means to fulfill their educational goals.