Princess R. Moss, elected in 2026 as President of the National Education Association, leads with a conviction shaped by a lifetime of moments that revealed the transformative power of public education. An elementary school music teacher from Louisa County, Virginia, Moss has dedicated her career to lifting students, educators, and communities—and to proving that public education is the heartbeat of American democracy.
Her belief in that promise began in second grade, with a teacher who changed her life. Moss still remembers misspelling the word “refrigerator” in a spelling bee and bracing for embarrassment. Instead, Mrs. Lucy T. Lewis looked at a seven‑year‑old girl from Bumpass, Virginia, and said something so affirming that it rewrote the moment entirely: “That’s not right, Princess. But you are so smart, because you spelled refrigerator phonetically.”
That single act of kindness kept her from internalizing a system designed to make her feel inferior. It showed her what it meant to be lifted up—and it planted the seed for the kind of teacher, and the kind of leader she aspired to become. Mrs. Lewis didn’t wait for perfection before she saw Princess’s worth. She found what was right in what had gone “wrong,” and built from there. Moss leads NEA with that same philosophy: see what educators are already doing right, even in an imperfect system, and build from possibility—not brokenness.
Moss’s commitment to union leadership grew from that same instinct. As a young educator, she saw how difficult it was to lift students up when educators themselves weren’t supported—when they lacked a real voice in the decisions shaping their classrooms. She joined the Louisa County Education Association because she refused to accept those conditions quietly.
Her defining lesson in organizing came when the elementary band program she had built was about to be cut. Instead of fighting alone, she organized the band parents. And in that fight, she discovered a truth that still drives her today: people are never as powerless as a broken system wants them to believe—you just have to help them see it, the way Mrs. Lewis helped her see it.
That belief in collective power has guided her through every chapter of her leadership—from local organizing to statewide advocacy to national movement‑building.
At every level, Moss has been a fierce advocate for communities historically pushed to the margins. She stands with Black, Brown, and Indigenous students; LGBTQ+ youth and educators; students with disabilities; and all who live at the intersections of these identities. She believes the American Dream belongs to every student, no matter their ZIP code, home language, race, religion, gender identity, or physical ability. Her advocacy extends to anyone whose identity, experience, or community has been marginalized, overlooked, or denied a full seat at the table.
Elected NEA Vice President in 2020, during the dual pandemics of COVID‑19 and systemic racism, Moss became a national voice for racial and social justice in education, and for organizing in all places and spaces across the education landscape. She continues to champion awareness, capacity‑building, partnership, and collective action as essential tools for transforming public schools.
Moss is a gifted organizer who understands that movements grow one conversation at a time. She listens with intention. She leads with empathy. And she uses storytelling to elevate the lived experiences of NEA members—their challenges, their triumphs, and their unshakeable commitment to students.
Her work centers on expanding educator voice and professional authority, especially among early‑career educators. Moss believes that the future of NEA—and the future of the nation—rests in the hands of those just entering the profession, and she fights to ensure they are supported, respected, and empowered.
Moss’s national leadership includes two terms on the NEA Executive Committee, where she helped shape the Association’s strategy on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and advanced tools to prevent student dropout. She also served on the Board of Directors for the NEA Health Information Network, supporting safe and healthy learning environments.
In Virginia, Moss served as president of the 62,000‑member Virginia Education Association, increasing membership, securing greater investment in public education, and helping lay the foundation for the state’s 2019 collective bargaining law. Her leadership extended to service on the Commonwealth’s P‑16 Education Council and the Executive Committee of the Foundation for Virginia. She has also served two gubernatorial appointments on the University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors, first from 2007–2011 and again from 2021–2024.
Moss’s vision of leadership is not about slogans or single victories—it is about building a foundation strong enough to outlast any one leader. She is committed to cultivating affiliates with the capacity to organize strategically and boldly, relationships built on trust rather than transactions, and a generation of new, diverse leaders ready to carry the work forward.
Her hope is simple and profound: that educators walk away saying, “I felt seen by my union, and we built something that outlasts us.” That is the legacy she wants—and the legacy she is building.
The daughter of two school bus drivers who taught her courage, honesty, respect, and the value of education, Moss earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Mary Washington—receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006—and later earned a master’s degree in administration and supervision from the University of Virginia.
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