Tess Van Schepen

The distance between the White House and any NEA member’s classroom may seem impossible to bridge. But Tess Van Schepen does—and she does it daily.

Her job as Senior Advocacy Specialist means Tess ensures NEA members are heard at the White House and in all federal agencies— Labor, Housing, Commerce and so on—when executive orders, budgets, and policies affecting educators are developed.

Take, for example, the new “overtime rules” that the Department of Labor recently released. (Do you think that sounds boring? You are wrong.)

Tess worked with federal policymakers for years to make sure they saw and heard from those who will benefit most from this new, expanded rule—like underpaid and overworked school custodians.

Or consider the White House’s new investment in teacher apprenticeship  programs. “When NEA members first started talking to the administration about these, there were two in the nation. Now there’s 35,” she says. That’s power!

Whenever a NEA member goes to the White House or meets with First Lady Jill Biden, look for Tess in the room where it happens. More than likely, she set up the meeting and prepared those members to effectively share their stories.

For her, the best part is about elevating educators’ voices—and seeing the results.

“Our members are seeing that having somebody in the White House like President Biden, or an ally in the Department of Education like Secretary Cardona is potentially life changing for them,” she says.