President: Tameka Mays
A paraprofessional in the Colonial School District for more than 20 years, Tameka Mays is the first Education Support Professional to be elected president of the Delaware State Education Association.
A graduate of Newark High School, Tameka has become one of Delaware’s leading advocates for students experiencing trauma and public educators fighting for better working conditions.
Her exceptional dedication and commitment to her students earned her DSEA’s 2017 Educational Support Professional of the Year Award.
A decade after first joining her local union, Tameka was elected president of the Colonial Paraprofessional Association in 2016 before winning statewide elections to become DSEA’s Vice President in 2023 and the union’s newest President in 2026.
Tameka has also completed the National Education Association’s Leaders for Tomorrow program, NEA’s National Organizing Fellowship and previously served as co-chair of the DSEA’s Members of Color and a member of the DSEA Year-Round Organizing Team.
Beyond her professional commitments, Tameka and her sister are also the co-founders of Twins Community Distribution, a nonprofit that helps provide food, clothing and household items to underserved Delawareans, particularly families impacted by the opioid crisis
Tameka and her husband Warren, an assistant principal at Lancashire Elementary School in the Brandywine School District, live in Christiana with their three school-age daughters.
Vice President: Steven Fackenthall
A dedicated music teacher in the Red Clay School District for nearly two decades, Steve Fackenthall became the newest member of DSEA’s leadership team when he was elected vice president in early 2026.
Steve is one of our union’s biggest champions of member advocacy and collective action. He previously led one of DSEA’s largest locals as the former president of the Red Clay Education Association, where he successfully increased both membership and participation in the northern New Castle County union.
As DSEA vice president, he is leading our union’s work to deliver the tools and resources union educators need to advocate for themselves and their students.
A Pennsylvania native who earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from West Chester University, Steve began his career in Delaware public education at Richardson Park Elementary in 2008 before transferring in 2017 to Donald J. Richey Elementary, where he continues to teach general music today.
An active union member throughout his career, Steve served as an association representative and chaired his local union’s Community Finance Review and Political Action committees, before his colleagues elected him as RCEA’s vice president in 2020 and president in 2022. He also represented RCEA on the DSEA Executive Board from 2021 to 2023.
Steve lives in the Claymont area with his cats Pepper and Potts. In his downtime, he enjoys keeping up with politics and outdoor activities, including ultimate Frisbee, golf, volleyball, and walking through Bellevue State Park.
Treasurer: Mary Pieri
Mary Pieri has proudly served as Treasurer of the Delaware State Education Association since 2023, working to ensure the Association remains financially strong, protected, and prepared to meet the needs of the future while honoring its rich history. A Birth to Three Transition Special Education Coordinator in the Christina School District, Mary is a dedicated advocate for labor rights, pro-public education, developmental appropriateness, and human civil rights. As the mother of three past and present public school students, she is deeply committed to the promise of public education and strives every day to be a good ancestor—showing her children that she worked to leave the world better than she found it.
NEA Director: Gloria Ho
Gloria Ho was appointed DSEA's NEA Director on October 24, 2022. She is a school social worker at Milton Elementary School in Cape Henlopen School District, DSEA Executive Board Member for Sussex County, and Chair of DSEA’s Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee. In this new role, she looks forward to addressing structural issues impacting student success and advocating for policy changes at the national level. She believes that if we truly want to advocate for our students and families, educators need to be in positions that affect change.
As a school social worker, she works to build strong school, home, and community collaborations to achieve student success. She believes it is important to understand how trauma, poverty, and mental health issues impact student learning. As a licensed clinical social worker, she provides support to students and families using a trauma-informed, equity-centered, and culturally responsive lens.
Gloria used her passion and ability to help organize the state’s first school social workers organization, the School Social Workers Association of Delaware (SSWADE) and served as past co-president. SSWADE was instrumental in advocating for mental health legislation such as HB100 and HB300. Gloria was also involved with the legislative workgroup which crafted and advocated for HCR 88 - encouraging the General Assembly to prioritize funding for social-emotional learning in schools.
