How WE Will Lead: Pamela Roy, Treasurer
How will Working Educators lead the PFT? Meet all 9 officer candidates for yourself, learn their vision for the future of our union, and find out why they are running for office in the 2016 PFT elections.
Here's Working Educators Candidate for Treasurer, Pamela Roy:
Before becoming part of Working Educators, I had never been asked by anyone in the PFT leadership to give my ideas. I had never been asked to do anything besides show up at a rally a few times, and I really wanted to do more.
As School District of Philadelphia employees, we have been beaten down for so long that we no longer know what's possible. I think that our realm of possibility has shrunk around us. So much more is possible for ourselves as workers, for our students, and for our city.
PAMELA ROY has been a teacher for nine years, at Hopkinson, Edwin Vare, Roberto Clemente, and now Mifflin. She holds certificates in Elementary Education, Middle Years Science, and Biology. Pamela holds a masters degree in science. She is a Public Youth Forum Debate coach in the middle school league, Need in Deed experienced network member, member of Philly Core Leaders, and a board member for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of Americans for Democratic Action.
Pamela in the news:
Labor Notes: Philly Teachers Go For It
The Notebook: Caucus of Working Educators Reveal Slate for Union Election
The Notebook: Teachers Spent Week in Work-to-Rule Protest
Working Educators: How to Arrange a Work-to-Rule Campaign: One School's Story
Philadelphia Public Record: Pols on the Street
Teachers Lead Philly: Teachers Prepare to Vote
Check out our In The Press page for many more stories about Pam and Working Educators!
TASHA RUSSELL has been teaching in the school district for 20 years. She has taught at Kinsey Elementary, Stetson Middle School, Lowell Elementary, Roosevelt Middle School, and currently Wagner Middle School. She currently holds certifications in Physically and Mentally Handicapped, BCIT (Technology), and Educational Administration. ALong with being a member of the Caucus of Working Educators. she is involved with the Philadelphia Writing Project, and Teachers Lead Philly.
ISMAEL JIMENEZ has worked with students ranging from preschool to high school in Philadelphia for 10 years. Ismael worked as a Secondary Social Studies teacher at Germantown High School until it was closed. Currently, he teaches African-American History at Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School. He has been an active member of the building committee. Ismael has also facilitated several professional developments at the school district on issues ranging from structural racism to bridging the knowledge gap of students that manifests between high schools and postsecondary institutions.
ADAM BLYWEISS has spent seven years teaching in career and technical education (CTE) programs for commercial and advertising art at the High School for Creative and Performing Arts, Germantown High School, and Martin Luther King High School. He earned a Master of Education degree in Industrial Education from Temple University. Before joining the district, Adam worked in print production, software development, publication management, and nonprofit advising.
JULIE STEINER is a 20-year teaching veteran who currently teaches English and serves as the PFT Building Representative at WB Saul HS for Agricultural Sciences. Julie holds a National Board Adolescent and Young Adult English/Language Arts certification. She is also a 2013 Lindback Award winner and the 2012 College Board-recognized Outstanding AP teacher in the Middle States region. 
RAYMOND PORECCA has been teaching in the School District of Philadelphia for seven years. He was a special appointment at Austin Meehan for one year before moving to Feltonville Arts & Sciences where he has served as a member of the building committee, baseball coach and SEL. He holds certificates in Special Education (N-12) and Middle Years English.
LISA HANTMAN is a Master level teacher with Education and Reading certificates. She has been teaching for 35 years, 27 in the School District of Philadelphia (Pre-K - 6). Lisa received a Fulbright Scholarship and taught in England. Currently, she teaches at McCall School. Lisa is involved in many professional teachers’ groups, including The Philadelphia Learning Cooperative, Philadelphia Writing Project, and Need In Deed, and was a planner of the ECET2 Convening.
LISETTE RIVERA currently works at The U School as the Founding Bilingual Secretary. Lisette started working at Olney High School as a Noon-Time Aide in 1999. In 2000, she became a Bilingual Secretary and a Twilight Secretary, which then became EOP. Lisette has also worked at Frankford High School, Frankford EOP, and H.A Brown. She aspires to become a high school counselor.
MARGARET ROLON began her career with the School District of Philadelphia as a bilingual ESOL tutor in 1999. She has been both an ESOL tutor and an SSA for the last two years. Margaret is a Paraprofessional who works primarily with English Language Learners in the Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences where she is also a long-time member of the Building Committee. 
PATRICIA ECKERT has been with the School District of Philadelphia for 23 years. She started her career in the district after serving 10 years as a parent volunteer. Patricia is currently a Budget Technical Assistant. Previously, she has served the district as an SSA, School Community Coordinator, and School Operations Officer. She has been a member of the Building Committee.
TATIANA OLMEDO has worked for the School District of Philadelphia for the past 15 years as a bilingual school counselor (Spanish). She currently works at Central High School where she also serves on the Building Committee. Tatiana is a member of the PFT’s Counselors steering committee, the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association, and a founding member of the Caucus of Working Educators of the PFT and serves on the steering committee. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
MARGARET DEVINE, RN, CSN, has been an active PFT member since 1992 and is a current member of the Executive Board. Peg has also been an AFT delegate. Currently, she is a school nurse at Abraham Lincoln High School and has received numerous awards including the PASNAP Regional School Nurse Excellence Award (2011) and the Coalition of Labor Union Women Working Women’s Awareness Award (2012). 
HERMAN DOUGLASS currently works at Bethune McLeod Bethune Elementary School and formerly at Feltonville Arts and Sciences. He has been a PFT member for seven years. He has been a Building Representative and was the Multicultural Chair of Upper Darby Education Association (NEA) from 1997 to 2004.
DAVID HENSEL has taught at Taggart Elementary for 15 years. He has been the PFT Building Representative for four years now. He has a master's degree in Elementary Education and also holds a certificate in Early Childhood Education. David was a founding member of the Caucus of Working Educators of the PFT and has served on the steering and political committees.
CHARLIE MCGEEHAN teaches Humanities at The U School, a new District school designed to meet the individual needs and interests of our students. He also taught at Kensington CAPA. He is committed to strengthening our union through deep organizing work that empowers our members across the district.
DANIEL SYMONDS teaches 7th grade at Luis Muñoz Marín School, where he is the PFT Building Representative. He is looking forward to building a stronger, more organized, and united PFT. He holds a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's from Swarthmore College.
JESSICA WAY has been teaching in the School District of Philadelphia for eight years. She is a registered nurse and teaches in the Medical Assistant program at Franklin Learning Center. Before she came to the district, Jessica was a public health, labor and delivery nurse. She is a Lindback award winner and serves on her school’s Leadership Team. 
EILEEN DUFFEY is a fearless, relentless advocate for public schools. As a 21-year veteran school nurse, she currently works at Academy at Palumbo and Stearne Elementary, and has previously worked at Meredith, Nebinger, and Furness. She earned her B.S. and M.S. from St. Joeseph’s University, and her nursing degree from Hahnemann. She is a proud member of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, and co-produced the video "Our Schools Are Not for Sale," which won the nationally-recognized Home Town Media Award. In 2011, she successfully organized and led a 22-week rally which brought national attention to Philadelphia’s layoffs of school nurses. Since then, Eileen has continued to pressure the District to resist outsourcing the work of certified school nurses. She strengthens her organizing work by cultivating relationships with church communities, educational leaders, city councilpersons, and grassroots activists. She is a member of POWER through her church. 
YAASIYN MUHAMMAD is a graduate of Temple University with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He previously taught at Northeast High School and currently teaches African-American History at Central High School. His work with the Caucus of Working Educators (WE) has led to increased awareness of the War on Drugs, the school-to-prison pipeline, and police brutality. He is a proud graduate of a Philadelphia Public School.
KELLEY COLLINGS has been a Philadelphia public school teacher for 15 years. Prior to teaching, she was a community and parent organizer for over a decade in various cities across the country. She and her colleagues at Feltonville School of Arts & Sciences helped fuel the local Opt Out movement against high-stakes testing in Philadelphia when they publicly organized 40% of the families at their school to opt out of testing. Kelley is a founding member and current Co-chair of the Caucus of Working Educators of the PFT, as well as a leader in the Teacher Action Group of Philadelphia and a member of Teachers Lead Philly and Need in Deed.
GEORGE BEZANIS has been teaching since 2001. He became a PFT member nine years ago working as a high school Social Studies teacher and currently serving as a PFT Building Representative. He believes that fair and equitable public education, no matter what race, ethnicity, zip code or socioeconomic class one may happen to be born into, is the building block of American democracy. George is also an elected Democratic Committeeperson in the 63rd Ward.
PEGGY SAVAGE is a 5th grade E.L.L. & Autistic Friendly classroom teacher in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia. She has been an educator for 33 years. She is a Need Indeed first year teacher, N.A.A.C.P ACT-SO Science & Math judge, Philadelphia Writing Project Alum/ E.L.L & Teaching Consultant , a P.F.T Political Liaison, and numerous other organizations. She is a recent recipient of the 2016 E3 Spirit of Excellence Award. 
AMY NICOLE ROAT has been teaching English Language Learners in 6th-8th grades for nine years at Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences. For 15 years prior, Amy taught elementary grades throughout Philadelphia and in the Rochester (NY) City School District. She is a graduate of Manhattan College, University of Pennsylvania (Masters of Science in Elementary Education), and Temple University (Masters of Arts in Urban Education.) Amy has been the Building Representative at FSAS for the past three years. She has also been on the Building Committee.