New NEA Leaders to Take Office in September

A new National Education Association leadership team will take office on September 1, 2008. President-elect Dennis Van Roekel and Vice President-elect Lily Eskelsen will be joined by Becky Pringle, who won the Secretary-Treasurer position, while Princess Moss of Virginia and Len Paolillo of Massachusetts earned the two open Executive Committee seats.

Van Roekel is looking ahead to a presidency focused on fostering "the dreams and possibilities of public education" for the nation's children and inspiring members to understand the power of collective action—goals enumerated in the Association's Mission, Vision, and Core Values.

"We've laid out so well in our mission and vision that we must advocate for our members, that we must unify our members in the nation," said Van Roekel, a 25-year teaching veteran. "It's beyond excitement. I am inspired by that."

Van Roekel said that during his presidency, he will continue to stress the importance of political activism by members. "We need to be part of the political process because all of education is defined by it," Van Roekel said.

A high school math teacher from Phoenix, Arizona, Van Roekel has served as NEA Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer, as well as President of the Arizona Education Association and Paradise Valley Education Association. He chairs the NEA Advisory Committee on Membership.

Eskelsen, an elementary teacher from Salt Lake City, Utah, served most recently as NEA Secretary-Treasurer. She also chairs the NEA Strategic Planning and Budget Committee. Past roles include presidencies of the Utah Education Association, the Utah State Retirement System, and the Children at Risk Foundation. In addition to teaching, her 28 years of school service include working in a cafeteria and as a kindergarten aide. She served as a member of the Utah La Raza Education Committee, the White House Strategy Session on Improving Hispanic Education, and in 1998 she was the first Hispanic chosen as her party's nominee for U.S. Congress in Utah.

Pringle, a physical science teacher from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, previously served two three-year terms as a member of NEA's Executive Committee, where she advocated on behalf of the nation's educators on issues such as diversity and human and civil rights. She has also chaired the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Advisory Committee since its inception in 2005.

Moss, an elementary school music teacher in Louisa County, Virginia, where she has taught for 21 years, is currently in her second term as the President of the Virginia Education Association. She also sits on the NEA Board of Directors and previously served as Vice President of VEA and President of the Louisa Education Association.

Paolillo is a sociology professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts, who has served as chair of NEA's Committee on Legislation for the past three years. He previously served on the NEA Board of Directors and as Vice President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. He's been President, Vice President, and negotiator for the Massachusetts State College Association.