Before diving into our recent historic victory, I would like to note two other events.
First, we are thinking about our California members, students, and families impacted by the ferocious wildfires.
And second, we mourn the passing of former President Jimmy Carter, a staunch ally of public education. He established the U.S. Department of Education and sent his daughter Amy to Washington, D.C. public schools—the only president to do so since Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft in the early 1900s. May he rest in peace.
On Jan. 5, NEA Vice President Princess Moss and state affiliate leaders joined President Joe Biden at the White House as he signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law—the culmination of our decades-long campaign to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).
This victory is but one example of the power of advocacy. You helped make it happen!
NEA’s digital activists sent more than half a million emails to members of Congress in 2024. From an advocacy standpoint, the top issues were GPO/WEP repeal, education funding, the child tax credit, rural schools, and the ESP Bill of Rights.
Thank you for helping NEA make a difference for students, educators, and families across America. In particular, I commend the top digital activists of the year, listed below.
Let’s keep the activism going in 2025!
In solidarity,
Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association
Aaron Klaus, Maryland
AJ Cho, California
Ryan Baka, Minnesota
Stephen Hayes, Arkansas
Allan Campbell, California
Molly Knight, Ohio
Pam Brown, California
Justine Hurley, Washington
James Monroe, California
Joyce Shiffrin, New York
Cody Goin, Missouri
Shannon Griffin, Massachusetts
Judy Trohkimoinen, Wyoming
Brian Bickley, Ohio
Joe Good, Michigan
Barbara Harper, California
Justin Philipps, Ohio
John Reid, New Mexico
Evan Weger, Colorado
Jason Black, Tennessee
Daniell Dehmani-Roberts, Ohio
Kristin Kokal, Texas
Phillip Hope, New York
John Sheppeck, New York
Jennifer Smith-Margraf, Indiana
Garrick Balk, Illinois
Joseph Dobis, New Jersey
Rafal Dobrowolski, California
Mark Giordani, California
Laura Koski, New York
Michael Madden, New York
Karen May, Kentucky
Carol Shanahan, Pennsylvania
Nathan Williams, Illinois
Natalie Clark, Arkansas
GC, California
Colleen McCarthy, Michigan
Amanda Rigby, Ohio
Chris Workman, California
Derek Benedict, Washington
Riley Canada, Georgia
Barry Goldfarb, North Carolina
Linda Luke, Michigan
Megeen Mulholland, New York
Keith Said, New York
Teresa Schonbachler, California
Joshua Seff, Kentucky
Rev. Dr. David Sickles, Ohio
Steven Solomon, California
Kevin Walsh, Connecticut
