Mike Araujo

Bio

Crystal Bergantine

Crystal Bergantine is the Education Support Professional Association Grievance Chairperson at Community College of Rhode Island. Crystal has served as NEARI Assistant Secretary since 2015. She is a full time Education Support Professional at CCRI in the Office of Enrollment Services since 2008.

Chris Brooks

Chris Brooks has worked at Labor Notes since March 2016. Before that he was based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he spent several years working as a staff rep with the Tennessee Education Association. He works with and writes about auto workers, grocery workers, higher education workers, and government workers for Labor Notes' magazine.

Patrick Crowley

Referred to as “bright and blunt” by The Providence Phoenix, Pat Crowley is Assistant Executive Director/UNISERV for NEARI, the largest teachers’ union in Rhode Island. Pat once leafleted a church from the inside during a labor dispute and it was never proven in a court of law that he had anything to do with an anti-privatization strike at a school where that type of thing "might" be illegal. He once made headlines for exposing right wing Governor Don Carcieri’s failure to pay property tax on his luxury condominium in Florida and for chasing then Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee around the State during his 2006 re-election campaign in a George W. Bush mask and a flight suit. A mountain climber in off hours, Pat enjoys frequent trips to Vermont mostly because of its proximity to the Canadian border.

Andrea James-Gómez 

Andrea James-Gómez has been the Program Director at the Institute for Labor Studies and Research since 2015. Prior to returning to RI, she worked as a Program Director at Just Communities of Arkansas as well as an organizer around immigrant rights issues for the Arkansas United Community Coalition. She has over a decade of experience facilitating social justice workshops and dialogue. An alum of Leadership for a Future Class of 2003 and the Latina Leadership Institute Class of 2015, she considers herself a life-long learner and always seeks opportunities for growth. Andrea appreciates creating a safe space for difficult conversation and being a part of others’ journeys towards better understanding of social justice issues. 

Vin Levcowich

Bio

Sarah Markey

Sarah Markey has been with NEARI since August of 2016, after having been an organizer in the NEA national office for six years. Her work has included organizing early childhood teachers in Massachusetts, leading a national campaign on Time to Teach and the reduction of standardized testing in schools, and piloting Bargaining for the Common good projects where the broader community and labor come together around shared interests. She lives in Wakefield with her sons Milo and Shane and her partner Patrick.

Amy Mullen

Amy Mullen, Tiverton teacher and union rock star, has been president of her local union for as long as most members can remember. She enjoys providing training to members because no one at home ever listens to anything she has to say. As a special education teacher, Amy has the patience of a saint, although her behavior outside of the classroom is anything but saintly. Amy has served as NEARI treasurer and is currently the NEA Director for RI and is plotting to take over the world.

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak

Emma is the Vermont-NEA statewide organizer and has held this post since 2007. As an organizer, she oversees Vermont-NEA’s membership program, organizes Vermont-NEA’s annual Leadership Conference, leads contract campaign organizing drives and strikes, and assists local Associations on special issue-based campaigns. She also assists employees who wish to organize new bargaining units. She serves on the NEA Center for Organizing (C4O) organizing and UniServ Academy training cadres. Emma lives in Burlington, Vermont with her wife, Megan and toddler, Ruby.

Steve Murphy

Bio

Merrie Najimy

Merrie Najimy is an elementary school teacher of 27 years and has taught each grades k-3. She is the president of the Concord Teachers Association and a Board Director of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the MTA. Merrie founded the Educators for a Democratic Union EDU caucus, made up of MTA members across the state. The EDU works across the state to support MTA members build their local power and create a rank and file led union.

Amanda Scott

Amanda Scott is an English teacher at Portsmouth High School, NEA Portsmouth President, and NEARI Region II Vice President. She is a lover of Faulkner and Victorian Gothic literature, but passionate about Freire, Shor, and all things oriented for social justice in and out of the classroom. #resist

Kristi Taylor
Kristi Taylor is a state-based organizer with the Washington Education Association. In her role with WEA, she is responsible for leader identification and engagement, supporting locals to build capacity and membership throughout the bargaining cycle and beyond, coordinating strikes, and working with members to build power to address legislative priorities. When she’s not at work, Kristi enjoys reading, petting other people’s dogs, and drinking lots of coffee.

Samantha Winslow

Samantha Winslow has worked at Labor Notes since 2012. Before that she was an organizer for SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West in California and later for the breakaway National Union of Healthcare Workers. She works with and writes about teachers, transit workers, and hotel and restaurant employees for the Labor Notes magazine.