Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1500904
W H E N D A V I D G O L D B E R G becomes president of CTA on June 26, it will be a natural progression of what he has been doing since he was a kid: speaking up for the disenfran- chised, trying to right wrongs, being of service to others and acting and leading collectively to make change. It's in his blood — and his roots in Echo Park in Los Angeles, where he grew up and lives today. His mother and grandmother, both educators, were LA union strike captains. His father has been a community lawyer in Echo Park for 50 years. In elementary school, Goldberg organized other children and marched as "Kids Against Nukes." In high school he was arrested when he and fellow high school activists took over the South Afri- can consulate to protest apartheid. "I've been an activist my whole life," Goldberg says. "For my parents, that was their whole lives, that's why they moved to Echo Park, an area known for its history of activism back in the '40s and '50s." Lessons from his family 's advocacy work were deeply ingrained. From his mother 's participation in the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) strike in 1989, for example, "I learned what it means to be accountable to each other and what it means to lay it all on the line for your coworkers, your profession and your students — and what it means to be part of a broader struggle to create the world we deserve." He became a teacher through an LA Unified School Dis- trict intern program when the district was seeking bilingual educators. This was during the mid- and late 1990s, when immigrant students and bilingual education in California were under attack. Goldberg's activism, of course, kicked in, first at UTLA and then at CTA, as he worked on myriad education and social issues and rose steadily through the lead- ership ranks. Leading CTA offers a bigger stage and — especially during these times — a bigger challenge than Goldberg has experienced before, but he's ready for it. "Leadership is service, it's not a position. So, while it is my life's professional honor to be your president, it's really about service," he says. "I am honored to be a part of an organization that has such capac- ity and potential to impact the lives of our members in a way that we deserve — and to be part of a struggle for what our students deserve." In a short interview in May, Goldberg spoke about CTA and his vision for the union going forward: David Goldberg, CTA's new president, is both dedicated educator and fierce advocate for equity and social justice Ready to Lead — and Serve "Our most basic needs are not being met. Funding for schools impacts our members' ability to have the middle -class lives that they, and all workers, deserve." 12 cta.org Spotlight