Title: PSC Treasurer/EC member
Campus: Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center Department: Academic Affairs

I am writing to express my interest as a candidate for the governing board. As an activist, I am committed to bringing new and different perspectives to the New Caucus from my tenure and experience at CUNY and the PSC. I strongly believe that true organizational strength comes from embracing diverse experiences, backgrounds, and viewpoints. As such, I am committed to amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities and BIPOC members within our bargaining unit while expanding our organizational landscape.

To address key strategic challenges, I aim to use my analytical and technical skills, particularly in the area of membership growth and organizational engagement. The strength of our union comes from its diverse membership and leadership. An important goal of mine is to increase the number of BIPOC members in union activism, whether it’s through committee work, chapter EC, or informal groups.

Key Areas of Focus:

1. Membership Growth
   – Attracting and retaining members from various titles and diverse backgrounds
   – Creating pathways for meaningful participation among smaller constituent groups o Ensuring our membership effectively reflects the rich diversity of our community
   
2. Organizational Engagement
   – Establishing spaces to develop emerging leaders
   – Designing social and networking opportunities that foster genuine connection and a sense of belonging
   – Utilizing analytical approaches to understand and meet member needs

In all, I will continue to actively listen, learn, and lead with empathy and strategic insight to continue the mission and vision of the caucus for its continued growth and success through collaborative leadership and inclusive decision-making.

James Davis, Brooklyn College, Professor of English

I’ve served on the New Caucus governing board since 2018, and I’m the board’s only current PSC principal officer, so I believe I have a lot to offer if elected to continue serving. As an electoral caucus in a complex union, we cultivate new leaders for office and support those we help get elected to chapter and university-wide positions. As a caucus explicitly committed to social justice, anti-racism, and an end to austerity politics at CUNY, we also engage broadly in the work of education and agitation on the issues that matter to New Caucus members. I’m excited about the opportunity to improve our work on both these fronts – as an electoral caucus and a social justice formation within the PSC – particularly once the current contract campaign ends. Our governing board works with the coordinating committee to chart an annual agenda for the caucus. For the New Caucus to build on our extraordinary history, we need to engage our colleagues in all job titles and identify new leaders, while we also nurture the bonds among the longtime New Caucus activists that multiple generations of struggle and camaraderie have forged. Despite the uncertainty and political perils of this moment, I see a real chance for the New Caucus to invigorate and unify the PSC and to mobilize progressive forces in the New York City labor movement. I would be honored to serve on the 2024-2027 governing board and continue collaborating with fellow members on this important work.

Lynne Turner serves as PSC Vice-President for Part-Time Personnel. Lynne teaches Sociology at LaGuardia Community College and Labor Studies at the School of Labor and Urban Studies. She has worked in three part-time titles at CUNY: as a Teaching Adjunct, Non-Teaching Adjunct, and contingently funded Graduate Worker. On the PSC Executive Council, she serves on the Bargaining Team, works collaboratively to build the strength of the Committee for Adjuncts and Part-Timers, and contributes to strategy development. Lynne was a pandemic Graduate Center Chapter Chair and has taken on many PSC activist roles. While a New Caucus Coordinator, Lynne coordinated the April 2020 Panel Roundtable on Bargaining for a Common Good in Higher Ed with panelists from three public university systems organized in coordination national Bargaining for a Common Good leadership. Prior to graduate studies, Lynne was a long-term organizing director, campaigner, and educator in labor and labor-community organizations, as well as a global justice and anti-war activist. Lynne is committed to building the power of our union to win a just contract for #APeoplesCUNY and beyond, for full CUNY funding, vibrant leadership and participation within our union, and to ending the two-tiered conditions of work for Adjuncts and Part-Timers. As a New Caucus governing board member, Lynne will bring her skills, experience, and determination to bear towards forging the union solidarity and capacity to bring these goals to fruition. She would be honored to receive your support for her candidacy!

I am a member of the Brooklyn College Chapter of the PSC and a full professor in the Political Science Department of Brooklyn College, where I am just finishing a term as Chapter Chair. I want to join the Governing Board of the New Caucus in order to assist the PSC in being the kind of progressive union we have always hoped it would be. I actively worked in the campaign to bring the New Caucus to the leadership of the union under Barbara Bowen 25 years ago and continue to support strengthening our union. I have been active in the union in various ways, as a delegate for years, and as a member of various committees: Legislative, International and Academic Freedom. I bring my years of experience as a union organizer and activist and my knowledge of the history of trade unions here and abroad expressed in my many works published around the world and as editor of the high academic impact Journal of Labor and Society.

I would try to serve the most oppressed at CUNY, including our super-exploited part time faculty, our retirees, HEOs, CLTs, and our multi-national, working-class students with whom we would collaborate. As a member of the Governing Board I would be committed to maintaining the strength of the PSC by democratic participation of our members, by promoting unity and consensus, and by taking part in militant action challenging the CUNY administration and the legislative bodies that determine our budget. While I would expect the PSC to struggle to meet the immediate needs of our members with regard to their income and working conditions, I would also seek to uphold the identification of the PSC with social unionism in advocating , for example, funding to meet social needs as in health and education rather than a budget dominated by military spending.

My name is Marcella Bencivenni and I am a Professor of History in the Behavioral and Social Sciences Department at Hostos Community College, where I have been teaching full time since 2004. I have been an active union member since my very first year of employment at CUNY and I have served the PSC over the years in many different capacities — as a delegate, a member of the Hostos chapter EC, and, most recently, as co-chair of my chapter.

My interest in union work stems from a strong personal belief in the collective power of working-class organizing, as well as from my scholarly studies in labor history and the history of the Left.

I was born and raised in Italy, a nation with a strong tradition of unionism and working-class movements, where “the right to work” is the first principle recognized by the republic’s constitution. I have seen first-hand how my parents’ generation was able to win important pension benefits and labor rights thanks to the hard work of trade unions and this inspired me to demand the same for myself and my fellow faculty and staff at CUNY.

In the PSC I have found a community of incredibly talented, principled, and dedicated people, committed to not only further the rights and interests of their members, but to also fight for a better and more just world. It’s been an honor to be a part of it, and I look forward to continuing contributing to its mission in any way I can.

Hi. I am asking for your vote in the New Caucus Governing Board election. I have served on the New Caucus Governing Board and as a New Caucus coordinator in the past and I believe my experience and knowledge of the history of the caucus would help the Governing Board in the important work it has to do. I have been active in the union. At the chapter level, I have served as vice chair and I am now a delegate. Also, I am the Kingsborough Campus Action Team (CAT) coordinator and with other KCC members have worked hard to turn out chapter members to PSC rallies and to make the chapter a more active chapter. That hasn’t always been easy but I am happy to say that through my work and work of others, several new folks at KCC have stepped up and gotten active in the chapter and in the union’s Legislative Committee. When the New Caucus ran a slate at Kingsborough in 2019, I ran on the slate and campaigned hard for it. I was also on the PSC Executive Council for two terms and on the PSC bargaining committee (where I was on the PSC-CUNY subcommittee which negotiated the teaching reduction agreement). Last while I have my own strong views, but I work well with others which I think is an essential quality for a Governing Board member.

Nivedita Majumdar, Professor, Dept of English, John Jay College

Thank you for considering my candidacy for a position on the Governing Board of the New Caucus. I have been a proud member of the New Caucus since 2008, and have served in various leadership roles in PSC in the past fifteen years.

Currently, I’m co-chair of the John Jay PSC chapter along with Zabby Hovey. We are engaged in building the contract fight at our campus, strengthening our department rep structure, ensuring contract enforcement, and fighting to defend members every day against the steady and myriad administrative onslaught on work conditions. From 2015 to 2021, I had the privilege of serving for two consecutive terms as PSC Secretary. It was an incredibly challenging period in union history with the loss of agency fee, and the negotiation of two very ambitious contracts, all in a climate of fiscal austerity and racist attacks under a proto-fascist president and a neoliberal governor. With all the odds stacked against us, it’s deeply meaningful for me to be in a union where we have not only resisted attempts to continually decimate our university, but made powerful gains.

The New Caucus stands as a testament to the depth of progressive commitment of PSC leadership over the last 25 or so years. It has never simply been about wielding power, but to remain accountable to the political values that animate our fight. I’d consider it an honor, given the opportunity, to serve on the Board of New Caucus.

I am currently the HEO Cross-Campus Co-chair and HEO delegate for John Jay College. As a New Caucus member, I will always fight to sustain our current rights and secure new rights for all PSC members.

In the past 30 years at John Jay, I have been in the following positions, Assistant to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, Executive Assistant and then Chief of Staff to the President, Academic Advising Director and Senior Co-Curricular Administrator and now Department Deputy for Administrative Affairs in the Department of Africana Studies.

Over the past 20 years, I served in numerous roles with our union such as the PSC Welfare Representative @ John Jay, HEO delegate, Co-chair of the Anti-Racism Committee, HEO Grievance Counselor, Health and Safety Committee, HEO Advisor, Legislative Committee, Environmental Justice Working Group, as a liaison to the John Jay Faculty Executive Committee, and now on the Executive Council of the PSC.

As one of the University-wide Officers on the Executive Council, I strive to advocate for all members. There are many challenges our members face and the first one for me is that we are asked to do more work without compensation or even acknowledgement from CUNY. Our members are mandated to learn new technology and do more trainings without being allotted the time to learn new skills to do our jobs effectively and efficiently or even be trained to be in compliance with all the numerous new policies, laws, and procedures we are supposed to adhere to.

After the pandemic, it has become more apparent that flexible schedules are a necessity in sustaining our members as employees. Our lives have drastically changed in the past few years and more members have become autoimmune compromised and are dealing with delicate family priorities such as child and elder care. CUNY wages are not keeping up with the cost of living in New York which also makes it impossible for us to financially take care of our families on our current living wages. PSC should demand flexible working schedules and equitable remote work for all members, but especially HEOs and CLTs.

I’m applying to continue on the Governing Board because I believe that the New Caucus’s fundamental analysis is correct in recognizing that CUNY is, in the powerful words of Cecilia McCall, “the locus of a class struggle, contested territory, an example of what a free, quality, public higher education could be”. As a member of the New Caucus for eight years, a coordinator for four years, and a board member I am firmly committed to this project. If elected I will support the further expansion of committees within the New Caucus, particularly those around current campaigns like anti-racism, anti-bullying, and Bargaining for the Common Good, strengthen political education projects and union orientations, help to build chapter activism in chapters without New Caucus leadership (specifically KCC), continue to plan programs like ones on the Rutgers 2023 Strike and Bargaining for the Common Good. I also hope to create a space in the caucus for mutually respectful conversations about the Gaza Conflict and our ongoing opposition to US military adventurism.

I’m currently Associate Professor of Communication studies at Baruch, Chair of the Baruch PSC-CUNY Chapter, Co-chair of the 1-1 Conversations Committee, and a Senior College Officer in the PSC Executive Council. I am also a New Caucus Governing Board Member and Coordinator. I participated in the PSC’s “Next Generation Leadership” Program in 2018-2019; I was also named one of City and State’s Labor 40 under 40 in 2021.

I’m putting forth my candidacy to serve as a member of the New Caucus Governing Board. Since joining CUNY and becoming a PSC member, being active in the union has been incredibly important to me. I firmly believe in the power of organized labor to help build stronger, more just communities. This led me to join the New Caucus, in an effort to support constructive action, effect change, and take part in the democratic process. I am currently a New Caucus coordinator, serving since 2022. I believe member engagement, political education, and well-organized programming will keep the caucus vital. As daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, this work aligns with my interest in increasing diversity and helping bring in others, like me, to take part in more union work. If elected, I plan to continue this work through the end of my term.

I am HEO, working as research center staff at the Graduate Center, am member of the Legislative Committee, One-on-One Conversations committee, and part of the first cohort of NYSUT’s BIPOC Pathways to Leadership program. I have also done similar work with the UALE Northeast Summer School for Union Women and Interference Archive.

James Davis, Professor of English at Brooklyn College, has served as PSC president since his election in 2021. He holds elected leadership positions in the AFT, NYSUT, and the Municipal Labor Committee and chairs the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund. As the COVID-19 pandemic extended beyond year one, he led the PSC’s impact bargaining with the CUNY administration, including the struggle for a coherent vaccine policy and the rollover of unused travel funds. During his first term, the PSC revived its membership campaign and gained hundreds of new members after a pandemic-era decline. He has advocated consistently for preserving municipal retiree access to traditional Medicare and engaged PSC members in that fight. In collaboration with coalition partners in the CUNY Rising Alliance, the PSC brought new state funding into the university, including millions of dollars to hire full-time faculty, and prevented the worst of the Mayoral cuts to CUNY. As president, he has used his platform to advocate for educational quality and accessibility, racial and economic justice, and professional respect and job security on our campuses. The union’s legislative and electoral efforts have been energized by PSC member participation during his first term. Working with the Executive Council, he coordinated an inclusive process for engaging members in every title to develop an ambitious bargaining agenda for the next contract and prepared the union’s negotiations committee for bargaining. The Campus Action Teams that animate the union’s contract campaign grew from the deliberate collaboration of Chapter Chairs and the Executive Council. He has attended chapter meetings at every senior and community college and remains committed to engaging union members as the fights continue for a just contract and a New Deal for CUNY. A devoted teacher and scholar, he has published widely on American literature and received Brooklyn College’s Excellence in Teaching Award. 

Jennifer Gaboury is a Lecturer on an adjunct conversion line in the Department of Women and Gender Studies at Hunter College. She teaches courses related to politics, gender, and sexualities and is working on a book on bathrooms, sharing intimate public space, and forging stronger commitments to public institutions. She has served on the boards of CLAGS, the Alternatives to Marriage Project, and currently sits on the steering committee for NYC Opt Out. She previously worked at Human Rights Watch. 

Jen has been involved with the PSC since 2003 where she organized with the Adjunct Project and joined the Legislative Committee. She currently serves as Hunter College’s Chapter Chair and is the interim VP for Senior Colleges, in addition to serving on the Executive Council, Legislative Committee, and our bargaining team.

As someone serving on a union-won adjunct conversion line, Jen is deeply committed to winning more dedicated adjunct conversion lines and expanding our hire from within  campaign. She has long been involved with CUNY Rising Alliance and, if elected, looks forward to building a strong advocacy community among our largest constituency: CUNY alumni! Jen helped develop our “district captain” program where members serve as the conduit between our elected reps and members in their city, state, and/or federal election districts and looks forward to growing this network. She’s been deeply involved with our state funding efforts tied to a New Deal for CUNY and is a champion of making CUNY tuition free (again!) for in-state undergrads. Jen has pledged to give the people what they want: an online PSC and CUNY Rising swag store.

Felicia Wharton serves as the PSC Treasurer and is a doctoral lecturer at the Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center (BEOC), administered by the New York City College of Technology. In her three years as Treasurer, she has demonstrated a commitment to accurately accounting for all union funds, coordinating budget development, ensuring compliance, and safeguarding the union’s assets. Felicia is a trustee of the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund, NYSUT Board member, AFT Civil Human Rights Committee member, and PSC Teacher Education Representative. To address issues in teacher education, Felicia, working with David Gerwin of Queens College, established the PSC Teacher Education Working Group (TEWG) to unify, support, and develop a solid teacher-educator network across CUNY. Members of TEWG have provided input in state-level discussions and comment periods such as edTPA and have been appointed to NYSUT committees to address various issues in education. Felicia has a long record of advocacy for the Educational Opportunity Centers (EOCs), highlighting issues faculty and staff face daily, and continues to improve the working conditions for this group of PSC members. Felicia is a CUNY graduate with a Ph.D. in Urban Education from the Graduate Center, a Masters in Pure Mathematics from Hunter College, and, recently, a Masters in Higher Education Administration from Baruch College. Felicia is a native of Barbados, a small island in the Caribbean, a cricket fan, has a vast eyewear collection, and loves wearing bright colors year-round. She is honored to be running for Treasurer on the New Caucus Slate.

Andrea Vásquez is the PSC First Vice President, running for the position of PSC Secretary.  A Brooklyn native, Andrea attended NYC public schools and earned her BA from Hunter College. She is Associate Director at The Graduate Center’s American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning and has been active in the PSC since 2000, when she moved from an RF line into the HEO series. Before becoming First VP, she was a delegate, then HEO Chapter Chair where she focused on building new leadership and on contract enforcement, after the PSC won the HEO salary differential and improvements to reclassification. As Secretary, Andrea will continue to focus on A New Deal for CUNY, increasing membership, and engaging in coalition work with other unions and organizations, including CUNY Rising Alliance. 

Driven by her passion to win a just contract for all, as we also fight for the quality education our students deserve, Andrea has served on the PSC’s contract negotiations team since 2010. She understands the significance of the major structural and economic advances PSC has won for and with  members and she is committed to securing a contract that strengthens and improves upon those victories. Andrea has spent years fighting for the best possible budgets for funding CUNY and the best possible contracts for members. Facing management at the bargaining table, building alliances with Albany legislators, speaking at PSC events and meetings, demonstrating in the streets of our city, engaging in civil disobedience, and conducting surveys, are all components of our campaigns and she looks forward to continuing this work for #APeoplesCUNY, alongside  PSC members.

Penny Lewis has been active in the PSC since her time as a sociology doctoral student at the CUNY Graduate Center, through serving as a teaching fellow at John Jay, adjunct at Queens, instructor at BMCC and in her current position as professor of Labor Studies at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. In positions such as former VP for Senior Colleges and currently Secretary, Penny has helped develop union strategy and lead numerous initiatives, collaborate with member leaders and external allies, and support and build chapter strength and organization. If elected as VP of Senior Colleges, Penny will continue to support campus action teams and other forms of cross title solidarity, and work with chapters to gain greater research support for faculty.

Kathleen Offenholley has been active in the PSC since she first started at BMCC in 2008. She became secretary of the BMCC PSC chapter in 2013, went on to serve as vice chair and, in 2019, chapter chair. In the fight for our previous contract, she participated in getting members to vote in the strike authorization, and in marches and sit-ins. She participated in civil disobedience to get a good contract in front of CUNY central.  On the BMCC campus, she has helped organize grade-ins, tabling, marches to the BMCC president’s office and participation in rallies at nearby City Hall. BMCC’s  “Wear Red for Higher Ed” tabling last year was particularly successful in bringing people together and creating space for community and solidarity during an immensely difficult time. Union-wide, she serves as chair of the elections committee. She also participates regularly in one-on-one phone banking and Hustle text messaging, along with union actions and Board of Trustee meetings. Kathleen is ready to take on the opportunities and challenges that the VP of Community Colleges will bring.

Lawrence Bosket has had a long and varied connection with Brooklyn College. It began in Fall 1997 when he entered the Adult Degree Program to pursue a Dual-BA degree in Sociology and Political Science. After completing his degrees, he pursued MA degrees within the Political Science and History Departments.  During this period, he began working as a CUNYCAP in the Office of Undergraduate Admission.  He would subsequently go on to become an Assistant to HEO when he was hired in 2005 to become the Transfer Admission Counselor and eventually Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admission in 2017.  His connection with Brooklyn College also included a stint as an Adjunct Lecturer at Brooklyn College from 2006 through 2013. He has been a HEO Delegate since 2016 and was elected a University Wide Officer on the Executive Council in 2021. His background as a student, College Assistant, Adjunct, HEO and delegate has given him a unique and personal insight into the concerns that our members face. Lawrence is thrilled to be nominated for the VP of Cross Campus Units on the New Caucus Slate.

Lynne is honored to run for re-election as VP for Part-time Personnel.  Lynne teaches Labor Studies at the School of Labor and Urban Studies and Sociology at LaGuardia Community College.  She has worked within three part-time titles at CUNY as a teaching adjunct, non-teaching adjunct and contingently funded graduate worker.  On the Executive Council she contributes to strategy development, works collaboratively to build the strength of the Committee for Adjuncts and Part-timers, and serves on the bargaining team.  Lynne was a pandemic Graduate Center chapter chair and has taken on many PSC activist roles. Prior to graduate studies, Lynne was a long-term organizing director, researcher and educator in labor and labor-community organizations, as well as global justice and anti-war activist, and for the past decade a volunteer instructor for the UALE Northeast Summer Schools for Union Women. Lynne is committed to building the power of our union to win a just contract for #APeoplesCUNY, full CUNY funding, safe conditions at work, leadership and participation within our union, and to ending two-tiered conditions of work for adjuncts and part-timers.

Claudia Shacter-deChabert is an Adjunct Lecturer at the School of Labor and Urban Studies where she regularly teaches classes in Contract Administration, Leadership, and Current Issues in the Labor Movement. She has been a delegate from the GC Chapter since the Spring of 2020 and has been on the Executive Council since the Spring of 2023. She currently serves on the PSC Bargaining Team. Among her accomplishments Claudia has helped to grow the Committee of Adjuncts and Part-Timers, participated in one-on-one calling and Hustle campaigns, and initiated advocacy training and workshops. She has been part of the SLU Labor Management Committee and has also participated in lobbying efforts in Albany and NYC. Claudia has been nominated to serve on the New Caucus slate as Part Time Personnel Officer.

Pamela Stemberg, an Adjunct Assistant Professor in English at The City College of New York and Hostos Community College, is a dedicated advocate for education, labor rights, and environmental awareness. Serving as City College’s Co-Chapter Chair and a Part-Time Personnel Officer on the PSC’s Executive Council, she champions fairness and equity for faculty and staff across the CUNY system. Her commitment to community engagement is highlighted by her recent appointment to the City College Campus Engagement Network Governance Council, where she focuses on developing projects that connect the campus with the broader Harlem community.

Pam also co-directs the Sustainability Public Service Announcement project, blending academic insight with environmental activism, significantly impacting students by elevating climate change awareness. Her educational path is marked by an MFA in Creative Non-fiction from City College and current studies in Digital Humanities at the Graduate Center, reflecting her broad scholarly interests. She passionately supports making higher education more accessible and equitable, championing initiatives like New Deal for CUNY. As a member of the PSC Anti-Bullying Committee, she fosters an inclusive, supportive academic environment.

Rémy Salas is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Ethnic and Race Studies at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), where his commitment to civic engagement and advocacy shines through his work. He also plays a crucial role in the Bronx Political Action Committee, which focuses on revitalizing political support at both local and city levels. In 2021-2022, he led the CUNY Rising Alliance, a coalition comprising labor unions, student bodies, and social justice organizations. Their collective mission was to champion a comprehensive New Deal for CUNY, advocating for a free and accessible education within the City University of New York system. He serves as a Director at The Raben Group’s Issue Campaigns and Movements practice. Leveraging his expertise in coalition building, strategic planning, public policy, government relations, and community development, he continues to drive impactful change in various spheres. In addition to his professional endeavors, he is the Democratic District Leader for the 80th Assembly District. Rémy has been nominated to serve on the New Caucus slate as a Part-Time Personnel Officer.  

David Gerwin is Professor of Social Studies Education and also Chair of the Secondary Education Department at Queens College, where he has taught since 1997. He earned a PhD in American History and an MA in Teaching Social Studies. In 2013 New York State adopted harsh teacher certification tests as part of federal “Race to the Top” policies. While CUNY went along, PSC CUNY stood up and supported faculty in pushing back on NYS certification policies. Drawn into the union as a result of this struggle, he joined the Queens College EC in 2014 as well as the PSC’s leadership development seminar. He served as acting QC chapter chair in 2016 during the strike authorization vote, and remained chapter chair at Queens through the pandemic until becoming Secondary Education Department chair in 2022. He remains union active as a QC delegate and with PSC Treasurer Felicia Wharton co-chairs the cross-campus PSC CUNY Teacher Education Working Group. He also collaborates with a similar task force within the UUP. He is thrilled to be running for University Wide Officer on the New Caucus Slate.

Heather B. James is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), where she serves in Chapter leadership, participates in membership campaigns and VOTE-COPE drives, and has supported forums for adjunct faculty members. She also participates extensively in PSC’s legislative and electoral efforts. Her work helped shape our fledgling city budget campaign into a fully operational lobbying effort and brought community college chapter leaders, as well as HEOs and CLTs, closer to our city budget work. Currently, she is the Chair of the Legislation Committee and serves as the Union’s Legislative Representative. Before arriving at CUNY, she was a graduate researcher focused on women’s campaigns and helped run political leadership training programs for young women. She’s also worked on several grassroots campaigns and as a part of advocacy coalitions. Her teaching focuses on New York City politics and American Government. She also serves as the Campus Liaison for a CUNY-wide public service internship program. Heather is running for University Wide Officer on the New Caucus Slate.

Justyna Jagielnicka graduated with both BA and MA degrees from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor currently employed as a College Discovery Program Counselor at BMCC. Justyna is a Social Justice advocate and a PSC activist, she’s been a member of the PSC BMCC EC since she was elected as HEO Delegate in 2016. Justyna joined the PSC legislative committee the same year she was elected as HEO Delegate. Since then, she has been appointed a NYSUT PAC Coordinator which gave her the opportunity to volunteer on political campaigns, and lead endorsement interviews for candidates running for city and state office. She has represented the PSC at the WFP endorsement interviews and participated in countless actions in Albany and on the streets of NYC. Justyna has testified in hearings to ensure proper funding to CUNY. As an immigrant woman Justyna has fought hard to have a voice as a CUNY professional and a HEO. She is excited to be running for PSC University Wide Officer on the New Caucus Slate.

Luke Elliott-Negri is running for re-election as a university-wide officer. Over the past decade, he has played many roles in the PSC, including the CUNY Graduate Center chapter chair, the Legislative Representative, and Bargaining Committee member. Luke earned his PhD from the CUNY Graduate Center and is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Labor and Urban Studies. He has published studies on labor, politics and social movements in journals such as Social Problems, Socius, New Labor Forum, and Social Movement Studies.

Rulisa Galloway-Perry is a Higher Education Officer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  She currently serves as the PSC HEO Cross-Campus Co-chair which represents about 5,000 HEOs across CUNY and a HEO delegate. Since becoming a delegate, she has also served as a NYSUT and AFT delegate, member of the Health and Safety Committee, Legislative Committee, Environmental Justice Working Group, and the Anti-Racism Committee as a member and co-chair.  Previously, Rulisa was a HEO Grievance Counselor and HEO Advisor from 2018-2022. Her first union elected position was as a Welfare Fund representative on the John Jay faculty chapter Executive Committee.

Rulisa has worked in the Bursar’s Office, Graduate Studies & Research, Office of the President, and currently the Department of Africana Studies. Twenty three of her thirty three years at CUNY have been as a HEO. Her passion for advocating for students and colleagues at CUNY gives her a sense of purpose which is why she loves her job.  Rulisa is proud to run for University Wide Officer on the New Caucus Slate.

Michael Batson has worked at CUNY for twenty-three years, the first seventeen as an adjunct lecturer and the past six as a Lecturer. He began attending chapter meetings at  CSI in 2004 and was hired as the CSI campus adjunct liaison in 2007. He was first elected to the Executive Council in 2009. He is currently serving on his third bargaining team, and has played a role in every major event the union has undertaken since 2009. Among the noteworthy roles he has played in union campaigns were serving on the adjunct healthcare committee that achieved the transitioning of adjuncts on to the city healthcare; taking the lead on his campus in organizing the Yes vote for strike authorization in 2016; working as the Part-Time liaison signing up new members and informing adjuncts about the need to sign up for their pensions prior to the transition to Tier VI; and working with the local CSI chapter to build a well-functioning and robust chapter with engaged delegates. Michael is excited to be running for re-election as a Senior College Officer.

Stuart Davis is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Baruch College, where he has also served as the Chapter Chair since 2022 and Vice-Chair from 2019-2022. He is currently Co-Chair of the PSC 1-1 Conversations Committee and an active member of the International Committee and Academic Freedom Committee. His union interests range from building robust local chapters to promoting anti-imperialist labor activism on the global stage. His work in the PSC earned him a spot on the City and State “Labor 40 Under 40” power list in 2021 . In 2018-2019 he participated in the PSC’s Next Generation Leadership Training program. He is currently a member of the New Caucus Governing Board and Coordinating Committee. Stuart is proud to be running for Senior College Officer on the New Caucus Slate.

Susan Kang is an associate professor of political science at John Jay College, where she has worked since 2008.  She served as a senior college officer with the PSC from 2021-2024. During her time in the union, she has served as a member of the John Jay College executive committee, served a department rep, participated in earlier contract and strike authorization campaigns, and participated in the Legislative Committee’s endorsement decisions.  In addition, Susan has participated in both local and Albany lobbying legislators to secure greater funding for CUNY.  In 2022-2023, she served as a coordinator liaison (with Geoffrey Kurtz) for CUNY Rising Alliance.  In addition, she attended the 2022 NYSUT representative assembly, where PSC members successfully promoted NYSUT’s endorsement of the NY Build Public Renewables Act (later passed by the state legislature in 2023). Susan also has experience with canvassing and volunteered for progressive and insurgent electoral campaigns.

Lucy McIntyre is a HEO from CUNY Central Office where she is the Interim Deputy Director/Compliance Officer for the Office of Student Financial Assistance which assists the 25 CUNY Financial Aid Offices with the awarding and disbursement of over billion dollars annually in Financial Aid.  She earned a BA in Psychology from St. Francis College and a MPA from CUNY-John Jay College.  Lucy has worked in student financial aid for over 27 and has served on many University, State and National Committees for student funding.  Lucy has been active in the PSC for two decades in many roles; delegate, PSC leadership program, co-chapter chair, chapter chair, executive council and recently voted onto the bargaining team. She has spent countless hours in Albany lobbying for CUNY funding, TAP Gap restoration, and student support for higher education. Lucy has been nominated to serve on the New Caucus slate as a Cross Campus Officer.

Zee Dempster serves as a HEO Delegate for the Graduate Center where she is the Assistant Director of the Institute for Research on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean, (IRADAC) and Assistant Coordinator for the Africana Studies Certificate Program (AFCP). An active member at the Graduate Center, she serves on the HEO Steering Committee, where she created the GC HEO Office hours. Her strength as a PSC member is exemplified through her one-on-one contact with members. Working as an On Campus HEO Advisor and on the GC HEO Labor Management Committee, allows her to show members how to use the contract to empower themselves. In addition, she participates with the Environmental Health and Safety Watchdogs, she represented the PSC on the GC Reactivation Committee during the pandemic, and is a Trustee of the PSC CUNY Welfare Fund. She is honored to be nominated for the position of Cross Campus Officer on the New Caucus slate.

Zeno Wood is a chief CLT at Brooklyn College where he has served as the piano technician for the Conservatory of Music since 2007. He has also taught classes as an adjunct instructor. He has been active with the union for many years, particularly focused on fighting for CLT rights and representation both at the local and CUNY wide levels. In earlier incarnations, Zeno has been a New York City music teacher, truck driver, and Central America anti-war organizer. He is honored to be nominated as Cross Campus Officer on the New Caucus slate.

Emily Schnee is a professor of English at Kingsborough Community College where she has taught developmental English, composition, and literature classes since 2008. Prior to becoming part of the full-time faculty, she received her PhD in urban education from the CUNY Graduate Center and worked as an adjunct instructor, graduate assistant, and instructor in adult education programs at various CUNY campuses. Her research focuses on questions of justice and equity in community college education and has been published in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Community College Review, Radical Teacher, Teachers College Record and other journals. Emily has been active in the PSC for the past decade and is honored to have been nominated to serve on the New Caucus slate as a Community College Officer.

Sharon Persinger is an Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Bronx Community College. In her previous role as chapter chair, she worked to improve health and safety at the college, fought to gain pay for the 15th week of the semester for adjuncts, and supported the struggles of unionized workers on campus and in the Bronx. She served as PSC Treasurer for 6 years, chairing the finance committee that takes first action on the proposed PSC budget and making regular financial reports to the Executive Council and Delegate Assembly.  Currently she is a University-Wide Officer on the Executive Council, and serves on the bargaining team. She has been nominated to serve on the New Caucus slate as Community College Officer.

Youngmin Seo is an adjunct lecturer in the Social Science Department at  LaGuardia Community College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. He has a master’s in Anthropology from City College  and an ABD in Anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center. He has taught at several CUNY campuses including LaGuardia, Lehman, Kingsborough, and BMCC. Youngmin has been the LaGuardia PSC delegate and the LaGuardia PSC Adjunct liaison since 2016. He has also served on the LaGuardia chapter as an executive committee member. He is a University Wide Officer since 2021 and a member of the current PSC bargaining team since 2023. Youngmin has been actively engaged in many PSC initiatives including civil disobediences, rallies, door knocking campaigns, phone banking, and the 7K committee. He is an active member of two standing PSC committees- Anti Racism committee, and One on One conversation committee. He is honored to be nominated to serve on the New Caucus slate as a Community College Officer.

Marva Lilly is a HEO retiree from John Jay College where she worked as a Program Coordinator in the Continuing Education/Office of Special Programs and Affirmative Action Assistant in the Office of Compliance and Diversity. She served as Treasurer of the HEO Chapter for 3 years. Marva received her BBA degree in Marketing and Management from Pace University. Marva has been active in the PSC and Retiree Chapter for the past 11 years; she served a three-year term as Secretary as well as working on the Social Safety Net Committee presenting workshops to NYSUT statewide audiences and community groups on the benefits of saving Social Security. She has served on the PSC EC for the past 3 years where she participated in lobbying in Albany, attended many rallies, and participated in NYSUT Retiree Council meetings. Marva has also participated in many one-on-one phone banking sessions and the Retiree Chapter Membership Drive and recently attended four Bargaining Sessions working on a new contract for CUNY. Marva is running for a second term as a Retiree Representative.

As a life-long union activist, Nancy is  honored to run again for the PSC Executive Council representing retirees. After 42 years as professor of psychology at Brooklyn College, Nancy retired and has been doing union and climate justice work.   She co-leads the PSC Environmental Justice Working Group, has been active in the Medicare (dis) Advantage struggle, and worked on climate and retiree demands in the contract. Nancy supports the broadest member participation as the union’s powerhouse and will work to advance member power and real results throughout her service to you and the PSC. The present contract struggle is central to our future as university professionals and to CUNY’s success as an urban university and method of transformation of hundreds of thousands of working class New Yorkers. Our militant fight back and unity are critical right now for ourselves, our university, our students and our city.