A new leadership team took the helm of NEA on September 1, with officers and committee members whose experience in classrooms, schools, and communities will help guide the union’s work in the years ahead. Nearly 6,000 delegates representing educators from every state and territory elected national officers this summer, during NEA’s Representative Assembly, in Denver. Let’s meet the people powering the union’s next chapter!
Three officers elected for NEA’s highest offices
Princess R. Moss, NEA president
Long before serving in national union leadership, Moss spent 21 years as an elementary school music teacher in Louisa County, Virginia. She is a skilled organizer and an outspoken ally of students, educators, and families—especially those from historically marginalized communities. Moss also has consistently worked to build collective power and elevate educators’ voices.
Noel Candelaria, NEA vice president
A former high school special education teacher from El Paso, Texas, Candelaria began his career as a teacher’s aide. For more than two decades, he has organized alongside members to build collective and political power to advance racial, social, and economic justice for students, educators, and communities.
Robert Varela Rodriguez, NEA secretary-treasurer
A special education teacher in California’s San Bernardino City Unified School District for nearly 20 years, Rodriguez previously served on NEA’s Executive Committee. A leader in education reform and a champion for diversity and LGBTQ+ rights in schools, he believes real and lasting change for educators, students, and public education can be realized through organizing and collective action.
Educators Making a Difference
Experience at the table
Two NEA Executive Committee seats were up for election—the winners were Cecily Myart-Cruz and Shannon McCann. Meet the whole team:
William (Bill) Farmer, a high school science teacher, from Evanston, Ill., is committed to dismantling systems that perpetuate inequities. He has facilitated professional development sessions to promote safe and supportive schools for LGBTQ+ students and staff.
Gladys Márquez is a high school bilingual English language learner teacher, in Blue Island, Ill. As the past chair of the NEA Hispanic Caucus, Márquez helped organize massive marches in protest of the national policy leading to the separation and incarceration of immigrant families and children.
Ronald Duff Martin is a middle school social studies teacher, in Eau Claire, Wis. Martin was the first Native American president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council and has centered much of his work on championing inclusion and acceptance.
Shannon McCann, a middle school special education teacher from Seattle, Wash., focuses on securing full funding for public education, increasing wages, strengthening union membership, and defending democracy.
Dr. Tia Mills is a special education teacher, from Baton Rouge, La. She served as president of both the Louisiana Association of Educators and the East Baton Rouge Parish Association of Educators, where she led successful efforts to unfreeze educators’ pay schedules.
Cecily Myart-Cruz is an elementary and middle school teacher and former president of the United Teachers Los Angeles, who started out as an education support professional. She has a track record of organizing for power to support public education.
