Upper Saddle River Board of Education
Hani Batla
Candidate
Five years helping fund and build projects and improvements inside Upper Saddle River schools. A day job solving complex technology problems, managing large budgets and negotiating contracts. With two daughters who came up through this district since first grade, one of them currently at Cavallini, Hani has built relationships within the district and the wider parent community. He is a parent with an informed perspective, and will bring his multitude of skills as an asset to the Board.
In these schools
Hani served on the Board of the Upper Saddle River Educational Foundation as VP of Technology, taking part in the grants process to fund classroom and school projects across the district, and helping run the annual fundraising gala in 2022 through 2024.
Hani has proudly enjoyed both of his daughters performing in school musicals, orchestra and chorus, and Making the Band concerts across Bogert and Cavallini, and from his seat in the audience, had an idea for a capital project that the USREF organization could fundraise for. He took the theater and arts capital project through the Foundation during its 20th anniversary campaign, and modernized the lighting and sound systems at Cavallini and Bogert. This resulted in a state-of-the-art cultural experience for our students, teachers, and families to enjoy.
What changed on stage
Programmable LED fixtures in place of aging halogen lights, and a digital sound system that can carry a dozen student microphones with clarity at once. A solo reaches the back row without feedback, and the director can design a lighting cue with precision.
What changed backstage
The students in the stage crew run real audio and lighting consoles now instead of navigating a row of outdated switches. This optimized the previously antiquated student experience with professional grade equipment.
He was also selected to serve three years on the Bogert Parent Advisory Committee and one year on the Cavallini Parent Advisory Committee.
The day job
Hani is Chief Information and Technology Officer at Adorama, a New York-based photo, video and electronics retailer and ecommerce company. He leads global teams in New York, Ukraine and Poland and negotiates the company's major technology and payments contracts. He's also Co-founder and CEO of Theonix, a healthcare technology AI startup.
A large portion of his work isn't just technology. It's prioritizing purchases, establishing what things should cost, and being accountable for budget planning and allocation. More than once, he has taken a vendor proposal through a competitive process and brought the final contract in at a fraction of the opening number, by working in partnerships rather than opposition and by analyzing and determining the best path forward.
More about Hani's professional background at hanibatla.com.
Hani sees this work as being much like a school district: contracts, budgets, collaboration and prioritizing what matters most. Running a startup alongside it demonstrates another important lesson: how to work within a limited budget for maximum value.
Enterprise Experience, Proven Local Relationships
Running enterprise technology isn't teaching. That job belongs to a superintendent, a curriculum office and the teachers in our classrooms.
It has taught me to find solutions to complex problems, make hard decisions, balance strategic direction with tactical execution to deliver the best results. I own large budgets, and negotiate contracts, which is a large share of what a board handles.
The other half of the job as I see it is listening to people who know things I don't. After five years in the USR Educational Foundation, I can walk into the room with strong, established working relationships across school administrators, the superintendent, and current board of education members, allowing me to hit the ground running and be effective from day one.
Why now
The Board made a difficult decision on the budget this spring, but it was a fiscally responsible one made with a strong eye on preserving our schools for the future. I completely understand the viewpoint of the teachers and parents who disagree with the choices that were made, and I feel deeply saddened for the real people who were impacted by those outcomes. Being able to step up and do something when hard problems arise and difficult decisions need to be made, is exactly why I decided to run for the Board. I am a problem solver and will work tirelessly for our district.
After years of funding improvements in our schools through the USR Educational Foundation, I realized that the contribution I most wish to offer isn't just helping to steer a grant. It's the planning ahead for the tough calls we need to tackle, and facilitating the explanations around them.
My youngest daughter has just begun her last year at Cavallini. If I'm going to offer my contributions, now is when it counts.
Family and town
Hani graduated from NYU's Stern School of Business and has lived in Upper Saddle River for seven years. One daughter is an eighth grader at Cavallini and the other is a sophomore at Northern Highlands Regional High School, so he has observed this district up close for years, as a parent and as a community member volunteering his time again and again. His wife of 19 years, Sahar, is also an active volunteer in our community and schools. She was a Board member in the USREF for two years, and has been a Girl Scout Troop Leader of two troops for eight years.
My older daughter was the first Batla family member to serve on the Board of Education as the Student Representative during the 2024-2025 Cavallini school year and I aspire to follow in her footsteps.
Hani's list of contributions to the community is long. He enthusiastically served as an Upper Saddle River Girls Rec Soccer Coach for five years, and continues to volunteer as a belayer for the Cavallini rock climbing club for the last two seasons.
He also donated his time as a drone pilot, filming and photographing the fifth grade D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony and the recent Upper Saddle River Law Enforcement Torch Run for the USR Police Department.
He currently sits on the Board of the Northern Highlands Music and Performing Arts Association and is actively in driver training with the Upper Saddle River Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
None of this was done with a campaign in mind. It's simply what seven years in Upper Saddle River has looked like for the Batlas: on the sideline, on the belay rope, in the audience at board meetings. Hani is asking for the same work, with a vote behind it.
Two seats. Vote for both.
Tuesday, November 3, 2026.