VP of Elementary Schools

MICHELLE BODDEN is vice president of elementary schools. She began her career as an elementary school teacher in 1984, in Brooklyn. She quickly became active in the union at her school and was elected chapter leader 1988.

Michelle went to work for the union full time in 1991 as a liaison for educational issues focusing on school-based management and shared decision-making. In 1998, she was elected assistant treasurer and in 2001 was elected assistant secretary. In the fall of 2002, she was elected to her current office, becoming the first African-American to hold the position.

Her work extends over a variety of areas, including innovative educational programs, work and family issues, charter schools and a strong focus on early childhood education. Of her, many initiatives at the UFT one of her most exciting has been helping New York City’s Family Day Care Providers to win union representation. In 2006, Michelle was elected to serve as a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers.

She is a member of the AFT Human Rights and Community Relations Committee. Michelle also served on the New York State United Teachers’ Task Force on Minority Involvement and is the officer liaison to the UFT African Heritage Committee. She is a member of the NAACP, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Coalition of Labor Union Women and the National Black Child Development Institute.