Candidate for School Board Kevin Ziegler: Listener, Strategic Thinker and Bridge Builder

Kevin Ziegler has been nominated by the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee to serve on the Scarsdale School Board. The election for school board – as well as a vote on the proposed 2026-27 school budget and bond referendum will be held on Tuesday May 19, 2026.

In order for residents to learn more about Ziegler, we posed a few questions – and here are his responses:

Please introduce yourself to Scarsdale residents.

My name is Kevin Ziegler and I'm a proud parent of three boys, along with my wife, Dr. Danielle Eytan, a facial plastic surgeon at NYU Langone Health. We live in Fox Meadow, our oldest will be in 3rd grade in the fall, our middle in Kindergarten, and our youngest in preschool in the Village. Professionally, I work for Hyatt Hotels Corporation. I lead a global team that oversees distribution partnerships, those that allow you to book travel with online sites, travel agents and others. I earned a journalism degree and started my career in public relations before going back for an MBA at Northwestern University, and entering the travel industry, so I have a combination of experience in communications and business leadership.

Our family enjoys playing on the playgrounds, frequenting the library and village pool, attending our children’s music recitals, and participating in community sports.

How long have you lived in town and what do you value about the community?

We moved in 2023 and it has felt like home right away, and we’re excited for our kids to grow up here. My family is like many others, we were attracted by our excellent school system, we have loved Fox Meadow School, and we are committed to Scarsdale. We enjoy the culture of community involvement, our neighbors, and the number of social and recreational opportunities for our entire family. We think the perspective of families like ours, more recent arrivals and with younger children, is very important to our district and on our board of education.

What professional skills do you bring to the Board of Education?

The first chapter of my career focused on public relations and communications. It's a valuable skillset in business and civic life. I like to distill complex issues for others, to foster engagement. Community engagement matters in public education. Our district, and the board, have to be a bridge between the administration and families on topics from funding to curriculum to technology. I want to support this priority.

After business school, I joined Marriott International, and then was recruited to Hyatt for a leadership role. I've gained a global perspective from this work. I lead a team that requires experience with strategic planning, talent management, budgeting, negotiating complex contracts and partner relationship management on a large scale. I have the perspective needed to bring value to this experience in our education environment, and I also bring a lens into how the career landscape for our students is evolving.

Tell us about your volunteer experiences.

Volunteerism and community involvement is part of who I am. It brings me joy and connection. It started early. As an undergraduate, I led an effort to create a community cleanup day to bridge town-gown relations that lives on today. I created an adult water polo club in Cleveland that still thrives today, and I hope to support something similar, and at the interscholastic level, at the to-be-built Scarsdale natatorium. I served for five years on an appointed committee in Cleveland Heights to distribute several million dollars annually in federal funds to infrastructure and community organizations. And I’m coaching baseball and basketball in our community. I get very attached to my surroundings, and Scarsdale, as much as any place, encourages that. I notice how many of our friends grew up in Scarsdale, and have come back. My wife predicted I would get involved, and of course, she was right.

As a parent, what do you feel are the strengths of the Scarsdale schools? What, if anything, would you like to see changed or improved?

The thoughtfulness and strategic focus that goes into the student experience at all levels shines through in many places. Even the administration’s budget development process starts with a look at our district’s mission and values to frame the process before jumping into numbers.

We prioritize talented, responsive educators, research-backed instructional delivery, from our focus on small class sizes to house structure at the middle school, and the depth of curriculum at the high school. And to wrap around that we have deep parental involvement and community support.

I’d really like to invest my energy in the complex topics on the agenda, where my communications and business experience can add value. I see that especially in areas such as budgeting in a rising cost environment, or facilitating dialog on curricular matters that our families are talking about, across subjects, that also come with the complexity of a rapidly changing technology and media environment.

Why did you decide to run for school board at this time?

I’m a product of public education myself, and a strong believer in the importance of it as an American institution. Scarsdale is a model, and what we do matters for us, and can also benefit others. I also love our community and want to contribute to it. In this next term, I think our district will face important issues, including those related to the outcomes of our bond and budget votes, both of which I support. On these and others, an engaged, collaborative board, is a valuable asset.

Share any thoughts about Scarsdale’s non-partisan election system.

I am proud and appreciative of the endorsement of me and Omer Wiczyk to serve Scarsdale residents from the 30 elected members of our School Board Nominating Committee. The endorsement came from a rigorous process that includes interviews and reference checks. That process is an illustration of our non-partisan system at work. This system is one of the pillars that makes Scarsdale special because it focuses attention on what is most important in our community, and for our schools it’s the experience and preparation our children receive.
The non-partisan system ensures our school and village representatives are committed to Scarsdale, and that they are well vetted to be skilled, critical thinkers who lead with civility, are able to collaborate, to be flexible, and responsive to feedback.

In your view, what are the biggest challenges facing the Scarsdale Schools?

In the next few years, I’d like to see us on a healthy and stable long-term financial footing, as we potentially navigate major investments. I'd like us to have a clear vision for how we will guide and educate students, and maintain inclusivity, in a landscape shaped by evolving technological, social and economic currents. And I'd like to see that we have continued to strengthen our district's role as a model for public education.

The high quality that our community values requires investment to maintain and grow. The funding environment has gotten more challenging for public education, really across the state and country. The board also serves a critical oversight role throughout.

On the curriculum side, technology is continually evolving, with AI being a major driver, and screens play a larger role in the day. We also now live in a media and information environment that necessitates students are equipped with new levels of critical thinking and fact checking skills. These topics will continue to pose new, important questions for curriculum, instructional delivery and social development, that we must navigate together, to ensure we are delivering an experience that positions our children to thrive in adulthood.

Please provide your thoughts on the recent antisemitic incidents and the response from the school district and the Board of Education.

Antisemitic behavior is unacceptable in any form. Our school district leadership and Board of Education are accountable for establishing policies, taking action and providing oversight to ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment – spaces where bridges can be built and sustained across our community.

As a board member, I would engage directly with fellow members, our administration and our community to keep these as top agenda items, clearly define necessary actions on an ongoing basis, and to promote understanding and respect throughout the district.

If you do serve, what are your hopes for the schools in the next six years?

We have an incredible institution in our schools. I’d be honored to serve our community in support of them and our children, and I’d come prepared to use my skills as a listener, strategic thinker, and bridge builder. The board of education is a team, along with the administration, and my hope is to be a valuable member of it, who brings diversity of skill and thought, who asks good questions, who respectfully represents the voices of our community, and that I am able to do it with care. My hope is by doing that, we continue to enjoy the strong trust and appreciation of this community, and that we continue to view quality education, specifically a Scarsdale education, as among the most transformational and positively influential experiences in our children’s lives.