Communications Coordinator, UMaine College of Education and Human Development
Member Organizer, UMPSA
Years of Service: 10
I’m a lifelong union supporter and believer in the collective power of workers. I joined my first union (UFCW 555) in high school while working at a grocery store in Portland, Oregon, where I grew up. Before moving to Maine in 2015, I was a local public radio journalist in Alaska. The stations where I worked were small and did not have unions, but I frequently reported on labor issues. When I was hired at UMaine, I was proud to join UMPSA and excited to have once again the benefits and protections of union membership, including our negotiated salary and wage increases, health plan, and the employee tuition waiver, which allowed me to earn a master’s degree and keep taking classes to continue my education.
As a member organizer, I have conversations with prospective and current members of UMPSA about their interests and the workplace issues that matter to them. I also work with UMPSA leadership and Maine Education Association staff to help them understand the concerns of members and potential members, and to increase union membership.
I joined the union because I wanted to get more involved following the Fund Maine’s Future campaign in the Spring of 2025. I was impressed by how the unions worked together to secure increased funding for higher education from the legislature. I take a big picture view of public education. In the UMaine College of Education and Human Development, we help train the state’s future teachers, who will hopefully become MEA members. My wife is a special education teacher and an MEA member on the K-12 side, and we have two school-age kids. One of the most important things we can do to ensure that Maine continues to be a great place to live is to fully fund our education system — from K-12 through higher ed — so that teachers and other education professionals are well-compensated and have job security and peace of mind when it comes to their careers and livelihoods. I firmly believe that a stronger UMPSA and a stronger MEA are crucial to ensuring that happens.