NEW YORK, April 11, 2008 — Aminda Gentile, of Westchester, today was awarded New York State United Teachers' highest honor for leadership today at the union's 36 th Representative Assembly in New York City.
Gentile was presented with the 'Not for Ourselves Alone:" The Sandy Feldman Outstanding Leadership Award, which was named in honor of the former American Federation of Teachers and United Federation of Teachers President, who succumbed to breast cancer in 2005. The award recognizes the contributions of women to the education union movement.
Gentile is UFT vice president for education issues working on all major educational issues, including school leadership teams, lead teachers, mentoring and assessment. She leads the UFT's task force on high-stakes testing.
"Aminda has given three decades of dedicated service to the union — locally and at the state and national levels," said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. "This lifetime achievement award is presented in the spirit of Sandy Feldman for outstanding contributions to the union. Aminda joins a select group of women who hold this high honor."
"Aminda is known as a powerful coach and mentor who maintains the highest professional standards," said NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira. "She is a role model for present and future NYSUT leaders."
Gentile is a member of the NYSUT Board of Directors and of the AFT K-12 Program and Policy Council. She is also director of the UFT Teacher Center.
NYSUT represents more than 585,000 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.
-30-