SOMA Living March 2022

MEET THE RYAN FAMILY “Aaron and I have always joked that we are a rare breed having moved to Maplewood from Princeton and not Brooklyn, Manhattan or Jersey City like so many others living here. We had lived in Manhattan and Hoboken prior to moving to Princeton, and after a few years there, we realized we wanted to move back up this way, to be closer to the city. We had been looking at houses in Montclair for months when our Realtor told us that the house we were looking for was actually in another town. She convinced us to take a tour of Maplewood and we never looked back,” Janie Ryan recollected. “I grew up in Minneapolis and Chicago, so walkability and diversity ranked at the top of my list. We’ve met so many friends while walking to town or taking the girls to school. We love having neighbors over to hang on our back porch or to sit by the fire pit with friends. I always had one foot out the door, ready to move back to a city in the Mid-West, until we found our home in Maplewood,” Aaron said. “Our girls can easily meet their friends in town to hang out and we don’t have to drive them anywhere! Growing up in a Philly suburb, I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license, but here it just doesn’t seem to have the same urgency,” Janie added.

Photography by Jamie Meier

Janie and Aaron met while working together for NBA Entertainment after college. “Even though working in the entertainment division of the NBA was a really fun first job, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I worked for a bit in non-profit and fundraising before finally completing my Graduate Teacher Certification. I’m glad I took some time to explore other options, but I’ve now been in education for 20+ years, and have never looked back. I am currently completing my Master’s in Early Childhood Education online through Clemson

University and I absolutely adore being a preschool teacher at the amazing Prospect Preschool. Plus, it’s right across the street. Can’t beat the commute!” Janie warmly shared. Janie has been an active volunteer in her children’s schools as well as helping at the OLS Food Pantry, and delivering food to district schools for Backpack Pals.

Aaron continued his career at the NBA for 22 years, working in

production on projects such as The Last Dance, running the US Men’s and Women’s Olympic Basketball business operations and acting as the SVP of Global Marketing Partnerships. During Covid, he was presented with the unique opportunity to become the President and Commissioner of Overtime Elite (OTE), a transformative new sports league offering the world’s best high school basketball players a better

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