After nearly two decades as a teacher, Brett Smith left his fifth-grade classroom in Linden in 2017 for a new challenge as an MEA officer. Nine years later, he leaves office as MEA vice president this summer proud of the relationships and accomplishments that marked his tenure. “Interacting with members, leaders and staff from MEA, [...]
ICYMI: Member lives Olympic dream MEA member Jake Davis, a chemistry teacher at Lincoln Park High School, achieved a long-held Olympic dream in February — but he didn’t compete at the Games in Milan. He officiated. “It’s been a long process, a lot of commitment and sacrifices to be at the top for sure,” he […]
As a 27-year paraeducator at Jenison Public Schools, MEA member Diana Madden never imagined she would sit down to dinner with the chairwoman of the state House Education and Workforce Committee to discuss her work. But when she was invited, Madden went out of curiosity. “They wanted a paraeducator’s voice in the process. I wondered […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Support over blame MEA member Danielle Cover has seen the difference it makes for students when state leaders listen to educators and deliver resources that schools need, rather than issuing unfunded mandates and setting up systems of punishment based on standardized test scores. A 19-year educator, Cover teaches first […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Vanessa Wentzloff Last school year, MEA member Vanessa Wentzloff felt genuine appreciation at seeing her students pass paper notes to each other in class. The high school science teacher first saw the behavior after her Oakland County school district — Avondale — instituted a strict new technology policy banning [...]
This year, we welcome another new chapter to the Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) family, continuing growth in the number of students who are furthering their commitment to future careers in education through membership in MEA and NEA. The Future Educators of Northern Michigan University (FENMU) has joined chapters from 17 other colleges and universities […]
A longtime advocate for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ staff and students, Frank Burger became the first recipient of MEA’s new Gerry Crane Human and Civil Rights Award, named after a west Michigan teacher whose tragic story inspired others to action. A 28-year educator in the Flint-area Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools, Burger advises the high […]
As a union leader in Grand Rapids, when she discovered male and female teachers with identical resumes being paid differently, Wendy Winston worked to resolve the disparity. She cites the example for why the intersectional fight for gender equity and human rights must go on. In accepting MEA’s 2026 Maurine Wyatt Feminist and Gender Equity […]
Initially Kathy Kosobud set out toward a career in theater design, but she shifted to education after college and applied her manual arts skills to pre-vocational settings for children with disabilities, spending many years as a special education teacher in Ann Arbor. Following a long career advocating for fairness and creating access to opportunities for […]
Daniel Clason drew inspiration from a Mississippi blues museum for the centerpiece of his project-based approach in Clarkston: traveling trunks filled with American Revolution artifacts created by eighth graders as hands-on learning tools for fifth graders. Clason is the recipient of the 2026 MEA Educational Excellence Award for his instructional leadership and creativity as an […]
