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
Participants at the MTA Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee Conference, held in December 2024, engaged in thoughtful discussion about contemporary issues in public education. Keynote speaker Tricia Rose, director of the Systemic Racism Project at the Center for Advanced Study at Brown University, and the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers kicked off the event on Friday.
Scenes from the 2024 EMAC Conference
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