- Who We Are
- Where We Stand
- Our Rights
- Our Benefits
- Our Chapters
- Guidance Counselors
- Hearing Education Services
- Lab Specialists
- Occupational / Physical Therapists
- Paraprofessionals
- Retired Teachers
- School Nurses
- School Secretaries
- Social Workers & Psychologists
- Speech Improvement
- Teachers Assigned
- Other DOE Chapters
- Charter School Chapters
- Non-DOE Education Chapters
- UFT Providers
- Federation of Nurses
- United Cerebral Palsy
- Get Involved
- Teaching
- News
VP for Elementary Schools
Karen Alford is vice president for elementary schools. She received her bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and her master’s from the New York Institute of Technology.
Karen comes from a union family. Her mother was a New York City public school teacher for 35½ years and her father was a New York City police officer. Committed to a life of service and educating children, Karen returned to her Brooklyn community and began her teaching career in 1992 at Oceanhill-Brownsville’s PS 156. She taught there for ten years.
Karen quickly became active in the union and was elected chapter leader before she was tenured. While teaching, she completed her master’s degree and 30 credits above through the UFT Teacher Center Course Program. Karen began working as a PM staffer in the Brooklyn UFT office before she went on to work full-time for the union in 2002 as an educational liaison focusing on issues of certification and licensure.
In 2005, Karen was selected as the UFT District 23 representative. As a district representative, she was a responsive advocate for the needs of her members in more than 20 schools. In the fall of 2008, she was elected to her current office. As vice president for elementary schools, Karen is committed to ensuring that all children have equal access to obtaining a quality education. She has fought against K-2 testing and been an advocate for wraparound (community) schools. Under Karen’s leadership, the elementary division has continued the Annual Early Childhood Conference and offers a host of professional development opportunities tailored for elementary school educators.
Karen believes strongly in professional development and in building capacity as a labor leader. She has attended the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute, the Education Policy Fellowship Program given by the Institute for Educational Leadership, the NYSUT Leadership Institute and the AFL-CIO Leadership Institute.
Karen is a respected union activist and has received the Albert Lee Smallheiser and Jules Kolodny Awards.
