3 minute read
Introduction: Nice to Meet You MEA
Rachelle Johnson Executive Director
Nice to Meet You MEA. Even if remotely.
A wise person once said the only thing that is certain in the world is change.
Living my life in Raleigh, North Carolina, I had no idea what the year 2020 would bring for all of us, collectively and individually. It was a year of unprecedented, historic change in how we do things, how we relate to each other, how we travel (or don’t), how we engage each other, how we work, where we work, how we manage our day to day lives, and how we cope with adversity. As all of you, I managed the challenge of 2020 by learning how to maneuver my life safely and constructively through this new COVID world and was not expecting that a huge opportunity would be coming my way.
When President Leavitt called to offer me the Executive Director’s job here at MEA, I was thrilled and excited - a new adventure when adventure was hard to come by. I started to make plans and to work on the transition of my life from North Carolina to Maine. Moving is difficult in normal circumstances, moving during a pandemic even more so. Despite this, I am pleased to say I am now an official resident (albeit still “from away”) of South Portland, Maine. I look forward to exploring my new home state when it is safe and appropriate to do so and we can break free from the Brady Bunch squares that we have been placed in for the most part.
Since starting my new post on December 1, 2020, I have had the pleasure of meeting our amazing staff and MEA Board of Directors. The partnership and collaboration between the groups is powerful and productive. Organizations work best when roles work closely with one another and bring out the best in the other. MEA is a good example of that principle. I have had to meet most folks remotely which is challenging but no more challenging than what all of you do each and every day for our students and public schools. One thing has also become clear to me. MEA cares deeply about our members and seeks to provide the tools and supports that our members need to stay safe and continue to educate the students of Maine, no matter the format.
I was raised to honor education and educators, and my family has a strong connection to public education and a strong work ethic. My mother was a teacher’s aide as they called them in Ohio, and my sister still is. My aunts were librarians and teachers (now retired) and I was also a high school English teacher for a brief time before going to law school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Having grown up in Ohio, I am no stranger to cold weather despite my spending the last 6+ years in the South. My North Carolina friends and colleagues sent me off with parting gifts of scarfs, gloves and warm socks as cold there is very different from cold here. I still root for the home team (as my Cleveland Browns made it to the playoffs for the first time in a very long time), and I believe that all things are possible if you only believe in yourself, your cause, your “team” and put in the hard work to accomplish your goals. To that end, I am no longer in the Zoom waiting room and am leaning into the work of building our association and union so that we lead not only during the pandemic but also in whatever the world looks like after we can take our masks off.
I am incredibly honored to be part of the MEA leadership team and will work side by side with all of you until we are out of this pandemic and focusing on our mission of fighting for equality, funding and equity for all public schools, to name only a few MEA goals. In the words of the 46th President of the United States Joe Biden, “We will get through this together.” The strength of our association is based on that idea of togetherness, advocating for all our members and students. I am committed to do my part for that togetherness and the evolution of our great organization.
Stay well, stay safe. I look forward to meeting many of you in real time in the future.
