Members Ex Officio
Max Page, MTA President
Deb McCarthy, MTA Vice President
Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee
The Massachusetts Teachers Association believes that the diversity of our society enhances the lives of all individuals. The similarities and differences among people in regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical ability, size, occupation and marital, parental or economic status form the fabric of our society.
Excerpt from MTA Resolution on Diversity
Friday evening's program will feature the Wampanoag Nation Singers & Dancers and our keynote speaker Tricia Rose, director of the Systemic Racism Project at the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University. Saturday's program will include workshops, a conversation with 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year DéShawn Washington, and community circles.
Register by November 21, 2024 to secure a hotel room.
Hotel Accomodations scholarships & child care reimbursement
Non-members may attend the conference if there is space remaining. Info on fees for non-members.
EMAC Photo Gallery
About the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee
Mission Statement
The Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee exists to advise the MTA Board of Directors as to the status, concerns, and affairs of ethnic and minority groups on a local, state, and national level. EMAC advocates for the identification, development, and empowerment of MTAs’ American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and other racial or ethnic minority (includes Cape Verdean) members.
Purpose
The Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee exists to advise the MTA Board of Directors, and to advocate for ethnic minority constituents within the Association. Specifically EMAC will monitor the implementation of the MTA’s Ethnic minority Involvement Plan.
A Message to Ethnic Minority Members from MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy
The MTA’s Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee is here to help and support all association members, including educators who are new to the profession. EMAC’s purpose is to advise the MTA Board of Directors and to advocate for ethnic minority constituents within the association. Self-identification is key, and it is important that you indicate your ethnicity on your MTA membership form.
This message has been translated into Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish.
Committee Members
- Chair: Candace Shivers, Massachusetts Community College Council
- Heba Abu, Cambridge Education Association
- Naomi Akan, Canton Teachers Association
- Cheri Armstrong, Monomoy Regional Education Association
- Jennipher Burgess, Lexington Education Association
- Claudia Fox Tree, Lincoln Teachers Association
- Lisa Hua, Palmer Teachers Association
- Hoang Phan, Mass. Society of Professors
- Riley Hernandez, Springfield Education Association
- Betsy Preval, Cambridge Education Association
- Anneta Argyres, Equal Opportunity Council EOC chair (ex-officio), Professional Staff Union
- Rosa Lopez-Whitehill, Member Ex Officio, At-Large Ethnic Minority Director
- Elizabeth Tyrell, member Ex Officio, At-Large Ethnic Minority Member of the MTA Executive Committee
- MTA Staff Assistant: Kay Coady kcoady@massteacher.org
- MTA Staff Consultant: Jennifer DeBarros, events@massteacher.org
Get involved
“ If you aren't in the room, you don't have a voice. Be in the room.”
Former EMAC Chair Susan Baker