Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1360078
M A R G I E G R A N A D O , serving her second term on CTA's Board of Directors, is a strong and e™ective advocate for women and women's rights. She has been a leader in educa- tion and for educators for years, with CTA, her chapter and the NEA Board of Directors. It hasn't been an easy journey. "Over the years I've had to present myself in certain ways, I've been asked to smile, and I have been characterized in unflattering ways," she says. "All the time that these things happened had nothing to do with my leadership. "So now I use my voice and my position to call it out, so that future and current women leaders don't have to go through what I've gone through." At CTA, Granado listens, helps solve problems, and speaks up and out when needed. She advocates for women's voices in developing policy and in decision-making. She encourages and supports women of color and new mem- bers' participation in the union at all levels. She is the Board liaison to CTA's new Women's Rights Committee and chair of the CTA Board Committee on Training and Development. Margie Granado Montebello Teachers Association HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD FOR WOMEN'S ADVOCACY R O N A L D S M I T H ' S W O R K at his school site and UTLA, as well as his push for LGBTQ-positive policy at the state level, has made a big impact. As an openly queer and pansexual educator, Smith co-founded the Trans and Queer Racial Educational Justice Coalition, and has helped to unify students, teachers and advocates in the fight for intersectional educational justice. For the past three years, Smith has served as LGBTQIAP2S+ advocacy coordinator on UTLA's Equity Team. He created Equity Team presentations for members on facilitating brave spaces for conversations about racism, patriarchy, queer phobia and ableism in education; Black Lives Matter at School; and diverting funds from school police to more resources for counselors, social workers and community members on campus. An educator at Quincy Jones Elementary School, Smith was awarded a grant by CTA's LGBTQ+ Safety in Schools Program in Honor of Guy DeRosa to help create a trans- and queer-a™irming advocacy club called Students Advocate For Each Other (S.A.F.E.). Ronald Phillip Smith United Teachers Los Angeles HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD FOR LGBTQ+ ADVOCACY IN HONOR OF NANCY BAILE Y The Alhambra Teachers Association, under the leadership of President Tammy Scorcia, has been extraordinarily active in the community with various initiatives. In the past year, ATA has led the way in organizing and mobilizing the com- munity in a massive e™ort to feed over 300 families weekly who deal with food insecurity. ATA's e™orts included organizing, collecting, receiving, purchasing, sort- ing, packing, distributing and delivering food and supplies. This work has improved relations between ATA members and the community. Since school started in August, ATA has been distributing school supplies to families. In addition, for the past three years, ATA has held California Reads/Read Across America events, and ATA members have given thousands of books to socioeconomically disadvantaged families while building community partnerships with the Asian Youth Center, Foothills Counseling Services, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, Planned Parenthood, and many others. The chapter also creates projects to inform membership about the meaning of human and civil rights and how to protect them, and activity to identify and encourage the use of e™ective teaching materials that reflect the value of diversity. Alhambra Teachers Association CTA CHAPTER HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD 52 cta.org CTA & You