Andrea Figueroa

Sandy Feldman Leadership Grant

Andrea Figueroa
Jamestown Teachers Association

BUFFALO, N.Y. April 2, 2009 - Andrea Figueroa, a member of the Jamestown Teachers Association, will be honored with an award recognizing emerging women leaders during the New York State United Teachers' 37th Representative Assembly in Buffalo.

Figueroa, a third-grade teacher at the Carlyle C. Ring Elementary School, will receive the Sandy Feldman Leadership Grant, which commemorates the life of union pioneer Sandy Feldman. Already in her young career, Figueroa has served as a building rep, a political action chair, a Local Action Project committee member and, most recently, vice president of her local. Figueroa is also regional coordinator for the union's political action campaign and is a graduate of the NYSUT Leadership Institute and attended the National Education Association's Northeast Regional Minority Leadership Training.

Figueroa will use the $2,000 grant award to further her union training and activities, including the NEA's "Tellin' Stories Project," a parent involvement initiative in which she has been a participant and which she hopes to implement across the Southwestern New York region.

"Andrea has demonstrated an impressive commitment to her local and a passion for the labor movement as a whole," said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. "She is a great example of what NYSUT's new generation is capable of achieving, and serves as a reminder that the union's future is in good hands."

The RA - NYSUT's policy-making convention - begins today and runs through Saturday at the Buffalo-Niagara Convention Center. More than 2,500 delegates, guest and staff are expected to attend.

NYSUT represents more than 600,000 teachers, school-related professionals, academic and professional faculty in higher education professionals in education and health care and retirees. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.