Cumberland County’s mission for diverse representation
By Dr. Tiffanie ThrBak, NJEA MLR Committee chair
Cumberland County, a rural county with fewer than 3,000 members, has a lot to boast about. In terms of population, the county is the fifth smallest in New Jersey. When you see the diverse leadership in Cumberland County, it should make you proud. Believe it when you see it—minority leadership and recruitment work.
Representation matters, and we are doing leadership and recruitment the “plain ole” grassroots way: one member at a time, one-to-one conversations, leading by example, and encouraging others to get involved! As chair of the statewide NJEA Minority Leadership and Recruitment Committee, I want members to know that Cumberland County is growing leaders.
Mildred Johnson is the president of the Cumberland County Council of Educational Associations (CCCEA) is an administrative assistant in the Vineland School District. She is also an NJEA UniServ consultant.
“One of the most important tasks in building any organization is fostering an atmosphere of unity,” Johnson says. “The MLR Committee is important because it engages what is often the most disenfranchised group within the union, recognizing leadership abilities that they themselves may not see. Recruiting minorities into leadership roles creates and maintains the skills, experiences and racial diversity needed for all aspects of union work to truly be effective.”
Ashanti Rankin is an NEA Director for the ESP-at-large seat. He was reelected to that position in 2020 by NEA Representative Assembly delegates from across the nation. In CCCEA, he holds the office of 2nd vice president and is a paraprofessional in Millville.
Rankin believes minority leadership and recruitment is important for people of color and of culture for several reasons. Inclusion brings additional voices to the table to solve problems. He believes that diversity in association leadership reflects the community and serves as an example while inspiring hope of opportunities in education and for school communities and non-school communities.
“It is important to have schools that are culturally and racially diverse that allow the opportunity to create an education profession that is attractive to authentic diversity,” Rankin says. “Together we can create pathways that are conducive to retaining diversity in staffing and leadership.”
Damita White-Morris is the Cumberland County ESP of the Year. An attendance officer in Bridgeton, she is CCCEA’s membership chair. She also represents Cumberland County as a Delegate Assembly-Alternate. She chairs the CCCEA Youth Services Committee and represents the county on the NJEA Youth Services, Congressional Contact, and NEA Resolutions committees.
“It’s important to have a seat at the table, a speaking point on the agenda, and a face in crowd,” White-Morris says. “If we don’t represent and speak for ourselves, then who else will effectively speak for us?”
Temika Langston-Myers, a paraprofessional in the Bridgeton School District, was recently appointed by NEA President Becky Pringle to serve as an NEA Director in an ESP-at-large position. She is the CCCEA Government Relations chair and the Legislative Action Team chair for Bridgeton School Employees Association.
“Our union leadership must have the potential to reflect the diversity within our union,” Langston-Myers says. “Minority leadership and recruitment have created an environment where ethnic minorities can engage in union work and add their voices to the collective.”
Michael Morton, a teacher in Bridgeton, is a member of the NEA Resolutions Committee.
“When identifying and mitigating matters that concern our membership, especially members who have been marginalized, it is imperative to activate all of our resources which includes minority leadership,” Morton says. “We must continue to recruit members who may be empowered to take corrective actions to preserve the organization’s integrity.”
Leston Hall, is the president of the Bridgeton School Employees Association, the largest ESP local association in Cumberland County.
“I believe minority representation is important, more so for women of color,” Hall says. “Take advantage of leadership opportunities. We’re with you.”
There are many other persons of color holding leadership positions in CCCEA and on NJEA Committees, including: Nicole Kinsey, MLR county chair and co-chair; April Stevenson-Kinder, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity; Sherman Denby, Urban Education (former Bridgeton EA president); Lawrence Hickman, Professional Development; Ta’ja Board, NEA Activities; Shinese Harvey, Pension Policy; Debra Byrd, Technology; Romaine Street, Paul Dimitriadis Member Rights; Gerri Lane, retired rep to Urban Education; Adrian Garrett (posthumously), Worksite Safety and Health.
More active members of our newly formed Cumberland County MLR Committee include, but are not limited to, Elyse Bittner, Rosa Colon, Norma Castro, Shirley Santos, Maria Negron, Yolanda Day-Palmer, Jackie Gentry, Chantel Frazier, Cherie Douglas, Author Horn, Christine Nickle (Bridgeton EA President) and growing.
The NJEA Minority Leadership and Recruitment Committee seeks to ensure involvement of ALL members
The NJEA Minority Leadership and Recruitment (MLR) Committee has an important charge within the association, to encourage persons of color into the teaching profession as NJEA seeks to strengthen its role as a justice-centered union.
The charge of the MLR Committee is to:
- Encourage multi-ethnic members to become active in all levels of association work.
- Recruit multi-ethnic members for association involvement.
- Identify and recommend ways to attract multi-ethnic members to the school employees’ professions.
- Develop and initiate training opportunities for school personnel.
The members of the committee represent their counties, higher education, NJEA Preservice and NJREA. In this article, you’ll meet the members of the committee. Dr. Tiffanie ThrBak, a teacher of students with special needs in Bridgeton, is the chair of the committee. With the committee, she has worked for the formation of an MLR Committee within each county and local association, modeling after Essex, Burlington, Camden and Mercer, which have been thriving for years.
To contact your county’s MLR representative, check with your county education association.
Dr. Tiffanie ThrBak, chair
NJEA MLR Committee
Bridgeton Education Association
Teacher of Students with Special Needs
NJEA REAL co-founder
I am passionate about ethnic-minority involvement in leadership on all levels of our association. With that and the charge of the MLR Committee in mind, I wanted one of our goals to be the creation of an MLR committee in every local and county. I was encouraged by a fellow association member to chair MLR at the county level many years ago. Today, I feel it is my job to do the same for others like myself—help them find what they are passionate about and grow in leadership.
When our previous NJEA president, Marie Blistan, asked me to take the seat as the state chair of the NJEA MLR Committee, I was honored but knew the task ahead of me. I’ve had so many people to lead the way and encourage my leadership. I am grateful to those individuals. They showed me that minority leadership is about: growth, inspiring others to lead, and fighting for social and racial justice with my presence and with my leadership.
I’m not just here to lead the way for people that look like me, but I’m gathering my allies with me to show them what a “Love Warrior” looks like on this journey for peace and solidarity in the struggle.
Tomeka Sanderlin
Atlantic County MLR chair
Atlantic City Education Association
Eighth grade inclusion teacher
Michelle N. Hammond-Dudley
Bergen County MLR chair
Hackensack Education Association
Third grade teacher
Sabrina Austin
Burlington County MLR chair
Willingboro Education Association
Special education reading specialist
Crystal G. Love
Camden County MLR chair
Voorhees School District
Teacher of language arts literacy
David Farrow
Cape May County MLR chair
Middle Township Education Association
Middle school math teacher
Nicole Kinsey
Cumberland County MLR chair
Bridgeton Education Association
Math teacher, fifth grade
Evelyn Ayum
Essex County MLR chair
Newark Teachers’ Association
Teacher coach
Chardae Ingram
Gloucester County MLR chair
Paulsboro Education Association
Administrative assistant
Katherine Chao
Hudson County MLR chair
West New York Education Association
Special education teacher
Aaryenne S. White
Mercer County MLR chair
Trenton EA
Middle School Science Teacher
Shan Byrd
Middlesex County MLR chair
New Brunswick Education Association
Teacher on Assignment – Restorative Justice Practitioner Coordinator
Mary Scott
Monmouth County MLR chair
Neptune Township Education Association
Teacher of special education
Vilmary Hernandez
Morris County MLR chair
Washington Township Education Association
Spanish teacher
Vires Simmons
NJREA
Camden County Council of Education Associations
Camden Education Association
Retired Special Needs Instructor
Maria R. de Venecia-McFarland
Ocean County MLR chair
Lakewood Education Association
ESL teacher
Aida Wahba
Somerset County MLR chair
Somerville Education Association
Spanish teacher
Michael L. Boyd
Union County MLR chair
Roselle Education Association
Paraprofessional
Kenneth L Buck of Salem County and Bridget C. Gum of NJEA Preservice also serve on the NJEA MLR Committee. Gabriel Tanglao is the NJEA staff contact to the MLR Committee. Collen Lopez is the associate staff contact