Delaware State Education Association members last week elected a new team to lead Delaware’s largest labor union through the next three years.
Union members elected Colonial School District paraprofessional Tameka Mays as their next president and Red Clay School District music teacher Steve Fackenthall as DSEA’s next vice president. Gloria Ho, a school social worker in the Cape Henlopen School District, was re-elected to a second term as NEA Director.
A paraprofessional at William Penn High School, Tameka is the first Education Support Professional ever elected president of DSEA. She has served as DSEA Vice President since 2023.
“Being chosen by my fellow educators to lead the greatest union in Delaware is an incredible honor,” Tameka said.
“Ever since I joined the union in 2004, my advocacy for our students, our educators, and our schools has grown stronger every year, and so has my faith in the collective power that we hold when we stand together,” she said “I am absolutely committed to this work, and I look forward to uniting our 14,000 union members to deliver the change our students need and our communities deserve.”
Tameka previously served as president of the Colonial Paraprofessional Association from 2016 to 2023. She also earned the DSEA Education Support Professional of the Year Award in 2017.
Tameka will succeed current DSEA President Stephanie Ingram, a fourth-grade teacher in the Colonial School District, who has led the union since 2017.
Tameka will be joined by new DSEA Vice President Steve Fackenthall, who has served as president of the Red Clay Education Association since 2022. Steven began his career at Richardson Park Elementary in 2008 and has taught at Donald J. Richey Elementary since 2017.
DSEA members last week also re-elected Gloria Ho, a 27-year veteran educator, to serve as the state union’s main liaison with the National Education Association. A school social worker at Milton Elementary School, Gloria was named the 2024 National School Social Worker of the Year by the School Social Work Association of America.
DSEA Treasurer Mary Pieri, a birth-to-3 special education coordinator in the Christina School District, will round out the four-member DSEA Leadership Team. Mary was elected to a three-year term in 2024.
Union members last week also selected 15 colleagues to serve two-year terms on the 36-member DSEA Executive Board. They include:
New Castle County
Mike Matthews – Red Clay EA
Katrina Cowan – Colonial EA
Alison Parey – Christina EA
Karen Gray – Christina EA
Jozette Hartsfield – Colonial Paras
Tika Hartsock – Red Clay EA
Belina Young-Payne – Christina EA
Lisa Torres – Red Clay EA
Kent County
Carol Asante – Capital EA
Trevor Mullane – Caesar Rodney EA
Allena Brown – Smyrna EA
Sussex County
Blair Catlin Brown – Indian River EA
Amy Johnson – Indian River EA
Gail Jones – Seaford EA
Jason Pilgram – Indian River EA
All results are preliminary until certified by the DSEA Executive Board on February 26. Terms of office begin on July 15.
