Yenlys Flores-Bolivard was recently hired to be the borough clerk in Glen Ridge.
Since Jan. 17, there has been a new municipal clerk in town.
Her name is Yenlys Flores-Bolivard and she is very proud to be the first Latina to hold this position. She said she knows she is the first Latina because she looked it up.
Flores-Bolivard was born in the Dominican Republic and emigrated to New York City, with her parents, when she was 18 years old. She attended Felician University, in Lodi, for her bachelor of science degree in psychology and received her masters, in criminal justice, from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
“Before coming to Glen Ridge, I was working in Teaneck, in court,” she said recently. “I really have a passion for psychology and have started pursuing my PhD., at NYU. I would love to have my own counseling practice some day in drug and alcohol abuse.”
She was hired for the Bogota (N.J.) deputy clerk and vital statistics position. Finished with her masters classes, she began municipal clerk classes at Rutgers University.
“When the Bogota municipal clerk resigned, I was promoted to acting clerk because I did not have my clerk’s license yet. This was for one year and then I passed the clerk’s certification test and was promoted to clerk in 2023.”
A town clerk has a lot to do, Flores-Bolivard said. They are in charge of elections, liquor licenses, dog licenses, raffles, movie permits — snow postponed a commercial shoot a few weeks ago, anything related to the municipal council, ordinances — they are essentially the council and mayor’s secretary, deal with financial disclosures, ordinances and work closely with the municipal attorney, administrator and chief financial officer and are custodian for all municipal records and the municipal seal. And if that is not enough, all police vehicle registrations and subsequent paperwork are in their name and to accommodate residents, municipal clerks can now perform marriages.
“Basically, the clerk does a little of everything,” she said. “And I’ll also be the office supervisor. It’s a new position. Basically, I will make sure the employees’ needs are being met. Employees have more responsibilities now. I’ll help them accomplish their goal.”
Having a background in psychology, she said, will be very helpful to her as office supervisor. It will be challenging, but Flores-Bolivard said she likes new projects and challenges.
“We are excited to have Ms. Flores-Bolivard join the Glen Ridge team,” said Mayor Deborah Mans. “She brings not only significant experience and expertise, but also a genuine compassion and commitment to public service.”
Away from Glen Ridge, Flores-Bolivard is the chairperson of the Teaneck Municipal Alliance against Substance Abuse. She is especially serious about this.
“I’m writing a book now about alcohol abuse,” she said. “In the Dominican Republic, it’s normal for people to drink. It’s having fun without thinking about the consequences or that children are seeing alcohol around the house. You see all kinds of stuff when you go to college. My book will be about how it’s OK if you need help for alcohol abuse. It’s important to educate the youth about its consequences. That will be my book.”
Flores-Bolivard lives in Teaneck with her husband and eight-year-old daughter. She enjoys reading educational, inspirational books and books by Nicholas Spark.
“I hope to make a difference here,” she said. “I would like to get Glen Ridge youth involved with elections. I created a high school class to educate children about elections and hope to do that here as well.”
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