Tag Archives: Teacher Politicians

New Mexico teacher and politician Stephanie Garcia Richard

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Former elementary school teacher Stephanie Garcia Richard served three terms in the New Mexico State House of Representatives. Photo credit: Stephanie Garcia Richard.

Many fine educators also make excellent politicians. One example of this is Stephanie Garcia Richard, a former elementary school teacher from New Mexico who served three terms in her state’s House of Representatives.

Stephanie was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and raised in Silver City, where she graduated from Silver High School. At a very young age, she learned the importance of serving others. Her father, a WWII veteran, was a teacher; her mother was active in their community.

After her high school graduation, Stephanie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Bernard College at Columbia University in New York in 1996. She completed the requirements for her teaching credential from California State University of Los Angeles 2006.

Once she earned her degrees, Stephanie worked as a teacher at a number of charter schools in New Mexico. From 2009 to 2012, she was employed as a third grade teacher at Pablo Royal Elementary School in Pojoaque. She’s also taught in Ohkay Owingeh, Española, California, and from 2000 to 2004, she was a teacher in Korea.

In 2012, Stephanie was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent District 43 in the New Mexico House of Representatives. The District includes parts of Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Sandoval counties. She served three terms in the House, from 2013 to 2017. While there, she championed laws to increase access to a quality education, transparency, and investments in renewable energy, job training, and economic development. She served was the Chair of the Education Committee and the Committee for Appropriations and Finance. Currently, Stephanie is the Commissioner of Public Lands for her home state. She assumed office on January 1, 2019, and her term will end on January 1, 2023. Stephanie is the first woman, the first Latina, and the first educator to serve in the position as New Mexico’s Commissioner of Public Lands.

Teacher Lorna Herseth served as SD First Lady, Secretary of State

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South Dakota teacher Lorna Herseth served as her state’s First Lady, and later as the South Dakota Secretary of State. Photo credit: G.A. Miller.

Many fine classroom teachers have also served as excellent politicians. This is certainly true of Lorna Buntrock Herseth, a teacher and politician from South Dakota.

Lorna Buntrock was born in Columbia, South Dakota, on April 5, 1909, the youngest of 11 children born to immigrants from Germany. As a young woman, she attended Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where she earned both her Bachelor’s degree and her teaching credential.

Once she completed her education, Lorna taught in public schools in Brown County. In 1936. she was elected to the position of Brown County Superintendent of Schools. She later served on the Selby School Board. She taught in both rural and urban schools around the state.

In 1937, Lorna married her college sweetheart, Ralph Herseth, after having dated for many years. The couple farmed a ranch on the east side of Sand Lake near the town of Houghton for nearly 30 years. On this farm they raised wheat, corn, and Aberdeen Angus cattle. During these years, Ralph served as a South Dakota State Senator and in 1958-1960, was South Dakota’s 21st Governor and Lorna served as the state’s First Lady from 1959 to 1961. While Ralph was Governor, the first state-wide teachers’ retirement benefit program was established.

After Ralph’s death in 1969, Lorna continued her career in politics when she was elected on the Democratic ticket to serve as the South Dakota Secretary of State. She served two terms in this position, from 1973 to 1979. As if all this were not enough, Lorna also served on the Board of Directors for the Brown County Red Cross. She also served as the State Director of the Easter Seal Society.

Lorna passed away on September 8, 1994, at the age of 85. She is interred in Houghton Cemetery in Brown County, South Dakota.

 

NJ’s Carole Graves: Teacher, labor leader, and politician

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Retired Special Education teacher, labor leader, and politician Carole Graves of New Jersey labored during the Civil Rights Movement to improve working conditions for her fellow teachers. Photo credit: Ballotpedia.

There are many fine educators in our country who have labored diligently to improve the lives of others, not only the lives of their students, but also the working conditions of their colleagues. One of these is Carole Graves, a New Jersey teacher who also made great improvements for Newark public school teachers.

Carole was born on April 15, 1938, in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. After her graduation from Arts High School in her home town, she enrolled at Newark State Teachers College, where she earned her degree in 1960. After college, Carole, accepted a position as a special education teacher at the Dayton Street School in Newark.  Later she earned a certificate in Labor and Management Relations from New Brunswick.

In 1971, Carole gained national recognition when she led the Newark teachers in a highly controversial strike that lasted 13 weeks. During the job action, over 200 teachers were jailed, and Carole herself served six months in the Essex County Jail. Her sacrifice was not in vain. The contract settlement that resulted in her efforts contained unprecedented contract gains, recognition of teachers’ rights, and improved working conditions for teachers, aides, and clerks in the Newark Public Schools. Carole went on to serve as the full-time President of the Newark Teachers Union, a position she held for 27 years.

Once she completed her work for the teachers’ union, Carole was elected on the Democratic ticket to serve as the Essex County Registrar of Deeds and Mortgages. She held this position for three terms, from 1995 to 2010. For a time she also served as a commissioner on the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) and an adjunct professor of Labor Relations at Essex County College and Rutgers Institute of Labor and Management Relations.

Now 83 years old, this Chalkboard Champion currently lives in Newark.

Wyoming teacher and politician Matilda Hansen

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High school teacher Matilda Hansen also served her community in the Wyoming House of Representatives. Photo credit: Wyomingnews.com

Many fine educators have also served their community as capable politicians. One of these is Matilda Hansen, a high school teacher who also served in the Wyoming House of Representatives.

Matilda was born on September 4, 1929, near Paullina, Iowa. As a young girl, she attended one-room schools in northwest Iowa. As a teenager, she graduated from Scattergood Friends High School in 1948.

After her high school graduation, Matilda earned her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1963. She earned her Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Wyoming in 1970. She then taught high school at Englewood High School in Colorado from 1963 to 1965, and served as the Director of the Albany County Adult Learning Center in Laramie, Wyoming, from 1966 to 1978.

Later, Matilda was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent District 13, Albany County, in the Wyoming House of Representatives. She served there from 1975 to 1995. While there, she served on various committees, including Juvenile Affairs; Children, Families, and Social Services; Health and Human Resources; Rules; Judiciary; Administrative Rules; Lien Laws; and Appropriations. Matilda’s most notable legislative work addressed education and women’s issues. In addition, she was the driving force for the creation of the Wyoming Territorial Park in Laramie, Wyoming. She was the first woman to serve 20 consecutive years in the House, completing her term as Assistant Minority Floor Leader in 1994.

For her work in the classroom and in the community, Matilda earned several accolades. In 1963, she was named a General Electric Fellow in Economics for High School Teachers. She also garnered the award for Public Citizen of Year by the Wyoming Association Social Workers for 1980-1981.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away on August 19, 2019, in Laramie, Wyoming, at the age of 89.

California’s Carol Liu: Former educator and politician

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California’s Carol Liu, a former middle school and high school history teacher, also earned success in the political arena. Photo credit: California Competes.

Many times professional educators who have left the classroom go on to earn success in the political arena. One of these is California’s Carol Liu, a former teacher who has also served as a lawmaker.

Carol was born on Sept. 12, 1941, in Berkeley, California. Her father was an immigrant from China, and her mother was a fourth generation Californian. As a young woman, Carol attended San Jose State College, where she earned her Bachelors’ degree in 1963. She earned an Administrative Credential from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982.

After she earned her teaching degree, Carol taught history at the junior high and senior high school level in the Richmond Unified School District. Her career as an educator spanned from 1964 to 1978. From 1975 to 19778, she also served as the Executor Director of the Richmond Federation of Teachers.

Once she left the teaching profession, Carol earned success in the political arena. First, she was elected to the City Council of La Canada Flintridge, a small city near Pasadena. She served there from 1992 to 2000. During these years, she served two terms as the city’s mayor. Next, she was elected on the Democratic ticket to the California Sate Assembly, where she represented the 44th District from 2000 to 2006. In the Assembly, Carol served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education and on the National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education.

Last, Carol was elected to the California State Senate, where she represented the 25th District from 2008 to 2016. As a Senator, Carol served on the Legislative Advisory Committee of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. She chaired several committees and caucuses during her tenure, including the Assembly Higher Education Committee, the Assembly Select Committee on Adult Education, and the Senate Education Committee.

All her life, Carol has been a strong proponent of increasing access to higher education, as well as to career and technical education. Among her most important legislative work was SB 1143, which created the task force that led to the California Community College Student Success Act. Win addition, she was responsible for the enactment of SB 110, the Crime Victims with Disabilities Act of 2010. The bill, which assures that abuse and neglect of the elderly and people with disabilities are prosecuted as crimes, was passed unanimously by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Kudos to Carol Liu: a true Chalkboard Champion.