AFT New Jersey on April 18 held its 2026 Convention and Legislative Conference, which featured the election of AFTNJ officers for 2026-28 along with appearances by congressional candidates running in Districts 2, 7 and 12.
The current executive slate will remain intact for the term beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2028: Jennifer S. Higgins (president), Sue Tardi (executive vice president, higher education), Silvia Pereira (executive vice president, PreK-12), Patricia Paradiso (treasurer) and Josephine Nagle (secretary).
The higher education vice presidents for 2026-28 will be Susan Baglieri, James Castiglione, Lynne Cummins, Emari DiGiorgio, Laurie LeFever, Nancy Merrill, Christine O’Connell, Robert Russo, Darlene Smith, Todd Vachon and Leonard Winogora.
The PreK-12 vice presidents will be Michelle Alves Araujo, Michael Backo, Nelson Baiza, Jeffrey Cabrera, John Cuhna, Teri Hammond, Michael Iovino, Josiah Santamaria, Zachary Spencer, Janae Taylor-Loyas, Laurie Troiano and Edgardo Vazquez.
The morning featured separate presentations from AFT President Randi Weingarten and New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charlie Wowkanech, as well as Higgins recapping recent challenges and accomplishments in her state of the union address.
A motion was passed in the afternoon for AFTNJ to endorse “A Blueprint for Strengthening and Transforming Higher Education,” an AFT-AAUP joint national policy platform that was unveiled April 13.
“As New Jersey’s largest higher education union, we understand the value that the workers we represent bring to the state,” Higgins said after the convention. “We are endorsing the AFT-AAUP higher education platform because it advocates for sustainable funding for higher ed to ensure college degrees are affordable and accessible to all. Students shouldn’t have to mortgage their future to have a chance at a better life.”
ABOVE: AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT New Jersey President Jennifer S. Higgins on April 18 in the lobby of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Monroe Township.
BELOW: AFT President Randi Weingarten, New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charlie Wowkanech and AFT New Jersey President Jennifer S. Higgins. (Photos by Chris M. Junior)
