MEA member Amanda Walker first got to know newly elected state Sen. Chedrick Greene (D-Saginaw) before he was a candidate for the 35^th-District seat in a special election in May.

A teacher in Bay City, Walker and Greene — a fire captain in Saginaw — both participated in a one-year, multi-partisan public policy program at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) that trains citizens from the Great Lakes Bay region to be effective change agents.

“Our group had been meeting once a month for about six months when he announced his candidacy, and I knew he was a great person who cares a lot,” Walker said. “He’s knowledgeable, he listens, and he strongly supports educators.”

After a panel of local educators screened candidates and recommended Greene, Walker led an organizing effort to turn out the education vote.

Walker and Greene were part of the 2025 cohort of SVSU’s Henry Marsh Institute for Public Policy, which led to many discussions about community advocacy, Greene said. “It meant a lot to have her, someone I consider a friend, to step up and say, ‘I’m behind you.’”

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