On Thursday, October 1st, the HEA will be having an election for the position of Membership Chair. The link to vote will be sent from OpaVote to all members at their school email address. If you do not get a link to vote, please check your spam/junk folders first, then contact Deb Russell (DebRussell80@verizon.net) and Lauren Sanguedolce (lasanguedolce@gmail.com) to confirm you membership status and email the link to you.
Below are the candidate statements to help you make your decision:
Jay Burns
I, Jay Burns, humbly write to you, my HEA brothers and sisters, to nominate myself for the position of Membership Chair. I began my career in Haverhill Public Schools as a “career changer” over 10 years ago. I started as an ESP at the Haverhill Alternative School. I got my first teaching position as the Consentino SSC Teacher, where I was a proud Charger for six years. I am now entering my third year as a Special Education teacher at Haverhill High School. My experiences across Haverhill Public Schools have varied, but they have all taught me in different ways of the important role of the HEA in advocating for us as a membership.
In these unprecedented times and amidst a global pandemic, I recognize and take seriously the work of the Membership Chair. In my work with the Contract Action Team, during our last contract negotiations, I realized how critical an accurate membership roster and email list truly is as we tried to organize actions. So I worked with newly hired colleagues to ensure they were getting HEA emails (often forwarding personal emails to the HEA so that nobody “slipped through the cracks”). I distributed Red for Ed t-shirts at the High School and worked with the MTA on a social event for our members (thanks to those of you who showed up at the Tap).
My vision for our union moving forward is to use our digital skills to organize. Last week we had a meeting with over 800 members present. Our ability to collaborate across the Merrimack Valley, Southern NH and beyond opens up so many possibilities for us as a Union, but only if we have up to date contact information and a robust membership. My vision also includes the HEA as a social opportunity where meeting is not obligatory but rather enjoyable. Now more than ever, we can all appreciate the value connecting personally.
So to all of my HEA brothers and sisters, my former colleagues at HALT and Consentino, my current colleagues at Haverhill High, I humbly ask for your vote for HEA Membership Chair and I leave you with this quote from the Dropkick Murphys:
“United we stand, divided we fall. Together we are what we can’t be alone…”
In Solidarity, Jay Burns M. Ed. AIM/REACH Teacher- Haverhill High School
Barry Davis
Hello, I am Barry Davis and I believe I am an excellent candidate for the Membership Chair position. Over my five years of teaching music at Golden Hill School, I have been very involved with the union. I am entering my second year serving as the Golden Hill Building Representative, I served as a delegate for the HEA at the 2020 MTA Annual Meeting, was on the bargaining team for the remote learning MOU in the Spring, I am a member of the Membership Committee and am the current co-chair of the HEA’s Contract Action Team. Throughout my work in these positions, I have had the opportunity to work with many members across the district, form strong relationships with members and help build the HEA’s power in both the schools and community. During the spring I worked with the Membership Committee to develop and implement a plan to contact members who had incomplete or incorrect data and update their information.
What I believe qualifies me most for this position is my work over this summer. Not only have I been serving as co-chair on the Contract Action Team, I also spent the summer working for the MTA as a Summer Member Organizer. During my time working for the MTA my responsibilities included creating a plan to contact non-members and sign them up for the HEA, a responsibility that will be continued by the Membership Chair. After contacting all non-members I developed the surveys used by the HEA to gauge members’ thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic. After collecting and analyzing the information in these surveys I joined the Contract Action Team to help develop and implement the HEAs plans for reopening. During the first Contract Action Team meeting I was nominated and elected by my peers to serve as a co-chair of the team. Since becoming co-chair of the Contract Action Team, I have co-led a team of 75 people in developing action plans and surveys, which have been used to develop and display the HEA’s position on reopening. Through my work as a Summer Member Organizer and co-chair of the Contract Action Team, I have built relationships and connections in the HEA, the city of Haverhill at large, the Merrimack Valley and the MTA. My experiences this summer, my years as an active member of the HEA and my lifelong commitment to unions(son of a union electrician and proud member of Boston’s Local 26 for 13 years) has prepared me to serve you as the Membership Chair.
Kelly Fairbrother
Hi everyone,
My name is Kelly Fairbrother and I am running for the Membership Chair of the HEA. I have been a Music teacher here in Haverhill, for 20+ years. In that time, I have worked in several different buildings and at several different levels. I have also been a member of the HEA and a building representative.
I am applying for this position because I have seen the importance of the HEA on both a district level and an individual level. We have all been in a position where knowing someone “has your back” or will literally stand beside you has been the thing that has gotten us through. That is the role of the HEA. One of many.
Having been the “new person” at various buildings throughout my career, I have not only become more comfortable meeting people, but more organized and well-planned. I think these traits are great strengths for the Membership chair position.
I look forward to the opportunity to help the HEA grow both by encouraging new membership and making sure those who are members have what they need and are being recognized.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kelly Fairbrother
Anna Sabella
Hi there! I hope you are finding ways to stay calm and sane and take care of yourselves (and loved ones) during this crazy time. I feel that I would make an excellent Membership Chair because of my previous work experience in corporate communications and event planning. I know how important messaging and exposure can be to any successful campaign. I hope you will consider me when you cast your vote. I have been working and teaching at Haverhill High School since the fall of 2011. This is the only school I’ve ever worked at and I truly value my connections with my students and co-workers. In 2016, when my fiance, Ryan, passed away- leaving me with our 10-month-old son, Canaan- the love and support I felt from my students and staff is something I will never forget. My email is anna.sabella@gmail.com if you have any questions I can answer!
Katelyn Watts
My name is Katelyn Watts, and I have been nominated for the Membership Chair of the HEA. I have been a 7th grade math & science teacher at Consentino Middle school for ten years. In recent years I have been taking a more active part in the union by attending meetings, rallies, and bargaining sessions.
As a member of the union I am part of a number of different sub-groups, including:
- Membership Committee
- Building Representatives
- Scheduling Committee
- Contract Action Team for Reopening
As part of these sub-groups I have done a number of things to help the union, including:
- Creating a plan for auditing members within my building
- Audited the 2019-2020 budget
- Attended bargaining sessions for reopening
- Sent letter to school committee members
- Made calls to members to gather information
- Made calls to members to have them attend meetings
- Helped to organize and host building meetings
- Emailed members to provide updates on meetings
I believe I would be a good fit to be our Membership Chair because I am an extremely organized person. In addition to my organization skills, I am very skilled in using Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, which will be very important to organizing membership information. As a member of the Membership Committee I helped to create a plan for how we would conduct the audit in our individual buildings. I also was trained in the National Education Association platform to better help serve on the Membership Committee. These tools will allow me to keep our membership organized and up-to-date.
I would like to serve you as Membership Chair because I have a lot of new ideas to help us promote membership and create a stronger, more unified team. Also, having created a plan to audit membership within my own building, I think I will be able to implement that across all buildings in the district. My plans for organizing the membership will allow us to have a better way for streamlining audits and keeping more accurate details on our members. I am also very comfortable in speaking with new people which will help me in recruiting new members during orientations at the beginning of the school year. I hope that in seeing these qualifications you will consider voting for me as your Membership Chair.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Katelyn Watts