Othiamba (O.T.) Lovelace

Othiamba ("O.T.") N. Lovelace is a longtime Bergen County resident, raised in Teaneck, New

Jersey. He is the proud son of two dedicated educators—his father a teacher in the Tenafly public

school system, and his mother a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck. In 2020,

O.T. and his wife Ruth moved to Wyckoff, where they are now raising their two children, Isaiah

(8) and Naomi (6), both of whom attend Sicomac Elementary School in Wyckoff.

As a candidate for the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education, O.T. is committed to ensuring

that all students have access to a strong, well-rounded education. His vision is to support a school system that excels academically while also fostering top-tier athletic programs and diverse extracurricular opportunities—helping to develop students into confident, capable young adults.

He is running to represent Wyckoff and promote responsible financial strategies to how our board

approaches education, with a focus on accountability, excellence, and long-term planning. As a

parent, neighbor, and advocate, he is ready to represent the values of families across our

community and help build a future that empowers every student to thrive.

Professionally, O.T. is a partner at the law firm of Tobia & Lovelace, Esqs., LLC, where he

focuses on commercial litigation, labor and employment disputes, collective bargaining

negotiations, OSHA defense, prevailing wage claims, and contract compliance audits. He

represents a wide range of clients, including general contractors, public utilities, financial

institutions, recording artists, government agencies, and large manufacturers.

O.T. also serves as counsel to numerous union pension and welfare benefit funds, providing legal

guidance to the Boards of Trustees who manage those funds. In that role, he advises trustees on

fiduciary duties, governance practices, regulatory compliance, and long-term strategic planning.

His experience in this area gives him a clear understanding of how effective Boards of Trustees

should conduct their affairs—knowledge he is ready to bring to the Ramapo Indian Hills Board

of Education.

Before co-founding Tobia & Lovelace, Esqs., LLC, O.T. was an associate at Chiesa Shahinian &

Giantomasi, PC and Reed Smith LLP. He earned his J.D. from New York University School of

Law, where he began his legal career as a law clerk with the Hamburger Law Firm.