Specht, Byron and Rowe elected officers of Education Minnesota
For more information, contact:
CHRIS WILLIAMS
651-292-4816 (work)
651-247-5539 (cell)
ST. PAUL, Minnesota. April 23, 2022 — President Denise Specht and Secretary-Treasurer Rodney Rowe were reelected Saturday at the Education Minnesota Representative Convention. Richfield teacher Monica Byron was elected vice president.
The new officer team will take office July 1.
Byron is vice president of Education Richfield and in her 23rd year of teaching as an elementary math coach. She has long been involved in the union at the local, state and national levels. Byron is a founding member of Education Minnesota’s Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee, a member of the Governing Board and has participated in numerous national conferences and conventions. She is the first Black person to serve on Education Minnesota’s officer team.
“The pandemic has illuminated many unsustainable situations such as unfilled staffing positions, unsafe schools, educator of color shortages, and the racial and social justice inequities that lie within our public education system,” Byron said. “As Education Minnesota’s vice president, I will continue working to strengthen our labor union, help transform the public mindset of education, and work to retain and engage all members, especially the voices of our BIPOC members.”
Specht and Rowe were first elected to their positions in 2013.
Nearly 500 delegates to the union’s annual business meeting at the Saint Paul RiverCentre also took action on constitution and bylaw amendments, action items and amendments to the union’s legislative positions.
About Education Minnesota
Education Minnesota is the voice for professional educators and students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.
