NEA Treasurer Lily Eskelsen Will Speak

The NDEA 2008 Representative Assembly is scheduled for April 12 at Bismarck's Doublewood Inn.   Further information will be sent to local association presidents as the date nears.  However, locals should start electing delegates as soon as possible. 

If you are a local association with membership of 21 or less, the NDEA will help with expenses.   If needed, local associations with membership of 21 or less may voucher 1/2 the double occupancy room rate per delegate.   Mileage for one vehicle per local will be reimbursed at 15 cents per mile.  (Vouchers will be available at registration.)

Highlights of the RA include the State of the Association Address, Report of the Budget & Finance Committee, Report of the Resolutions Commission, Presentation of Candidates for Statewide Office, Report on Implementation of New Business Items, Report of NEA Director and Remarks by the NDEA President.

Our main speaker this year is NEA Treasurer Lily Eskelsen, who is running for the Vice President's position in the NEA.  Eskelsen, an elementary school teacher from Utah, won her first full term as the secretary-treasurer of the NEA in 2003. She was unopposed.

As secretary-treasurer of the nation's largest teacher's union, Eskelsen ranks third on the organization's leadership pole, making her one of the highest-ranking labor leaders in the country, and one of its most powerful Hispanic educators. Her responsibilities include oversight and maintenance of the group's multi-million dollar budget and fiscal integrity.

"I'm so proud of the confidence shown in me and the direction we are moving - building our own campaign to explain to the public our vision of Great Public Schools," Eskelsen said. 

Eskelsen's commitment to children and public education propelled her to leadership positions within the NEA, beginning with her 1990 write-in election as president of the 18,000-member Utah Education Association. She served in this post until 1996, when she was elected to the nine-member NEA Executive Committee. 

In 1989, Eskelsen was recognized as Utah Teacher of the Year. She won her party's nomination for U.S. Congress in 1998 and served as a member of President Clinton's White House Strategy Session on Improving Hispanic Education in 2000, all the while providing education advice to parents in newspapers and magazines, such as Women's Day, Working Mother and Time.

Eskelsen's education career began as a lunchroom worker and later a kindergarten aide. She worked her way through the University of Utah as a part-time legal secretary and folk singer, graduating magna cum laude in elementary education in 1980 and later earning a master's degree in instructional technology from the same institution. 

She is on leave of absence from her teaching position at the Christmas Box House Children's Shelter, a one-room school and residential facility for K-6 children awaiting placement in foster homes.

She and her husband Ruel now live in Washington, D.C. and frequently visit their two sons and a grandchild in Utah. 

Please make every effort to have your local fully represented at this very important meeting.  Remember, YOU are the Association and YOUR voice needs to be heard.