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MEA Elections
Members set the course for the MEA deciding the issues the Association supports and the ways to success for every Maine student. Delegates are elected to speak for the nearly 24,000 MEA members they represent on important issues. MEA candidates may publish a biographical sketch in the Maine Educator according to the Standing Rules. Candidates for the MEA Board of Directors and the NEA Representative Assembly (RA) appear on the following pages. Election info and forms are available online at www.maineea.org/meaelections.
Board of Directors
Robert Zabierek Board of Director – District A
It has been my pleasure to serve as your MEA Board member for District A for the past three years, as well as having served the final years of our two previous Board members’ terms. In that role, I have advocated for Cafeteria, Janitorial, and Maintenance Workers, Bus Drivers, Educational Technicians, and Teachers; in both good times and bad.
I have served as a Board Liaison to the Government Relations and Strategic Budget Committees and lobbied the Legislature in Augusta. I am also proud to have served as a delegate to both the MEA and NEA Representative Assemblies over the past ten years. I serve on the SkillsUSA Maine Board of Directors and am a Past President of ACTEMaine, the Association of Career and Technical Education instructors. Board of Directors
Nancy Mitchell Board of Director – District G
NEA Representative Assembly At Large Delegates
Jessie Muldoon
Please re-elect me to continue the work we have begun at MEA to raise teacher and education support professional’s rates of pay and continue to improve working conditions. I will work with the Student MEA members throughout our state, as well as our Young Education Professionals, to assure that our MEA conferences provide relevant professional development and encourage veteran educators to share best practices from their classrooms and their schools. Please vote!
Tom Walsh Board of Director - District K
I have been an active union member for most of my fifteen years as a high school Social Studies teacher including the nine years I have been working in Maine. For several years I served on the MEA's Government Relations Committee, and I am now serving on the MEA's Structure & Bylaws Committee. The MEA honored my organizing work on behalf of the Stand Up for Students referendum campaign by awarding me the Anne Sheehan Political Action Award in 2017. Locally, I have been a Building Representative on the board of the Falmouth EA, and I am now Falmouth EA President.
Should I be elected, my work on the Board of Directors will be driven by two main goals. First, I want to help the local leaders of associations in District K get to know each other better and become more comfortable turning to each other for advice, guidance, and support. Second, I want to help the local leaders become more familiar with the resources and support that is available from the MEA. Achieving these goals will help local leaders more effectively serve and support the members of their local associations. 24 Maine Educator • February 2020
NEA Representative Assembly District Delegates
Rebecca Manchester NEA RA District 21
Rebecca Manchester, who has been the Latin teacher at Bonny Eagle High School since 2004, has been an active member in her local, Saco Valley Teachers' Association, and in the state organization, first by attending the MEA-RAs and a short time later joining the Structure and Bylaws committee, a committee which she now chairs.
Rebecca has been going to the NEA-RAs since 2008, first as a local delegate and later as a district delegate.
Rebecca Manchester would be honored to continue to serve her fellow members at the national level.
Indriani (Ina) Demers NEA RA District 22
Indriani (Ina) Demers, a first generation immigrant of Indonesian background has been representing Maine at the National Education Association for years.
Serving Portland she is actively engaged at the State level as a member and co-chair of the HCRCA, the ESP, and currently at the Resolutions Committees. Locally, she served as Ed. Tech. President for three terms, currently, Ed. Tech. VP.
In addition, she has served students as an ESL teacher and currently as an Educational Technician (Ed. Tech.) still holding endorsements to teach general K-8 and K-12 ESL, exploring special needs as a certified Behavior Health Professional (BHP) also serving English Language Learners (ELLs) with undisputable background as her first language/s are other than English.
Ina's intention to be an NEA RA is to learn more at the national level in the hope of making her local and state level EA better in supporting our students.
Please, vote for me! Thank you for your support.
Robert L. McCully NEA RA District 23
I am a veteran mathematics teacher, athletic coach, and student council advisor from Falmouth High School. Throughout my long teaching career I have been very active in professional associations. I have consistently served as an FEA President or Chief Negotiator, as well as an MEA-RA and NEA-RA Delegate for District 23.
I served on the MEA Board of Directors for a maximum term of seven years from 2004-2012, then served another three year term from 2014 -2017. I am currently in the final year of another three-year term. I currently serve on The Policy Review Committee. I have served on several MEA committees and sub-committees, including the Statewide Bargaining Committee and both the MEA and NEA Resolutions Committees.
I serve on the Board of Supervisors for the Cumberland County Teachers Federal Credit Union, and have been active with mathematical associations.
I have been an NEA-RA delegate for the past fifteen years, and take the responsibility of representing District 23 very seriously. I have a great deal of experience in representation at the local, regional, and state level, and have found it fascinating and rewarding to contribute at the national level.
Nesrene Griffin NEA RA District 24
Nesrene Griffin is a 4th grade educator who has taught in Lewiston for over ten years. She is the Chair of LEA's Human, Civil Rights & Cultural Affairs Committee. Nesrene is an advocate for racial & social justice, diversity, & inclusiveness and works to support policies that positively impact Maine students and educators. She is a leader in her district and values the experiences, networking, and benefits that both the MEA and NEA memberships have offered.
Jill Watson NEA RA District 26
Hello, my name is Jill Watson and have been teaching since 2000 as a special education teacher, with 18 of those years at Maranacook Community High School. I live in Gardiner with my partner, Jamie, and our three cats. I have served in multiple roles within my local association, MEA and NEA. I currently serve as Maranacook Area Staff Association’s president and grievance officer. Both of these roles I have had for multiple years. I also have been a member of the MEA Resolutions committee for the past three years and a member of the NEA Resolutions committee for the past two years. I am a past board of director for MEA for district F. I completed two full terms (6 years) and during that time I also served on HCRCA, IPD, Audit Committee, and various other committees. I have served as an NEA Representative Assembly Delegate and attended the NEA RA multiple times and would like to continue to bring Maine’s voice to the national level. As a delegate, I would work hard and do my best to represent Maine. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring your voices to the NEA RA as a delegate.
Olivia Brown NEA RA District 26
The last eight years I have been passionate about advocating for educators and students. I am a dedicated young educational professional that will help bring new energy and a fresh perspective to the teaching field. Attending the NEA RA will allow me the opportunity to continue advocating for Maine' s students and educators at the National level where I can help make changes that will positively impact the growth and success of students.
I first became involved as an MEA member while attending the University of Maine in Farmington. I was president of the student MEA my last two years of college. At this time I was also a member of the HCRCA committee. Recently, I have been an active member
Olivia Brown's statement continued.
on the HCRCA committee, including being co-chair the last two years. I have attended and spoken at the last three MEA RA. I have also been an active member of my local, Mt. Blue EA, for the last four years where I teach fifth grade. I have lobbied in Augusta numerous times to help strengthen our education system.
I look forward to being the District 26 voice at the NEA RA and advocate for education at the national level.
Jesse Hargrove NEA RA District 27
A few years ago, my oldest son turned and said to my wife and I, " I think I have an advantage because both of my parents are teachers." Education is a family matter. My two sons, Aden and Rylan, attend Mount View Elementary school in RSU 3, where I have served on the Board of Directors for the past 8 years. Additionally, I serve on the Waldo County Technical Center Cooperative Board. I have taught 8 years as a Special Education Teacher, and am in my 10th year as a Social Studies teacher. I have been President of the Hermon Education Association for the past 4 years, and am on my second year serving as the Maine Education Association Vice President. It has been a pleasure to grow as an educator and advocate with my colleagues, near and far, in the MEA.
Gerry French NEA RA District 28
Always an active participant at the NEA Representative Assembly, I have made it a practice to raise my voice and the profile of the MEA. Whether it be running for the NEA Board of Directors from the floor of the RA, networking on the floor with the many contacts that I have made nationally, or participating in lively debate in our own Maine caucus meetings, there is never a doubt that Gerry French is in the room. And when Gerry French is in the room, the voice of MEA is in the room. Please assist me once again in using this voice to represent the best interests of the Maine delegation, and MEA as a whole, by electing me the Representative of Election District 28 to the NEA Representative Assembly.
Robert "Bo" Zabierek NEA RA District 29
It has been my pleasure to serve as a NEA-RA Delegate for MEA over the past 10 years, as well as having served as a Delegate to the MEA-RA for several terms. In that role, I have advocated for Cafeteria, Janitorial and Maintenance Workers, Bus Drivers, Educational Technicians, Teachers and Professors; in both good times and bad. I have served five years on the MEA Board and as a Liaison to the Government Relations and Strategic Budget Committees and lobbied the Legislature in Augusta. I also serve on the SkillsUSA Maine Board of Directors and am a former President of ACTE-Maine, the Association of Career and Technical Education instructors.
Robert "Bo" Zabierek's statement continued.
Please re-elect me to continue the work we have begun at the NEARA to raise teacher and education support professional ' s rates of pay and continue to improve working conditions. We must work to elect education-friendly candidates both locally and nationally. I will work with the NEA Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus representing our state and encourage our veteran CTE educators to share best practices from their shops, their classrooms and their schools. Please vote for me, Bo Zabierek, to help continue moving MEA and
Jennifer Perry NEA RA District 31
I am the Director of Housing and Communications for Auxiliary Services and have served the students of UMaine for over 42 years. I became active in UMPSA in 1998 when I was able to join the union. I live in Eddington with my husband and two cats. I have had the pleasure of representing UMPDA and ACSUM at the NEA RA for the past two years.
