Teresa M. Hodge—an innovative Florida math professor and dedicated unionist who has served in almost every possible local and state union role—has been named the 2025 NEA Higher Educator of the Year. The $10,000 award, funded by the NEA Foundation and awarded annually to an outstanding educator and advocate, will be presented to Hodge at the NEA Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore., in early July.
"What sets Teresa apart is not just her impressive resume, but her unwavering commitment to justice and equity," wrote Adela Ghadimi, the executive director of the United Faculty of Florida (UFF), in recommending Hodge for the award. "Whether she is leading bargaining efforts, defending faculty rights through grievances and arbitrations, or mentoring emerging union leaders, she brings an unmatched level of expertise, integrity, and passion... She is a trailblazer, a fighter, and a role model."
"Teresa doesn't just talk about change—she makes change happen."
Hodge, who is UFF's statewide president, recently sat down with NEA Today to talk about her earliest memories of labor activism; her journey from the U.S. Virgin Islands to a historically Black university in Virginia; her love of math, music, and especially of union organizing; and even her dedication to animal rescue. (She’s a cat person!) Here are a few things to know about Hodge, the seventh person to receive NEA’s award as Higher Educator of the Year.
1: Her earliest memory of what it means to care about working people—and to know the power of solidarity—is at least 50 years old.
Hodge grew up on St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), where her father had a private law practice. She recalls sitting in a corner of that office, probably with a crayon in hand, while her father and uncle talked about how to improve the working conditions of the island’s taxi drivers. At that time, St. Thomas had no unions, but “tourism was hot and heavy, and workers were being exploited,” says Hodge. Her father’s goal? “To help these workers have better lives.” Eventually, their collective efforts laid the groundwork for the unionization of taxi drivers and hotel and resort workers across the islands. Their efforts also made an impression of young Teresa, planting a passion for workers' rights.
Audio: What Do Florida Students Deserve?
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Total time: 0:002: She thinks like a student, still.
Hodge, who also earned a master’s in applied math from Hampton and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Florida State University, has taught math at Broward College since 2002. “My style is unique, it’s fun, it’s approachable, and it is loud!” she says. It’s also innovative. Long before pedagogists popularized the idea of “a flipped classroom model,” in which class time is used for active learning, like collaborative problem solving, Hodge was naturally teaching this way. “Because of my ADHD, passive note taking was never going to work for me," she says. "You’ll never come into my classroom and see students sitting in rows quietly. Math is meant to be loud! They’ll be running around, putting their names on the steps of problems that I have up around the room.” Hodge also ensures that her students’ racial diversity and lived experiences are represented in the math materials that she provides to them.
3: Her passion is organizing.
In 2010, Hodge was accepted into NEA’s then-Emerging Leaders Academy, an intense and intensive training program for NEA Higher Ed members. They learned about workers’ rights, about Mother Jones, about the connection between unions and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. They also learned about their own intrinsic abilities and union values. During this time, Hodge made the connection between her father’s historic work with USVI’s taxi drivers and her own, as a campus union leader. “It was like an epiphany for me,” she recalls. “That’s when I knew, in that moment, that this union work is for me.” Across the decades, Hodge has served in almost every role at the chapter level—from building steward to membership co-chair to grievance officer to bargaining team member, plus chapter president for 10 years. Today, she is the president of the statewide United Faculty of Florida, representing faculty at 12 state universities and 16 state and community colleges. “I love all aspects of union work,” she says. “But my heartbeat is organizing.”
4: She knows times are tough for higher educators right now, especially in Florida—but she isn’t giving up and neither should you.
The assault on academic freedom, the coerced closure of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, the war on scientific research and academic subjects like sociology… all of this is happening across the U.S. now, but Florida faculty have been dealing with politicians telling them what to teach for years. As a result, United Faculty actually is growing, as faculty seek the power of solidarity and the protections of their collective bargaining agreements. Recently, faculty and community members in West Florida rebuffed politicians’ efforts to install a Project 2025 consultant as president of the public university near Pensacola. “That’s a win! That gives people hope—you can fight back and take action, as a collective,” says Hodge. “Yes, there is a big war going on, but we are winning every battle.”
5: She has advice for you.
Hodge hadn’t planned on being the statewide faculty union president in Florida, but she has learned from experience and through her faith to “be open to receive what’s coming to me,” she says. “If I’m not open, it might pass me by!” Seize opportunities and know you have a right to them, she advises. Also, leave room to be disappointed. Not everything will go your way all the time; if you don’t understand and anticipate this, “it can shake you out of your orbit,” she says. Don’t let it. Understand that disappointment is just part of the process. “Union work is hard work, but like my girl Kamala says, ‘it is good work!’" says Hodge. "The rewards we get—the outcomes that improve people’s lives—will always outweigh the obstacles."
Bonus item!
Hodge’s side gig is animal rescue, and she works through a South Florida rescue agency to foster cats with medical needs. Got a kitten that needs subcutaneous meds? Hodge can hang an IV bag and dose a medically fragile pet like a pro. The final three words to every speech she gives are these: “Adopt, don’t shop!”
