MSDUE Class 2014–

Organizer at the California Federation of Teachers – Oakland, CA, USA.

Alex, who has a background in fundraising for arts based not-for-profits prior to her study at Parsons, started working right after graduation as an organizer The American Federation of Teachers union in New York City. Following her passion for social and economic change, Alex moved on to a more challenging appointment at the AFT in California. Since then, she has been supporting public education workers, including faculty and school staff, in their efforts to build strong representative unions on campus. Her focus has been to empower workers to win respect and dignity in their workplace, so they can collectively bargain for a contract and fight for a quality education and supportive environment for their students. The MSDUE program provided her the skills and experience to follow and stay in the economic and social justice movement.

Alex writes: “I knew what I cared about and what I was passionate about, but I didn’t know how to make an impact in a real, direct way.” The quality of conversations and curriculum of the MSDUE program, prepared her for the type of critical analysis she does every day on the job: “MS DUE really encourages big-picture thinking and orientation that I now take with me on every task. I do not feel bogged-down by the details in my work and see that every decision I make gets a project to the finish line.”