Educators from Illinois and Wisconsin will join the NEA’s Executive Committee, the nine-member governing body that oversees and helps establish policy for the 3-million member NEA. Gladys Fátima Márquez and Ronald “Duff” Martin were elected by more than 8,000 educators, gathered virtually for NEA’s 2021 Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA). Márquez and Martin will begin serving their three-year terms come September 2021.
In 1996, Márquez began her education career as an education support professional, working as a school translator and a parent liaison in her son’s school. She later pursued her dream to become a classroom teacher after getting involved with the Illinois chapter of NEA’s Aspiring Educators program.
For the last two decades, Márquez has taught English learners from kindergarten through adult education programs, and her professional experiences in education policy and social and racial justice have helped to shape the educator and leader she is today.
“The core value that has echoed in all of my work from the local level to the state and national levels…is to protect students and communities that have fallen victim to unjust systems of oppression that systemically and systematically disenfranchise our students,” said Márquez in her virtual address to RA delegates. “My commitment is to doing everything that I can to protecting our students, our communities, and our profession.”
In her role as Chair of the NEA Hispanic Caucus, Márquez has helped organize nationwide events to raise awareness about the plight of immigrants in America, including various "Teach-Ins” at immigration detention centers and humanitarian missions to shelters at the border.
Additionally, she has helped organize massive marches in protest of the national policy leading to the separation of immigrant families and the incarceration of immigrant children. She also has worked with national organizations to help pass a clean DREAM Act and protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
“No matter where we live, where we come from, what we look like or which language we speak, we all have the right to the American dream. Gladys knows just how much stronger we all are when we draw from our diverse and vibrant population,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “She also understands that educators are, many times, at the forefront in advocating for a future that works for all of us—without exceptions.”
Wisconsin Social Studies Teacher Joins NEA Top Office
Ronald “Duff” Martin is a middle school social studies teacher from Eau Claire, Wis., and currently serves aspresident of NEA’s state-level affiliate, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC). During his virtual address to fellow delegates at NEA’s Representative Assembly (RA), in July, Martin talked candidly about his Native American roots—and the origin of his nickname. “I’m half Anishinaabe Native American. My grandmother named me Nookikamigaa,” he says, explaining that the name translates to soft dirt, or duff, which is the first layer of the forest from where all things grow and where everything returns.
Martin was the first Native American president of WEAC, the largest educators’ union in Wisconsin, and has spent his life’s work championing inclusion and acceptance over his 20-year career in the classroom, advising “Where Everybody Belongs,” an orientation and transition program that welcomes sixth and seventh graders and makes them feel comfortable throughout the first year of their middle school experience. Martin also represents Wisconsin educators on state and national coalitions for school safety, diversity, and restorative justice.
“Duff Martin has spent his life and career passionately advocating for the eradication of racism in our education system, and his election to NEA’s Executive Committee is especially timely as our country grapples with racial, social, and economic justice,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “As we have discussions about today’s injustices and the threats to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that still exist for many, Duff’s personal and professional experiences are important additions to our national conversation.”
In his speech, Martin shared deeply personal stories about his childhood and how his mother, an education support professional (ESP) at a local school, was forced to work three—sometimes four—jobs to support her four children.
“Being actively involved in the union was something I knew was destined to happen because it forever changed my life as a small boy growing up in northern Wisconsin,” Martin said. “[My mother] held so many jobs just to make ends meet, I knew my babysitter better than I knew my mom. Mom helped start organizing one of the first ESP units in Wisconsin. They bargained their first contract, obtaining a-nickel-an-hour raise. Now, you might not think that was much, but to me, it was a lot. You see, she was able to quit one of her jobs and spend time with [her] four children. The union and a nickel gave me my mother back. And to a small boy, that’s a lot.”
A longtime student council advisor and head volleyball coach in Altoona, Wis., Martin has also served as a new teacher-mentor and union leader. He has previously served as the WEAC vice president and secretary-treasurer, as president of the Eau Claire Association of Educators, and as a director on NEA’s board.
