I write today asking for your consideration of my candidacy for the Assistant Treasurer position at the National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI). I feel that my experience as President of the East Providence Education Association (EPEA) and my degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance make me uniquely qualified for the position.
I have served as President of the EPEA for over ten years. During my tenure as President, I have negotiated three contracts on behalf of the EPEA and numerous memoranda of agreements. When I became President, we successfully negotiated a raise for teachers before the contract expired, and over the last three contracts, teachers have moved up substantially from being the lowest paid in the state. It was during these negotiations that I honed my skills in contract proposals and consensus-building and became familiar with Rhode Island’s collective bargaining laws. Through contract negotiations and representing almost 500 members on the implementation of these contracts, I gained valuable human resources experience and knowledge on benefit programs such as healthcare, pensions, and retirement accounts.
In addition to my responsibilities in contract-related matters, I also streamlined and created a grievance training program, a new member orientation, and numerous committees that provide teachers with the opportunity to participate actively with school leadership as teacher leaders. One such committee ensured teachers’ voices were heard when incorporating new district-wide technology. As President, I leverage my skills in business to incorporate technology into the daily operations of the EPEA. Examples of these changes include communication with our membership by implementing the Mailchimp platform and the creation of web and social media sites.
As President of the EPEA, I have experience in budgeting – the planning, revision, and execution of a budget. When I became President, the EPEA reserve funds were kept in a low-interest-earning checking account. Under my leadership, the EPEA invested those reserves in a diversified investment portfolio that has proven to be a lucrative fund for the association. I also served as a member of the East Providence High School Building Committee that oversaw a budget of $189.5 million. I was a point person during this time on budget matters and am proud to share that the project finished more than two million dollars under budget.
As a result of my tenure as EPEA President, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of the educational challenges facing teachers and students, fortified my negotiation skills, honed my ability to communicate, leveraged technology for the benefit of our membership, oversaw and implemented budgets, and participated in hiring, grievances, benefit program oversight, and implementation. I strongly believe in the importance of unions. They foster a cohesive, informed, and empowered community. I am excited by the prospect of being part of the National Education Association of Rhode Island’s team.
Thank you for your consideration of my candidacy. I humbly ask for your vote on September 8th, and I look forward to further discussing with NEARI leaders and members how I can best support the mission of the National Education Association of Rhode Island.
