Donna M. Chiera

President, American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, 2011-Present

Donna M. Chiera is president of the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey (AFTNJ), leading the 30,000-member education union federation, and since September 2020 has also served as an AFT vice president.

A lifelong teacher, Chiera retired in 2011 after spending more than 30 years in Perth Amboy Public Schools, the town where she grew up and attended school. She was primarily a special education teacher, finishing her career as a resource room teacher. She holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Kean University in Union, N.J.

Chiera recently chaired the National Program and Policy Council of the American Federation of Teachers. She has represented New Jersey teachers serving on several national AFT subcommittees, including Professional Development, Literacy and Early Childhood. She has represented AFT in selecting the National Teacher of the Year and served on the New Jersey Teacher of the Year Selection Committee. At AFTNJ, she previously served as executive vice president for grades pre-K through 12.

From 1991 to 2013, Chiera was president of her local, the Perth Amboy Federation. She worked with the district on a code of conduct, professional development and other educational initiatives to improve student achievement. Chiera was part of a Perth Amboy team of educators invited to participate in Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Program on Public Sector Labor-Management.

Chiera served as vice president of the Middlesex/Somerset Central Labor Council and was named Middlesex-Somerset CLC Labor Person of the Year in 2015. In 2016, the NJ AFL-CIO named her NJ Labor Person of the Year.

Chiera serves as a vice president on the New Jersey State AFL-CIO executive board. She served as education chair for the City of Perth Amboy Strategic Planning Task Force and, after the 2017 election, she served as education co-chair on New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s transition committee.

She lives in Perth Amboy with her husband, Norm, a retired teacher and former district representative for AFT Local 857/Perth Amboy Federation.

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