AWARDS

Albert Shanker Award for Distinguished Service

Sandra Feldman

President Emeritus, American Federation of Teachers

Sandra Feldman served as president of the 1.3 million-member American Federation of Teachers from May 1997 to July 2004. She was the 15th president of the AFT and the union's first female president since 1930. She also was elected to the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO in May 1997.

From 1986 through 1997, Ms. Feldman was president of the 140,000-member United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City. During that time, she also served as a vice president of the AFT.

Feldman is widely recognized as an authority on urban education and an advocate for children. Her long-standing

commitment to social justice dates back to her involvement with the early civil rights movement, both locally and nationally, when she was arrested during the Freedom Rides and other protests in the 1960s. U.S. presidents, governors and mayors have appointed her to numerous commissions and task forces tackling educational, economic, child welfare, labor and other social issues.

An active participant in AFT's international work, Feldman is vice president of Education International, an organization of teacher unions in democratic countries, and has traveled extensively in Asia, Eastern Europe, South America and elsewhere to promote trade unionism and democratic principles.

Feldman was born in New York City and educated in its public schools, including James Madison High School and Brooklyn College. She holds a master's degree in English literature from New York University. A former teacher and UFT chapter leader at PS 34 in Manhattan, Feldman rose through the ranks of the union to executive director, a post in which she supervised all aspects of the union's work. In 1983, she was elected secretary of the UFT, the union's second highest office, and was elected president in 1986.

Today, she participates as a board member or activist in many organizations, including the Child Labor Coalition; National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; AFL-CIO Committee on Social Policy; NAACP Brown v. Board Equity Commission; A. Philip Randolph Institute; Jewish Labor Committee; Coalition of Labor Union Women; and the George Meany Center for Labor Studies. Feldman was selected as one of New York City's "75 Most Influential Women" by Crain's New York Business and as one of the "100 Most Influential Women in America" by Ladies Home Journal.