Elissa McBride is Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. She was re-elected by delegates to AFSCME International’s Biennial Convention in 2024.

McBride joined the labor movement as a member of the United Auto Workers District 65 in 1989. In 1991, she was recruited to the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute, a new initiative to expand the ranks of union organizers and grow the labor movement. During her years as an organizer, she worked with factory workers to form unions and win first contracts in North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island. One-on-one communication, workplace power and direct action were critical to those victories and remain central to her philosophy of trade unionism.

Sylvia started her career with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1981 in San Antonio, Texas as a Directory Assistance Operator. In 1984 she worked as a Service Order Writer and in 1997 accepted a transfer to SBC Business Billing as a bilingual Service Representative handling business accounts. She became a Job Steward for CWA Local 6143 in 1982 and was elected to various positions: Chief Steward, Vice-President, and Executive Vice-President. Sylvia chaired the Organizing and Mobilizing Committees for her Local and was responsible for the Advanced Union Education Program of the membership. She led the first Southwestern Bell Mobile Telephone Company organizing campaign to a successful victory.  Based on that success she was asked to lead the entire West Texas campaign which under her leadership was a huge success.  

Sigute Meilus, she/her (Sig/Siggy) has been a community and labor organizer for over 15 years. As a bus rider and restaurant worker, she began organizing bus riders and bus drivers alongside the Amalgamated Transit Union locals in her home state of Massachusetts to improve affordability, accessibility, and to expand bus service. This led to work on the local & national level in Washington, DC to train and support a network of public transit rider-led organizations. In DC, she worked in coalition to increase bus and train services, lower fares, and successfully decriminalize fare evasion. Later she began working to organize restaurant workers in DC, PA, and nationally to further campaigns to raise the minimum wage, eliminate the tipped-minimum wage, and to end sexual harassment & gender-based discrimination in the workplace. 

Julie Méndez-de Leon is a longtime labor educator and wellness advocate with more than a decade of experience training and developing union leaders, members, and staff. Until recently, she served as Education Director at AFGE, where she led and co-created transformative learning experiences in online, blended, and in-person settings. Julie believes that well-being is foundational to building and sustaining thriving organizations, and she is excited to merge her longstanding commitment to social justice with her union experience to advance equity, access, and worker well-being through education, advocacy, and leadership initiatives. 

Ottis Johnson, Jr. is the National Vice President of the 14th District of the American Federation of Government Employees. AFGE District 14 represents DC and federal government employees in the D.C. Metropolitan area and Europe. He was elected to his position in September 2020.

NVP Johnson has been a union activist for more than 30 years. He began his activism in 1994 as a steward for the United Food and Commercial Workers. In 2011, he began his federal career with the National Gallery of Art and immediately joined AFGE. NVP Johnson held several positions in his local, AFGE Local 1831, to include steward, local treasurer (current), and local president.

Samuel Epps IV has three decades of experience in labor, government, advocacy, and electoral politics. Sam is in his 20th year in the labor movement. 

Sam is currently the President of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO which is made up of 150 local affiliated unions representing more than 150,000 members in Washington, D.C., and Maryland’s Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties. 

In December, he was elected to serve as the Secretary Treasurer of the Maryland State and DC State Federation, AFL-CIO. Sam served as political director for UNITE HERE Local 25 from 2013 to 2025. Under his leadership, Local 25’s political operation has become one of the most impactful in the region. Sam has played a critical role in some of our local labor movement’s most significant legislative victories, including the passage of short-term rental regulations, D.C. and Virginia’s $15 minimum wages, right to return to work legislation, and the District’s automatic-daily room cleaning ordinance. In addition, Sam has overseen Local 25’s expansion into Virginia politics, where he has helped secure incredible victories for pro-worker candidates across the Commonwealth. He started as a political organizer with 1199 SEIU United Healthcare East MD/DC. 

Carol has a long history as a labor and social justice advocate.  She served early in her career as a social worker in the City of Philadelphia providing service to neglected and abused children at the same time as she represented, through her union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Local 2187, DC 47), social workers in Philadelphia government; later becoming union president for Philadelphia professional, technical and administrative employees, a full time position for thirteen years.  During that time in addition to working on collective bargaining, grievance handling and job actions she served as a trustee to multi-million dollar Health and Welfare and Legal Services Trust Funds and oversaw a twelve member executive board. She was appointed as a co-chair to the first Women’s Committee of the international union. She went on to serve as the Administrative Officer (Executive Director) of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild for four years where she directed the negotiation and organization program of a labor union and was a trustee for the Sunpapers-Guild Joint Pension Plan and supervised six employees and a $1,200,000 budget.

Rev. Patricia Hailes Fears is a daughter of Fellowship Baptist Church.  She was called to be the second pastor of Fellowship in October of 2016.  She is a native of New Bedford, Mass but has called Washington, DC home for a number of years.  Reverend Fears served enthusiastically, and creatively, prior to becoming Pastor, at the Westover Baptist Church in Arlington, Virginia. 

Reverend Fears has a passion to serve the Lord and a creative spirit.  Her ministerial resume includes youth, health, and educational leadership.  Humbly submitting to the irresistible call, Reverend Fears was ordained, she believes, to preach the simple message of God’s love, compassion and requirements to a world constricted by complexity.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Here at Value Your Legacy Financial, our expertise lies in devising economical, downturn-resistant strategies that fortify and safeguard your family's financial future. Under our stewardship, you'll find solace in the assurance that, regardless of the twists and turns ahead, the financial stability of your family—covering income, housing, and overall fiscal health—remains intact. 

Shanna Marie Peeks was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and is the proud mother of two children, Madison and Mason. After attending Salisbury University, she began her career with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), where she now serves as the union’s first Civil and Human Rights Director.

Through her work, Shanna has developed a deep appreciation for unions and the fight for civil and human rights, and the values they uphold. She also serves as an Executive Board Member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and is an active member of their Washington, D.C. Chapter, sits on the Executive Board of the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), and is a proud Lifetime Member of the NAACP.

Dedicated to advancing her knowledge and skills to better serve the members she represents, Shanna is known for her enthusiasm, positive spirit, and unwavering commitment to justice. She believes true leadership is not only about guiding others, but also about serving and empowering them to lead for themselves. Guided by the words of Mother Jones— “a wrong against one is a wrong against all”—Shanna devotes her time and energy to ensuring that wrongs are made right.

Alissa Tafti is Co-Executive Director for Policy and Government Transformation at Branch4, an organization working with civil servants, grassroots movements, community organizations, and advocates towards a democratic and equitable administrative branch of government that delivers just results for all. She is an economist and federal union leader, previously serving as President of AFGE Local 2211 and current Chair of the Federal Labor Caucus for the Northern Virginia Labor Federation. In these roles, Alissa has become a leading voice in defending the rights of federal workers, mobilizing against authoritarian threats to the civil service, and ensuring the  participation and leadership of federal workers in the future reconstruction of the administrative branch. She also served as a Senior International Economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, with expertise in global agricultural production and international trade. She holds an MA in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS and a BA in Comparative Literature and Philosophy from New York University. 

Di Carey (they/them) is a worker-organizer from IATSE Local 22. They recently worked on the successful campaign to organize Arena Stage in Washington, DC. The work of Jane McAlevey and Organizing For Power have been particularly impactful for Di. They are a proud graduate of Saint Mary’s College of California, Go Gaels!  

MacGyver is a senior communications professional with over 15 years of experience working with and for non-profits, government, corporations, and associations. MacGyver is skilled at translating complex technical information into clear messages and stories for written, verbal, and graphic media. Committed to building and fostering professional relationships that amplify messages, build solidarity, and bring a variety of identities to the table. I am a thoughtful and personable strategist driven to craft the best messages for each audience - and I recognize sometimes a bold approach is required. 

In 1973 I was an Activist in the Retail Clerks Union right out of High School, on the strike line for 6 weeks in Simi Valley, CA.  

In 1976 I was fired for handing out union authorization cards on the job at a School for physically and mentally challenged Children in Arizona.  

Postal Career started in 1977, Arizona State President at 24 years old, a Steward, Arbitration Advocate and inspired by Moe Biller. 1989 the First Woman Local President of Phoenix Metro 2600 members, Western Regional Coordinator for APWU/POWER, 2008 I was the Mid-Hudson Area Local, First Woman President representing a plant under consolidation with an additional 124 Associate Offices, in New York, and Vice President of the NY Hudson Valley Area Federation, AFL-CIO.    

✨CHILHOOD✨

I grew up in New York City, with parents active in the labor movement. My Mom worked in the shipyard in Brooklyn during WW2, one of the first 12 women among 12,000 men. Women were not allowed to join the union, but my mother negotiated with the male union members, and helped win women’s right to be active shipyard union members. She also attended meetings with Francis Perkins, the 1st female secretary of labor who was a key architect of the New Deal with FDR. 

✨CLUW INVOLVEMENT as a young woman✨

I was in school in Pittsburg earning a public health degree when CLUW was founded March 23, 1974 in Chicago. I moved to Washington DC in 1979, and in the 1980’s, was hired by National CLUW to implement a grant with CLUW chapters  on occupational safety and health rights under OSHA—traveling to Detroit and other cities. I worked closely with CLUW President Joyce Miller (1st woman elected to the AFL-CIO executive committee) and Gloria Johnson. 

Marilyn J. Wiley serves as the Digital Communications Specialist at the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO. A budding labor activist for over 10 years, she is a proud member of TNG-CWA Local 32035 and works to visually advance the mission of labor as a graphic design and communications expert.

After graduating Stevenson University with a BS in Visual Communication Design, Marilyn built her career from the ground up, starting as a Women’s Rights/Advocacy intern at the National Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). Since 2015, Marilyn has held various leadership roles within the organization and developed the branding/identity for four CLUW National Biennial Conventions.

Shara Smith is an labor educator, Organizational Development Strategist and Training & Development Consultant with over 15 years of experience advancing leadership, equity, and worker power. She began her career in the labor movement shortly after graduating college as an intern and worked her way up as an organizer, gaining firsthand experience building campaigns and supporting workers on the ground. It was through this work that she discovered her passion for labor education—helping people connect strategy, leadership, and collective action.

Today, Shara partners with unions and organizations to design and facilitate equity-centered training, strengthen leadership pipelines, and support organizational transformation. Her work bridges strategy and practice, grounded in a deep commitment to racial and economic justice and the advancement of working women. She is especially passionate about creating spaces where women can lead, grow, and build collective power within the labor movement.