Our Leadership

NATIONAL PRESIDENT

Elected President in 2023, Evelyn DeJesus is the executive vice president of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, the first Latino/a officer in the union’s 105-year history. 

Elected as an AFT vice president in 2014, she chairs the AFT Latino Issues Task Force. In 2021, she joined the executive boards of the AFL-CIO and the Solidarity Center and became secretary-treasurer of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. 

As an early childhood teacher and reading specialist, she taught for two decades in New York’s Chinatown and has made literacy and support for multilingual learners her signature curricular issues. A skilled teacher and administrator, DeJesus is a forceful advocate for justice—undaunted and unafraid to speak truth to power.

Evelyn Dejesus

  • Xochitl Cobarruvias (USW)

    EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT

  • Sergio Rascon (LIUNA)

    SECRETARY-TREASURER

Vice Presidents

  • Dora Cervantes

    IAM

  • Gary Allen

    IAM

  • Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez

    UAW

  • Victor Bonilla

    AFT

  • Benjamín Borges

    AFSCME

  • Luciano Padilla

    IUBAC

Executive Board

Vanessa Caballero, AFSCME

Juan Fernandez, AFSCME

Cesar Moreno Perez, AFT

Kathy Chavez, AFT

Juan Ramirez, AFT

Gabriel Medina, APWU

Ismael Rivera, ATU

Geny Ulloa, IAM

John Vigueras, IAM

Sabrina Hernandez, ABEW

Angel Del Rivero, IUOE

Jose Lopez, IUPAT

Oscar De La Torre, LiUNA

Sonia Vasquez Luna, LiUNA

Esteban Vera, LiUNA

Rocio Inclan, NEA

Noel Candelaria, NEA

Laura Castillo, NEA

Lupe Valle, OPEIU

Gisela Alvarez, TWU

Jose Cruz Torres, TWU

Mark Gallego, UA

Desiree Lopez, UAW

Jose Melara, UAW

Valerie Soto, UAW

Martin Rosas, UFCW

Rosalba Perez, UFCW

Fernando Lemus, UFCW

Jessica Rios Viner, USW

Raymond Carlos Carillo, UMWA

Jose Luis Pavon, SEIU

Anthony Garcia, Eastern Reg.

Francisco Martinez, Central R.

Carlos Pelayo, Pacific Reg.

regional representatives

Anthony Garcia, Eastern

Francisco Martinez, Central

Carlos Pelayo, Pacific

Vacant, Mountain

Past Presidents

Yanira Merino, LiUNA

Milton Rosado, UAW, Emeritus

Henry C. Gonzalez, UAW

Ralph Jimenez, UAW

Jack Otero, TCU

Henry “Hank” L. Lacayo, UAW, Emeritus

Ray Mendoza, LiUNA

Maria Portalatin, AFT, Secretary Treasurer-Emeritus