MEA members elect Paula Herbart as new president

Apr 23, 2017

On Saturday in Lansing, delegates to MEA's Representative Assembly elected Paula Herbart to replace current MEA President Steven Cook, who is retiring on Aug. 31 after 6 years in the position.

"I'm honored and humbled to have the faith and support of my fellow MEA members to lead this organization over the coming years," said Herbart, a music teacher from Fraser.  "Michigan school employees deserve to have a voice in what's best for their students and their careers. I will do everything in my power to make those voices heard in local school districts, Lansing and Washington."

Herbart currently serves as president of MEA-NEA Local 1 in Macomb County. A former local president for the Fraser Education Association, she serves on both the MEA and the National Education Association Board of Directors.

Also elected on Saturday were a new Vice President – Chandra Madafferi, a high school health teacher and local union president from Novi in Oakland County – and Secretary-Treasurer – Brett Smith, a 5th grade teacher and local union president from Linden in Genesee County."I and the new team of officers want to thank our current officers for their dedicated service during challenging times," Herbart said.  "In particular, I want to thank President Cook for his leadership of our union, not only during the past six years but throughout his distinguished 26-year career as an MEA officer – the longest tenured officer of any NEA state affiliate in the country."

“The mission of the MEA is to ensure that the education of our students and the working environments of our members are of the highest quality.”