NEA Executive Bios

Dennis Van Roekel

President, National Education Association

Dennis Van Roekel, a 23-year teaching veteran and longtime activist and advocate for children and public education, is president of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.  As NEA President, he leads the nation's largest labor union and advocate for quality public schools.

The high school math teacher from Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Ariz., served two terms as NEA Vice President and NEA Secretary-Treasurer, and has held key positions in all levels of the Association, including Arizona Education Association President and Paradise Valley Education Association President.  His accomplishments include dramatic increases in membership among teachers and education support professionals while president of the Arizona Education Association and a notable rise in voluntary political action committee contributions during his term.
 
Born in LeMars, Iowa, Van Roekel's parents, teachers, and community instilled a deep sense of the value of education and the understanding that public education opens countless doors of opportunity.  His future career path was sealed in the seventh grade when he decided to become a teacher.  And for more than two decades he was able to live his dream: standing in front of high school students teaching math.

But while Van Roekel knew it was his job to impart knowledge and a love of learning, he realized early in his teaching career that delivering a quality education to all children and serving the collective needs of all school employees go hand-in-hand.  "To me, teaching and being an Association activist are part of the same thing," he says.  "As one of my mentors said early on, 'I can't do half a job.'"

"We need to make sure our members understand the connection between what happens in the classroom and what influences decisionmaking," says Van Roekel.  "It means listening to public education professionals and parents talk about what they want and then working through political action, lobbying, bargaining, and instructional advocacy to get members and students what they need."

Van Roekel's commitment to improving student learning and enhancing the professionalism of education employees is guided by his belief in the NEA mission and vision.  "The mission and vision of this organization absolutely define who I am, what I care about, and what I believe in," he says.  "What a powerful statement for any organization, to say that the reason we exist is to 'fulfill the promise of public education' - and not just for some, but to prepare every student to succeed.  I'm proud of that.  And I want to continue that journey."

Van Roekel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and a master's degree in math education from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
He and his wife, Julie, have two married adult sons, and are now proud grandparents.

September 2008

Lily Eskelsen

Vice-President, National Education Association

Lily Eskelsen, an elementary teacher from Utah, is vice president of the National Education Association.  She is one of the highest-ranking labor leaders in the country and one of its most influential Hispanic educators.

She began her career in education as a lunch worker in a school cafeteria.  She became a kindergarten aide and was encouraged by the teacher to think about going to college and becoming a teacher herself.  So she did.  She worked her way through the University of Utah on scholarships, student loans, and as a starving folk singer, graduating magna cum laude in elementary education and later earning her master's degree in instructional technology.

After teaching for only nine years, she was named Utah Teacher of the Year in 1989, and she used that title as a platform to speak out against the dismal funding of Utah schools.  One of her colleagues suggested she run for president of the Utah Education Association.  So she did.  In 1990, she was elected UEA President, her first elected position in the Association.  She has since served in key leadership posts, including the NEA Executive Committee and NEA Secretary-Treasurer.

Lily has also served as president of the Utah State Retirement System; as president of the Children at Risk Foundation; as a member of the Utah LaRaza Education Committee; and as a member of the White House Strategy Session on Improving Hispanic Education.  She built alliances with parents, business, and civil rights organizations and with advocates for the disabled and poor.  She worked with coalitions to engage the public in the political process, and she was encouraged by friends to seek political office herself.  So she did.  In 1998, she was the first Hispanic to be chosen as her party's nominee for U.S. Congress in Utah, raising close to $1 million and taking 45 percent of the vote against the incumbent.

Lily authored a humor column on parenting that ran in 22 local newspapers.  Her education advice for parents has been published in Time, Working Mother, and Woman's World, and she's been featured on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" and CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight."  She has been the invited keynote speaker for hundreds of education events in virtually every state and was highlighted by Education World in their "Best Conference Speakers" edition.

For 20 years, she worked with students from kindergarten to sixth grade in the middle-class suburbs of Salt Lake and in the county's one-room shelter school. She has taught children labeled gifted and children labeled homeless.  She remembers the year she had 39 fifth-graders and the year she had 12 special education students in a class of 35.  She believes that no matter how students arrive, no matter their learning conditions, and no matter what political tests or labels or punishments they face, educators have the sacred duty to be professionals and to care for the whole child.  And she believes that professionalism carries the responsibility to take action, individually and collectively, to fight to make the promise of public education-to prepare every student to succeed-a reality. 

September 2008

Rebecca Pringle

Secretary-Treasurer, National Education Association

Rebecca "Becky" Pringle, a physical science teacher from Harrisburg, Pa., was elected secretary-treasurer of the National Education Association in July 2008.  She previously served as a member of NEA's nine-member Executive Committee from 2001 to 2007.

A middle school teacher with 31 years of classroom experience, Pringle has held Association positions at the local, state, and national levels, including the Pennsylvania State Education Association and NEA Board of Directors.  Most recently she served as a teacher on special assignment working with the Susquehanna Township (Pa.) School District Closing the Achievement Gaps initiative and PSEA's Minority Community Outreach program. 

Pringle's long history of leadership includes a focus on diversity issues, student achievement, and developing leaders within the Association.  "In the words of James Baldwin, 'Not everything that is faced can be changed.  But nothing can be changed unless it is faced.'  We have no choice but to face the challenges in public education with vision, commitment, voracity, and courage," she says.

During her terms on the NEA Board and Executive Committee, Pringle chaired the NEA Reading Task Force and NEA ESEA Advisory Committee, which helped prepare the organization for the law's reauthorization.  And as a member of the Association's Program and Budget Committee, she provided key input and guidance on the use of NEA resources with a budget that exceeded $307 million.
 
Among her many accomplishments, Pringle was instrumental in the development of the report "Excellence and Equity: Closing the Student Achievement Gaps" as a member of the NEA Professional Standards and Practices Committee.  She also served as a member of the NEA Annual Meeting and Review Committee, overseeing the Association's Representative Assembly.  With nearly 10,000 delegates each year, it is larger than the Democratic and Republican national conventions combined.

Pringle currently holds the post of finance chair for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, where she oversees the organization's revenues and expenses, investment portfolio, and budget.  She has been honored with the Pennsylvania Academy for the Profession of Teaching Award and was selected Community Woman of the Year by the American Association of University Women's Harrisburg Branch.

As secretary-treasurer of the nation's largest professional organization, Pringle ranks third among NEA leadership.  She was elected to fill a one-year unexpired term.

A Philadelphia native, Pringle received her Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree in education from Pennsylvania State University.  She and her husband, Nathan, have two children.  Their son, Nathan III, a graduate of Drexel University, lives in Philadelphia; their daughter, Lauren, a graduate of New York University, lives in New York City.

September 2008

John I. Wilson

Executive Director, National Education Association

John I. Wilson, a long-time special education teacher and Association leader, became executive director of the National Education Association on November 1, 2000. The nation's largest teachers union, NEA also represents education support professionals, higher education faculty, school administrators, retired educators, and education students who plan to become teachers. In all, NEA has 3.2 million members, a staff of 555, and an annual budget exceeding $300 million.

Since coming to NEA, Wilson has championed a minimum salary of $40,000 for every teacher and a living wage for Education Support Professionals (ESP). He also launched an NEA initiative to engage the best teachers in sharing ideas on staffing high-poverty, low achieving schools with the most accomplished teachers.

Wilson has chaired the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a coalition of 33 businesses and education groups that advocates for every child in America to graduate from high school with 21st century skills. The 3E Institute presented him with the Educator 500 President's Award in 2006 for being "a true entrepreneurial educator." Wilson currently chairs the Learning First Alliance, a partnership of 18 leading education organizations with more than 10 million members dedicated to improving student learning in America's public schools.

Prior to assuming the highest staff position at NEA headquarters, Wilson served the Association as president and executive director of the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE). With Wilson at the helm of this NEA state affiliate, NCAE strengthened teacher training systems, professional development programs, teacher compensation, and teacher recruitment. His accomplishments include the development of new support systems for teachers pursuing certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. As a result, today North Carolina has more National Board-certified teachers and candidates than any other state. In addition, Wilson led a successful campaign that raised North Carolina teacher salaries from 43rd to 23rd in the nation, and he helped establish the North Carolina Teacher Academy, a state-funded program that provides high-quality teacher professional development.

Wilson has been an NEA activist since his days at Western Carolina University, where he served as president of the NEA student chapter. As a middle school teacher of special needs students, Wilson was an active Association leader throughout his 20-year teaching career. He served as president of the Raleigh Association of Classroom Teachers and the Wake County Association of Classroom Teachers, and also served on the NEA Board of Directors and the NEA Executive Committee.

A true North Carolinian, Wilson was born in Burlington, North Carolina. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in education and received a master's degree in education from the University of North Carolina.

Wilson loves mystery novels and is a voracious reader. He "lives and breathes politics" and is an avid Tar Heel fan.

July 2007

Mark Cebulski

Executive Committee, National Education Association

Mark S. Cebulski, a social studies teacher at Cedarburg (Wisc.) High School for the past 30 years, was elected to the National Education Association (NEA) Executive Committee in July 2004.  He was elected to fill a two-year term after being appointed to a one-year term in August 2003.

A Wisconsin native, Cebulski has been a familiar figure both in and out of his Cedarburg classroom.  Over the years, he has coupled his social studies teaching with activities ranging from Academic Decathlon and prom adviser to football, basketball and golf coach.  While teaching full time, Cebulski has also officiated high school and college football for 22 years, and wrote a sports column for his hometown paper that was selected as the best sports/outdoor column for weekly newspapers in 1986.  He is a former deacon at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee.

His Association activities have been far-reaching as well.  On the national level, Cebulski served on the NEA Board of Directors (1999-2003) and was a member of the NEA Congressional Contact Team (1992-94).  His leadership at the state level includes serving as a member of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) Board of Directors (1998-99) and on the WEAC Political Action Committee (1994-98).  While on this WEAC committee, Cebulski led an effort to recruit WEAC members as delegates to the 2000 Democratic National Convention, resulting in the largest delegation ever of NEA members from his state.  He also served in a number of leadership roles within the Cedarburg Education Association, including two terms as president.

Since his election, Cebulski has been called on to represent the Association in meetings across the globe, including traveling to Ankara, Turkey, for the 4th World Congress of Education International, which represents teachers unions and professional organizations worldwide.  Cebulski has been honored with the Wisconsin Association of Educators for the Gifted and Talented Meritorious Service Award and the North Shore United Educators Dorothy Bartelt for Outstanding Service to Education Award, among others.

In 1973, Cebulski received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc., and a master’s degree in journalism from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1989.

The NEA Executive Committee is the nine-member governing body that oversees the 3.2 million-member NEA.

July 2005

Carolyn Crowder

Executive Committee, National Education Association

Carolyn Crowder, an elementary and vocal music teacher from Mustang, Okla., is serving in her second elected term on the National Education Association Executive Committee.  She was first elected in July 2003 and was reelected in July 2006.  The nine-member governing body oversees the work of the 3.2 million-member Association.

A native Oklahoman, Crowder has taught for 20 years in Oklahoma schools, 19 of which have been in Mustang.  Her first year of teaching was as an artist-in-residence with the Oklahoma City Public Schools.

For six years, Crowder served as president of the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) leading the organization through some of its most difficult, but ultimately successful, times.  During her tenure, the OEA fought for and won the largest compensation increases in state history for teachers and support professionals, including state-paid health benefits for all education employees.  Crowder was also a driving force behind the creation and subsequent success of the Oklahoma Education Coalition, which includes every major player in the state’s education community.

In addition to her leadership role in the state Association, Crowder has been an active member of her local Association as well.  There she served as president, delegate, and negotiator.  The recipient of the OEA Political Activist Award in 1996, Crowder also is a former officer of Delta Kappa Gamma, and a 1999 graduate of Leadership Oklahoma. In 2003, she won the OEA Claude Dyer Award for leadership in education legislation.

Crowder grew up in the Oklahoma Panhandle, graduating from Guymon High School.  She went on to graduate cum laude from Southern Nazarene University (formerly Bethany Nazarene College) and received a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Central Oklahoma (then Central State University).

Crowder's husband Terry is an instructional facilitator in Oklahoma City Public Schools.  Her term on the NEA Executive Committee began on September 1, 2003.

September 2006

Christy Levings

Executive Committee, National Education Association

Christy Levings, an elementary school teacher from rural Osawatomie, Kan., was elected to the National Education Association's (NEA) Executive Committee in July 2007 for a three-year term.

With three decades of education experience, Levings has been a champion for public education and school employees at the state and local levels.  An elementary school teacher for 34 years, Levings currently provides instructional resource support and works with the formalized collegial mentoring program in the Olathe School District.  Before being elected to the NEA Executive Committee, she served as president of the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) for five years and vice president for four years. In addition to serving as KNEA's president and vice president, Levings served as president of the Olathe National Education Association.

Levings was an education and family issues columnist for the Kansa City Star newspaper, where she received an Excellence in Teaching award. She was also featured as an "Outstanding Teacher" in the Johnson County Gazette and has been recognized for her education editorials.

Levings is a member of the Kansas Congress of the PTA and Delta Kappa Gamma education sorority. She is an experienced trainer in the areas of school safety, bullying, and gender equality.

Levings graduated from Washburn University with a bachelor's degree in education and received a master's degree in educational policy and administration from the University of Kansas, which included the Institute of School Law at Harvard University. She also completed a program in graduate studies in behavioral psychology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Levings and her husband David, who have been married 35 years, have three grown children and two grandchildren.

The NEA Executive Committee consists of nine members -- three executive officers and six members elected at-large by the Representative Assembly.  The committee is responsible for general policy and financial interests of NEA and acts for the NEA Board of Directors in between the Board's four regularly scheduled meetings each year.

October 2007

Paula Monroe

Executive Committee, National Education Association

Paula Monroe, a high school secretary in Redlands, Calif., was elected to the National Education Association's (NEA) Executive Committee in July 2007 for a three-year term.

With two decades of education experience, Monroe has been a champion for public education and school employees at the local, state and national levels. Before being elected to the NEA Executive Committee, she served two full terms on the NEA Board of Directors as well as nine years as president of the Redlands Education Support Professionals. She also served as president of the California Education Support Professionals and on the executive board of the National Council for Education Support Professionals.

Monroe is a native of Colorado and has attended school in North Carolina, Colorado, and North Dakota. She was a parent volunteer in her daughter's kindergarten class, which led to her start in Redlands Unified School District as a computer lab paraprofessional at Mentone Elementary School, where she worked for eight years. She has served in numerous leadership roles in her local association including site representative, grievance chair, bargaining chair, and others.

As a strong advocate for an inclusive organization, Monroe is credited with being a driving force behind the vote in June 2006 to change the bylaws of the California Teachers Association to include education support professionals as full, active members. Her belief that “together we are better” and that every educator deserves respect for their roles in helping students succeed was recognized when she was presented with the CTA President's Award for Exceptional Service in 2006.

Monroe and her husband Mike reside in Redlands, California, and have three grown children and two grandchildren.

The NEA Executive Committee consists of nine members—three executive officers and six members elected at-large by the Representative Assembly. The committee is responsible for general policy and financial interests of NEA and acts for the NEA Board of Directors in between the Board's four regularly scheduled meetings each year.

May 2008

Princess Moss

Executive Committee, National Education Association

Princess Moss, an elementary school music teacher in Louisa County, Va., was elected to the National Education Association's (NEA) Executive Committee in July 2008 for a three-year term.

A champion of children and public education at the local, state and national levels, Moss has had more than two decades of education experience. Before being elected to the NEA Executive Committee, she served two full terms as president of the 62,000-member Virginia Education Association. Under Moss' leadership, VEA has increased its membership, lobbied successfully for an increase in retiree health care benefits, and advocated for greater investment in public education at the state and local levels. 

Moss has extensive leadership experiences ranging from president of the Virginia Education Association and of VEA District 11 to the position of VEA vice president, which she held from 2000-2004.  She has served on the VEA Board of Directors for more than 10 years.  She is a leader on such topics as women's issues, minority concerns, political action, school finance and professional development.

Moss served on the NEA Board of Directors from 1997-2000 and was reappointed in 2006.  She is on NEA's Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) Advisory Committee, G27 (NEA Tomorrow), Employee Advocacy Committee, Dropout Prevention Advisory Committee, Health Information Network Board of Directors, and is an officer of the National Council of State Education Associations (NCSEA).

In 2006, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine reappointed Moss to serve on the Commonwealth's P-16 Education Council, which coordinates education reform from preschool through higher education.  Her initial appointment was made by Virginia Gov. Mark Warner. 

Moss also served on the Executive Committee of the Foundation for Virginia, a 501(c)4 bipartisan coalition of organizations, business leaders, and public officials promoting a better future by ensuring quality education, public safety, accessible healthcare, efficient transportation and abundant natural resources.

Moss earned her bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Mary Washington in 1983. In 2006, the University of Mary Washington awarded her its Distinguished Alumnus Award.  In 2007, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine appointed her to a four-year term on the University of Mary Washington's Board of Visitors.  Moss also earned a master's degree in elementary and secondary administration and supervision from the University of Virginia.

The NEA Executive Committee consists of nine members-three executive officers and six members elected at-large by the Representative Assembly.  The NEA Executive Committee is responsible for general policy and financial interests of NEA and acts for the NEA Board of Directors in between the Board's four regularly scheduled meetings each year.

September 2008

Len Paolillo

Executive Committee, National Education Association

Len Paolillo, a sociology professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in North Adams, Mass., was elected to the National Education Association's (NEA) Executive Committee in July 2008 for a three-year term. 

For the past three years, Paolillo has led NEA's Committee on Legislation, which guides the organization's legislative efforts to create great public schools. 

Paolillo has logged 25 years fighting for public education. He has extensive leadership experience ranging from vice president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, president of the Massachusetts State College Association (MSCA) and president of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Faculty Association.  Paolillo has also served six years on the NEA Board of Directors.

Paolillo was honored by the MCLA in May of 2008, and received its Senior Faculty Association Award for his many years of service to the college and to his profession.

Paolillo earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in sociology from Florida State University.

The NEA Executive Committee consists of nine members-three executive officers and six members elected at-large by the Representative Assembly, the nation's largest and most democratic decision-making body.  The NEA Executive Committee is responsible for general policy and financial interests of NEA and acts for the NEA Board of Directors in between the Board's four regularly scheduled meetings each year.

September 2008