UALE NE SUMMER SCHOOL FOR UNION WOMEN
2013 STAFF BIOGRAPHIES
ANNETA ARGYRES: Anneta has worked as a labor educator in community, union and university
settings for over 15 years. Through the Labor Resource Center at UMass Boston, she brings
popular education principles and techniques to workshops with union members, unorganized
workers, and students. In addition, Anneta serves as the vice-president of her union, the
Professional Staff Union MTA/NEA, and as a delegate to the Greater Boston Labor Council.
DEBRA BERGEN: Debra is currently the Director of Contract Administration at the Professional
Staff Congress/CUNY, AFT, Local 2334, the union representing the faculty and professional staff
of the City University of New York. She has over thirty years experience in the labor movement as
a negotiator, organizer and educator. In her current position at the PSC/CUNY she oversees the
grievance and arbitration department, supervises the local’s grievance staff and representatives,
works with the union leadership in ensuring the contract is enforced on CUNY’s campuses. She
also develops and conducts leadership development, contract education and grievance training
programs for the members of the PSC. Her first involvement with unions began in 1978 when she
was a rank and file member of the organizing committee for clerical workers at Syracuse
University with T.O.P.S/UAW. When she returned to NYC in 1980 she was actively involved with
Women Office Workers of the Working Women’s Association of New York City, a precursor to
District Council 9-2-5, SEIU. While there she worked with 9-2-5 in identifying organizing targets
and conducting educational sessions for clerical workers throughout New York City. Her first
union staff position was as an organizer for Local 1199 of New York/SEIU where she successfully
led several organizing campaigns for home health care workers including United Cerebral Palsy of
New York State. In 1987 she moved to the Doctors Council, 1199/SEIU where she represented
attending physicians employed at the public hospitals and health agencies in NYC as a contract
administrator and negotiator. Debra has a B.A. in Psychology from SUNY New Paltz, a Certificate
in Trade Unions Studies for Women from Cornell University and a MS in Industrial and Labor
Relations from Cornell University/CUNY. She taught as adjunct instructor in the Trade Union
Studies Certificate Program and Cornell Labor Studies programs at Cornell University where she
developed and taught courses in contract administration and the theory and practice of labor
relations. She first attended the UALE as a student in 1987 and has been an instructor since 2000.
She looks forward to the summer school for sisterhood and solidarity and she is proud to be a part
of women of summer.
LILLIAN CLAYMAN: Lillian currently teaches in the Sociology Department at Dowling College
and Labor Studies at SUNY-Old Westbury on Long Island. She holds a BA from Rutgers
University in American History and Political Science, an MA from SUNY Binghamton in American
History. After a brief hiatus, she is a again a Ph.D. candidate in American History at Rutgers
University where she is writing her dissertation on Long Island politics and the Labor Movement.
An article based on her research titled “Unions and Party Politics on Long Island” is in the spring
issue of the Long Island Regional Labor Review published at Hofstra University.
Lillian has taught courses in a variety of areas including American History, Labor Studies,
Women’s Studies, Public Administration, Sociology and Personal Finance. She has taught at the
Yale Campaign School for Women where her lecture on “Making the Decision to Run” was
broadcast on C-Span and on the Canadian Broadcasting Network. Lillian spent ten years as a
personal financial planner and held a Series 7,65,63 and insurance licenses. She is the former
deputy political director for Long Island for 1199SEIU and the former Political Director for
RWDSU.
Lillian has helped to organized health care workers, garment workers and clerical workers. She
served as CT state coordinator for Gephardt for president, worked on congressional, state senate
and state assembly campaigns and campaigns for county and town boards in both Connecticut
and New York. On Long Island she is most proud of managing the campaign of the first union
member to be elected to the Islip, New York town board. She has served on the Connecticut State
Commission on Aging and has run for office 15 times, winning 13 of those races. She served as a
member of the Legislative Council in Hamden, CT for three terms. As vice-chair of the Town
Council’s Labor Committee she helped steer the passage of pay equalization legislation to correct
the disparities between male and female wage rates and was responsible for legislation that
applied Davis-Bacon standards to city building projects. After running in a four- way primary, she
won election as Hamden’s youngest and first woman mayor.
LEE CLARKE: Lee has worked in the Safety and Health Department of District Council 37, AFSCME
since it was first formed in 1979 and became its director in 1990. With over four decades of trade union
activism, Lee’s work has contributed to the passage of the NYS Public Employee Occupational Safety and
Health Act, the NYS Toxic Substance Act, the NYS Workplace Violence Law, and the James Zadroga 9/11
Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Lee is a graduate of Empire State College, SUNY, and the Harvard
University Trade Union Leadership Program. Lee is a golf enthusiast, a martial arts instructor, and has held
national certifications as a professional tennis umpire.
ILEEN DEVAULT : Ileen is a professor in the ILR School at Cornell University, where she teaches
courses on the history of work and workers. She has written two books, Sons and Daughters of
Labor: Class and Clerical Work in Turn-of-the-Century Pittsburgh and United Apart: Gender and
the Rise of Craft Unionism, as well as a number of articles. She is currently working on a project
examining the experiences of workers as members of families between 1880 and 1930. She is a cochair of The Worker Institute at Cornell's Equity @ Work subgroup.
AMY DIETZ: Amy is a Lecturer in the School of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at the
Penn State University. Her teaching focus is collective bargaining, labor history and employment
relations and organizational leadership. With close to 2,000 students earning their degrees
completely on-line in the HRER grad and LER/OLEAD undergraduate programs, Amy utilizes
social media to facilitate engagement and community between students, faculty and alumni. She
was the original “voice” of the School’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages, is active on Twitter and
writes her own blog. She often spontaneously video interviews an alum or student visitor for use
in on-line classes and social media sites. In addition to teaching, she is the program administrator
and adviser for the on-line Master of Professional Studies (MPS) Human Resources and Employee
Relations (HRER) graduate program, the Department’s undergraduate internship coordinator and
the faculty adviser to the Society of Labor and Employment Relations (SLER), a graduate and
undergraduate student organization. Amy is a member of the College of the Liberal Arts Digital
Research, Social Media, and Innovator’s groups and the iPad research project committee.
LINDA DONAHUE: Linda is a Senior Extension Associate with The Worker Institute at Cornell.
She developed and is the director of the School’s On-Line Labor Studies Program and coordinates
a web-based series of seminars on workplace-related topics. Additionally, she conducts
workshops and teaches courses on a variety of subjects including women and work, labor history,
and building effective committees. Among her publications are the 2007 report “The Cost of
Worker Misclassification in New York State” and the book All These Years of Effort: Rochester
New York’s Central Labor Unions.
ANGELA FERRITTO: Angela is an Organizer for Council 13 of the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Pennsylvania. Angela began her affiliation with
AFSCME in 2007 while working for the PA Department of Revenue. She served as President of her
local union before joining the staff of AFSCME in 2010. Angela also serves on Council 13’s Next
Wave Steering Committee, which is a program designed to recruit and engage younger members.
Angela is a member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) Central Pennsylvania
Chapter and serves on their Executive Board, representing Pennsylvania Independent Staff
Council Union (PICSU). Angela is active in the Erie-Crawford Central Labor Council and
volunteers for the United Way of Erie County.
SARA FUSCO: For seventeen years, Sara has served as Director of Community Relations for
Fusco, Brandenstein & Rada, PC, a law firm specializing in Workers’ Compensation, Social
Security Disability, Personal Injury, Municipal Disability Pensions, Veterans’ Disability Benefits,
etc. Sara created and also functions as executive producer and occasional host of “Labor-Lines,”
an award winning radio program about working men and women and the organizations that
represent them. 2013 marks the show’s fourteenth anniversary. In August, Sara launched (and
serves as executive producer to) “Comunidad Y Trabajadores Unidos” (CyT Unidos) “Labor
Lines’” sister Spanish radio show. She is a former host of “WGBB Tonight,” and past secretary of
the Press Club of Long Island. Sara has an M.A. in Communication Arts from New York Institute
of Technology; a B.S. in Business Administration and Communications from Adelphi University;
has completed the Labor Leadership Workshop Series at the Cornell University School of
Industrial and Labor Relations; and the Long Island Federation of Labor Leadership Training
Workshop Series. Sara is a member of the United Association for Labor Education. This is her
fifth year teaching Radio Waves™ at the UALE Northeast Regional Summer School for Union
Women. She is a SAG-AFTRA member.
LOIS S. GRAY: Lois is the Jean McKelvey-Alice Grant Professor of Labor Management Relations
Emeritus at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations where she served as
Associate Dean. Among innovative labor education programs inaugurated under her leadership is
Cornell’s Institute for Women and Work, the Latino Leadership Project and Labor Studies for
College credit. Her published works deal with women and minorities in the labor force, women in
leadership, and union structure and government. She is one of the founders of Union Women
Summer Schools and has participated in the Northeast School since its inception. She received a
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Industrial Relations Research Association, the Cook award
for her contributions to women at Cornell, and awards from the Hispanic Labor Committee, New
York Labor History Association, NY Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and the
Working Theater for her contributions to labor education.
KIM GUILLORY: Kim, PhD student is President and Organizer of the National Council of Negro
Women (NCNW), The Greatness of NW Spring and founder of this chartered section. In this
position, she advocates, empowers, and educates women, while fortifying leadership with a labor
approach. She is a Flight Attendant for Continental Airlines with twenty years of servic and nine
years as a Sociology Adjunct Professor in Houston, Texas. Kim was nominated and featured in
Who’s Who in Black Houston 2010 and nominated 2011 for outstanding community contributions
and Leadership. This will be her second year teaching Leadership Skills for the summer school
and first year teaching leadership skills to high schools students for the Organization of Black
Airline Pilots.
Kim is a member of the Association of Flight Attendants and Communication Workers of America (AFACWA) Council 64. As an active member of the International Association of Machinist & Aerospace
Worker's (IAM&AW) for the past twenty years, Kim has served on numerous committees to
include: past appointed Chairperson of The Women’s Committee, Investigative Committee, The
Human's Rights Committee, and most recently The Merger Communication team for the “New”
United Airlines Flight Attendants. Most notable, she was appointed by Dr. Dorothy Height to sit
on The Resolution Committee, in 2009 for the National Council of Negro Women's Biennial
National Convention.
Kim holds a Bachelor of Business Management, Master of Arts in Human Sciences and a PhD in
Leadership Studies in progress, from Our Lady of the Lake University. In addition to many
affiliations and memberships, Kim has dedicated her vision and journey to the betterment of
women globally. The blessed mother of six children, Kim is honored to stand in solidarity with
her sisters! See you on the front line!
WENDY HORD: Wendy has been helping workers with health and safety issues for over 20 years.
She worked for AFCSME affiliate CSEA in New York 13 years; most of that time as an
Occupational Safety and Health Specialist. Since 1999, she has been the Health and Safety
Specialist for NYSUT. NYSUT represents workers in k-12 education, colleges and universities,
healthcare, daycare, municipal workers and workers in the private sector. Wendy is on the board
of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health and is an authorized OSHA
General Industry Outreach trainer. She earned a Master's degree in Labor and Industrial Relations
from Michigan State University.
SARAH HUGHES: Sarah is currently an internal organizer with the Professional Staff CongressCUNY/AFT 2334 in New York City. Prior to that she attended the UMass-Amherst Labor Studies
program and served as Vice-President of the Graduate Employee Organization. She first became
passionate about the labor movement through the Union Semester program at CUNY's Murphy
Institute. Sarah studied popular education at UMass, as well as attended a workshop at the
Highlander Center, and enjoyed teaching and attending the Women's Institute for Leadership
Development in Massachusetts for two years. She now spends her free time occupying Wall Street
and trying to build a broader movement.
RISA LIEBERWITZ: Risa is a Professor of Labor and Employment Law in the Cornell University
School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), where she has been on the faculty since 1982. She
is an associate of the Worker Institute at Cornell. At ILR, she worked actively for many years with
the ILR Institute for Women and Work. Risa’s teaching and research addresses a broad range of
labor and employment law, including rights to unionize, arbitration, academic freedom,
employment discrimination and constitutional issues in the workplace. A recently completed
project as part of a research team is a comparative study of women’s union leadership in the U.S.
and U.K.
YOLANDA MEDINA deJESUS: Yolanda is an AFSCME Field Education Coordinator for the
Eastern Region where she covers all of New York State, both upstate and downstate and Puerto
Rico. She provides education and leadership training to her members. She has been with AFSCME,
AFL-CIO for 24 years and has a MS in Guidance and Counseling from Long Island University. She
is a proud graduate of the Women's Summer School where she attended in Ithaca New York in the
early 90's.
DALE MELCHER: Dale recently retired from the University of Massachusetts Amherst as the
Labor Extension Coordinator. She also teaches Labor Education: Theory and Practice for the Labor
Center’s limited residency masters program. Her particular passion is leadership development for
union women and she has been an active participant in the Northeast summer school, and WILD
(the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development), a program to build the participation of
women in the Massachusetts labor movement, for many, many years. Dale is an activist with her
union, the Professional Staff Union/MTA, and the mother of two awesome daughters.
CASSANDRA OGREN: Cassandra is Deputy Director of Research at the Teamsters Strategic
Research and Campaigns Department, where research work is focused on identifying strategic
organizing targets in core Teamster industries and supporting corporate campaigns to ensure fair
contracts for Teamster members. Prior to working at the Teamsters Cassandra was an organizer
with PCUN, Oregon’s farmworker union, and has been involved in research and activism on
immigration policy and immigration reform.
MAYA PINTO: Maya Pinto is Senior Policy & Research Analyst at ALIGN. Over the past several
years, Maya’s focus has been on addressing the varied challenges facing low-wage workers in the
US and other countries. Her previous work experience includes two years as a research analyst for
the Service Employees International Union in Washington, D.C. Maya holds an M.Sc. in
Urbanization and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a
B.A. in Development Studies from Brown University. Her academic research has focused on the
evolution of organizing among female low-wage workers in India, and she has also worked with
organizations that advance the interests of informal sector women workers in Karnataka, the state
where her parents were born.
LISA S. QUARLES: Lisa currently is serving in the role of a “Field Representative” with the Public
Employees Federation, (PEF) which provides union representation to approximately 55,599 members who
are in job titles considered to be professional, scientific and technical public sector employees in the State of
New York. She started in their upstate office, in Hornell, NY and recently was transferred downstate to their
Long Island offices. Lisa has over twenty plus years of experience in Labor Relations having represented
both union and management throughout her professional career. She has a strong foundation of handling
labor issues in both the public and private sectors specific to the healthcare arena. Prior to joining PEF, Lisa
was a Director of Labor Relations in a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada which is a “right-to-work” state, (wow!
Thank God for Unions!!!!). She also worked as a Consultant concerning Human Resource/Employee
Relations issues in the gaming and casino industry. It was an interesting experience.
Lisa also served as Director of Labor Relations in New York for Bronx Lebanon Hospital and Beth Abraham
Health Services. While employed with the New York State Nurses Association, Lisa‘s responsibilities were
within the role of a Labor Relations Representative/Senior Contract Negotiator. She addressed labor
relations and collective bargaining issues through her representation of registered nurses that worked in city
hospitals under the Health and Hospital Corporation and nurses in the private sector not-for-profit
institutions.
She has extensive skills in negotiating, interpreting and administering collective bargaining agreements. She
has handled all steps within the grievance process and in arbitration. She has a proven ability to interact with
union members and with management staff at all levels in seeking resolution to employee-related issues.
Lisa has also served as an Adjunct Instructor in Adult Education with the Trade Union Women’s Studies
Program through Cornell University for a number of years and was an Instructor with the New York Career
Institute where she taught Advance Employment Law/Collective Bargaining classes. She was also a past
instructor for the Union Women Summer Schools, Northeast School. Lisa has a Bachelor of Arts in
Sociology with a concentration of Urban Affairs and Development from Boston College and a Juris
Doctorate from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. She is committed to the protection of
a worker’s rights and ensuring “fairness” in the workplace.
LEAH RAMBO: Leah is the director of training for the Sheet Metal Workers’ International
Association, Local Union No. 28 Metropolitan New York & Long Island. She became a sheet metal
worker in 1988. Leah’s mantra is "If you promote trades work to women, and they see other
women doing the jobs, a lot will want in. The bigger challenge is improving the conditions so they
stay in the field.” Leah is part of a growing sisterhood of New York area apprentice programs carpenters, masons, and sheet metal workers - normalizing the idea that women not only have a
place in the trades, but are also central players in their unions.
GAIL RICHARDSON: Gail is the Executive Vice President of CWA Local 1036 which represents
8000, mostly, public employees. She has over 25 years of labor union experience and enjoys a well
established record of successful negotiations and mediations in the workplace. Gail earned her
Master’s in Social Policy Analysis from Rutgers University and trained in mediation in Belfast NI.
In her commitment to the labor movement, she has worked tirelessly to defend the rights of
workers in the state of NJ. Convinced that the labor movement must continue to focus
internationally, she is proud to have represented her Local in a union women’s leadership
exchange with sisters from unions in the UK, as well as having presented a year earlier in Belfast
NI at a Pan-European mediation conference. She has taught for the Rutgers Union Leadership
Academy as well as Women’s Summer School 2011.
ROBIN ROACH: Robin was born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana, Robin received elementary
and secondary school education in her hometown. At 18 years old, she immigrated to New York.
She graduated St. John’s University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree and Brooklyn Law
School in 1990 with a Juris Doctor degree. She is admitted to practice before the bars in
Connecticut, New York, the District of Columbia, Federal District Courts in the Eastern and
Southern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
In April 1991, Ms. Roach joined the Legal Department of District Council 37, AFSCME as an
Assistant General Counsel.
She has handled numerous arbitrations and administrative
proceedings, as well as court litigation. Robin has also represented the union and its affiliated
locals before the appellate courts, including the New York State Court of Appeals, the State’s
highest court, where she successfully argued that the Union had a right to grieve and arbitrate
transfers under the disciplinary due process provisions of the contract. She also successfully
represented the union in litigation advancing important employee rights of DC 37 members of the
union.
In the past 8 years, she has served as one of three managing attorneys in the General Counsel’s
Office. She currently holds the position of Associate General Counsel and assists the General
Counsel in overseeing a staff of 12 attorneys, along with six support staff of paralegals and
administrative employees who represent the union in state and federal litigation, primarily
concerned with labour, employment, civil service and civil rights issues. The legal department
staff also represents the union in arbitration proceedings, administrative hearings and appeals, and
assists in negotiating union contracts, drafting contract language and provisions of union
constitutions.
Ms. Roach was also an instructor at Queens College of the City University of New York’s Labour
Studies Program for two semesters and was on the faculty of the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012
Northeast Regional Summer School for Union Women.
JULIE SADLER: Julie has been working and teaching in the Industrial and Labor Relations field
for over last fourteen years and has been on faculty at the University of Delaware, Penn State
University. Currently, Julie teaches online for Penn State University and Rutgers University and
consults with Cornell University’s Worker Institute on various research and program development
issues. Julie has worked with various unions to help organize and develop member participation
and union leadership (ex. Cornell Association of Student Employees, SEIU 1199Upstate, 1199SEIU,
NEA-NY locals, CWA locals, Plumbers and Pipefitters local, United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers of America, and American Federation of Teachers). She received her Ph.D. and Masters
from Cornell University and her undergraduate degree from West Virginia University.
ROCHELLE SEMEL: Rochelle served as Director of the Trade Union Women Studies Program and the
Labor Studies Program at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University. Among the
courses she developed for the University are those in Labor Education and Labor Journalism. She has been
a long-term advocate for summer schools for union women.
CLAUDIA SHACTER-DECHABERT: Claudia has been working in the labor movement since
1974 when she started working for the United Farmworkers Union as a Boycott Organizer. She has
been active in workers' education for many years. She now works as a Labor Relations Specialist
for New York State United Teachers in the Nassau Regional Office on Long Island. Claudia has a
Master's degree in Labor and Policy Studies from Empire State College.
DONNA SCHULMAN: Donna has been a part of the NE Women’s Summer School since 1991,
teaching computer and social media workshops, compiling the school’s extensive Resource List,
and academic coordinator of the 2011 School. She is currently Director of the Carey Library of the
Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, and was previously Director of the Lenz
Library of Cornell ILR’s Extension Division. Donna was introduced to the study of women in
unions by Barbara Wertheimer, and researched women’s leadership paths in union locals for her
Master’s thesis in Women’s Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center. She also received an M.S. in
Information Science from Columbia University. Donna has worked with members and officers of
hundreds of unions as information consultant, trainer, and instructor in Cornell ILR’s Labor
Studies Program. She has also taught courses for Cornell’s Off-Campus College program and in
the Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations, Rutgers. She started her union life as
vice-president of AFSCME local 2903 (Paterson Free Public Library) and is currently a member of
Rutgers’ AAUP/AFT chapter.
LARA SKINNER: Lara is the Associate Director of Research, has worked with Cornell GLI since
Fall 2008. Skinner received her PhD from the University of Oregon in 2010; her dissertation was
entitled Is it Just Sustainability? The Politics of Urban Sustainability, Labor Unions and Social Justice.
She has worked for unions doing campaign research and policy development since 1999, and prior
to joining GLI, was a Fellow at the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center
where she did research and writing on various projects related to labor law, economic
development and accountability, immigration and employment, wage surveys, sustainability, and
other labor issues. At GLI, Skinner does research, writing, and labor education related to labor
unions' engagement in issues of sustainability, climate protection, and economic alternatives. Her
current work focuses on the potential for labor unions, both globally and domestically, to develop
and advocate for transportation policy that is low-carbon, environmentally and socially
sustainable, equitable and safe.
ADRIENNE TAYLOR: Adrienne has workers in the labor movement and in the community for
over 40 years. She has experience in negotiations, organizing, mobilizing, education and political
action. She was promoted from her first union job in an AFSCME bargaining unit into a position
in a CWA bargaining unit. Within CWA she rose to the position of Administrative assistant to the
District vice-president. This summer marks Adrienne's 31st year as summer school staff. After a
brief retirement to travel, take care of family and sometimes sing with the NJ Labor Chorus,
Adrienne is now working for CWA Local 1040 in NJ.
SUSAN TINDALL: Susan is a Principal Program Coordinator for the Safety & Health Department
of DC 37, AFSCME. She visits the varied worksites of DC 37 members and assures that their rights
to a safe and healthy workplace are protected. Her work in the labor movement has spread over a
number of years, and has always focused on protecting workers' rights and educating workers
about those very rights. As a labor educator she has been on staff with the New York Hotel-Motel
Trades Council (NYHTC), Local 3 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Storeworkers Union
(RWDSU) and the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Workers Union. Susan is an
adjunct instructor for Cornell's New York State School of Industrial Labor relations (NYSSILR) and
is a member of New York State United Teachers of the American Federation of Teachers (NYSUTAFT). She's also a member of the Federation of Field Representatives - a staff union at DC 37.
Susan has been an active participant with the summer school since 1981, when she first attended as
a student. Since then she has taught numerous times and holds the distinction of serving as the
union coordinator of the Northeast Regional Summer School for Union Women more times than
any of us can count!
KC WAGNER: KC is the Equity at Work co-chair at Cornell’s Worker Institute. For over 30 years,
KC has been an educator, activist, researcher and expert witness. Most recently she co-authored an
article on gender based violence and changing workplace norms entitled “Engaging Men and
Women as Allies: A case study of a labor/management initiative that addresses the connection and
consequences between domestic violence, male bullying and workplace violence and imparts skills for ally
behaviors” and two research reports on street harassment entitled “The Experience of Being Targets of
Street Harassment in NYC: Preliminary Findings from a Qualitative Study of a Sample of 223 voices who
Hollaback! and “When Street Harassment Comes Indoors: A sample of New York City service agencies and
unions response to street harassment”.
In April 2000, she was awarded the prestigious Alice H. Cook and Constance E. Cook Award from
Cornell University’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women for her work on women’s
issues. In April 2008, she was recognized as one of thirty influential leaders across the state in the
area of domestic violence prevention for her innovative union and workplace initiatives by the
New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In 2013 she was recognized by the NYC
Chapter of the United Nations Women for her work in engaging men as allies with women to end
male violence against men. KC Wagner holds a Masters of Social Work Degree from Hunter
College School of Social Work and a Masters of Labor and Industrial Relations from Rutgers
University.
BRENDA WEBB: Brenda is an Organizer for Council 13 of the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Pennsylvania. Brenda began her affiliation with
AFSCME in 1995 while working for Southern Columbia Area School District. She attended
AFSCME Council 13 Leadership Institute and was a Local Union Training Instructor. She served as
Secretary and then President of her local before joining the staff of AFSCME in 2011. Brenda also
served on the District Council 86 Executive Board as a Trustee. She volunteered in political
activities campaigning for AFSCME endorsed candidates, and is a member of the Coalition of
Labor Union Women (CLUW).
PAM WHITEFIELD: Pam works at the Murphy Institute for Labor Studies at the City University
of New York where she oversees the evening and weekend Labor Studies credit programs for
rank-and- file union members, staff, activists and leaders. As an educator, Pam has been involved
in developing curriculum and teaching workshops and programs for unions and other worker
organizations on globalization, women and the economy, organizing, immigration and leadership
skills.
SUSAN WINNING: Susan has been a labor activist and educator, working primarily with
women, for over 30 years. She has been the labor extension coordinator at the University of
Massachusetts, Lowell for ten years, providing education, training and organizational support for
unions, labor councils and community organizations. Prior to that, she worked as the Executive
Director of the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD,) which provides education
and training for women in unions, for eight years. Prior to WILD she worked for 10 years in the
childcare field, serving as president of her local (UAW/District 65) and then on staff as a union
representative, which included bargaining contracts. Her earliest labor related experience was
working to organize workers in a private non-profit hospital in Boston for 10 years. She has had
extensive experience developing curriculum and leading training sessions on a wide range of
topics, including leadership development, labor law, workers’ rights, stewards training, public
speaking and diversity. She holds a Masters in Social Work in community organization.
STEPHANIE YAZGI:, Stephanie is the Director of Capacity Building and Strategic Organizing
Initiatives and is an experienced community organizer, political strategist, and coalition-builder
with a track record of winning issue and electoral campaigns. At the Center for Popular
Democracy she focuses on capacity building, campaigns and strategic organizing initiatives with
membership-based organizations across the country. Most recently, she was the Campaign
Director for Walmart Free NYC, a groundbreaking campaign, part of the UFCW International
Union’s Making Change at Walmart network, that defeated Walmart’s multi-million dollar effort
to enter New York City. Prior to that, Stephanie worked as a senior operative for the New York
State Senate Democratic Conference managing a statewide operation to promote progressive
legislation through issue organizing campaigns and constituency mobilization. Through her work
with the NYS-DSCC, she managed electoral campaigns, with a focus in strong field operations, to
elect Democrats to that house which tipped the balance of power in their favor for the first time in
43 years. She attended Boston University where she majored in Sociology, then went on to
Columbia University School of Social work where she obtained her M.S.S.W. Over the years, she
has authored and facilitated a number of trainings on community, political and electoral
organizing. She is an adjunct professor of social work at NYU and Hunter College.