‘Consummate professional’ remembered

Cara MetzTurning out for the ceremony are (from left) Deborah Davis, Gail Wesson Spivey, Almarie Walter and Maria Ramos, colleagues at PS 198 in District 22, where Doughty was the longtime chapter leader. Dozens crowded the union’s grievance department on Jan. 24 for the dedication of a conference room in memory of Helen Ann Doughty, a special representative whose passion was fighting for the rights and dignity of UFT members.

Gentle. Kind. A smile that could light up a room. Intelligent, calm, respected. A razor-sharp focus.

Those were some of the descriptions of Doughty, who taught and served as chapter leader at Brooklyn’s PS 198, became a part-time UFT staff person and ultimately a special representative in October 2001.

Doughty passed away on Oct. 4, 2010.

Helen Doughty “She was beautiful, delicate, but very very strong; you could call her a ‘Steel Magnolia,’” said Ellen Gallin Procida, the director of the UFT’s Grievance Department.

Procida said it was a tribute to Doughty that people from her school, the Department of Education and independent arbitrators showed up in force as well as her union colleagues.

Members of her family were also present to honor “a great sister,” said siblings Donna and Linwood Doughty.

“She was the strength of the family,” said Donna Doughty. “I’m trying to follow in her footsteps by going back to college.”

Linwood Doughty said that “Helen knew she wanted to be a teacher from the time she was a very little kid.”

School colleague Maria Ramos said that the chapter is still very active because of Doughty, and UFT Brooklyn District 19 Representative Alan Abrams stressed that the school voted unanimously for COPE because of Doughty’s groundwork.

“No matter their position, everyone is here today because they want to show their respect to Helen,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the New York Teacher. “You hear the same words about her from everyone: dignity, respect, class and grace.”

Arbitrator Scott Buchheit called Doughty “the consummate professional, who knew what was important in a case and how to present it.”

John Cullen, a former DOE representative in arbitrations and grievances, paraphrased Henry David Thoreau’s quote about people leading lives of quiet desperation and going to the grave with the song still in them.

“Helen was the opposite of that,” Cullen said. “She sang loudly and eloquently, and everyone was entranced by her words, her personality and her intelligence.”

Cara MetzFormer UFT Grievance Department Director Howard Bloch (right) fondly recalls Helen Doughty in front of the plaque and outside the conference room dedicated in her honor. Looking on are UFT President Michael Mulgrew (second from right) with current Grievance Department Director Ellen Gallin Procida and Doughty’s brother Linwood (second from left).