OFFICERS
President Mikaila Arthur
I write today to ask for your vote to remain your RIC/AFT 1819 President. Over the past two years, I have worked alongside the dedicate members of the Executive Committee, Grievance Committee, and Negotiating Committee to protect our working conditions and represent our interests, and over the next two years, I will continue to do the same. We will be negotiating another contract next year, nearly a decade after we won the contract that gave us the salary step system that ensures our salaries do not stagnate. It’s hard to comprehend the many kinds of unprecedented times that we have faced in the course of that decade, but we’ve faced them together.
As some of you know, when I first visited RIC, I did so as a member of GSOC/UAW 2110, the graduate student union at New York University. My union was on strike, and I wore my union button on my bag. As the grandchild of a union glazier, I did not want to work in a place where my active union membership would be seen as a problem. What I didn’t know then was that my time on the picket line would be important preparation for the work I would do here at RIC.
RIC is a place where active union membership has been a strength. It is our union—our collective power—that keeps it possible to dream a future for ourselves and our students in which our labor is valued and valuable even as we face a context that may make us doubt the value of the work that we do. As your president, I am committed to continuing to build that collective power. To make that dreamed future a reality, it will take all of us—supporting each other, contributing our unique strengths, and believing in possibilities not yet realized. So, while I thank you today for your vote, I thank you even more for what you have done and have yet to do for this amazing community of incredible people. It’s hard in these dark times to dream of better tomorrows, but we cannot build what we do not dream. So, let’s dream, and build, together.
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Vice President Vince Bohlinger
Statement TBA
Secretary Jessica Pearson
Serving as RIC/AFT Secretary for four consecutive terms has been an honor and a responsibility I hold with pride. During my most recent term, I served on the 2025 contract negotiation team and represented our union at the 2024 national convention in Houston, Texas. In earlier terms, I attended the 2019 AFT National Higher Education Leadership Conference, where I learned how peer institutions mobilize members and build community around critical issues such as climate change and student loan debt. I have also served on various committees when union representation was needed or as the union president’s designee.
Beyond my role as an officer, I supported faculty as Grievance Chair from 2019–2021, advocating for colleagues and helping address workplace concerns. I am eager to serve another term as Secretary and to continue working with a strong executive team dedicated to supporting the needs and concerns of faculty across campus.
Treasurer Sean Cote
I am running for a position of Treasurer of the AFT. I have been at RIC as a faculty member in the School of Business for nine years. With my strong background in public and private accounting this experience will help me serve the Local 1819. I believe the Union at RIC has a valued opportunity to continue to help shape future leaders from our student body. As Treasurer, I believe we can work together with the State of Rhode Island to make our faculty, our graduates, and our community stronger.
Thank you for your time.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
(in alphabetical order)
Veronica Dennison
I am an Assistant Professor and have been at RIC for three years, with experience collaborating with faculty and staff across the college. I am running for a position on the AFT Executive Committee because I believe in defending faculty interests during a time of increasing austerity measures at Rhode Island College and across the country. These policies are harmful to our faculty and students. I am particularly concerned about threats to our academic freedom, faculty working conditions and compensation, and the growing dependence on precarious and contingent labor. If elected, I will advocate for these issues to help build the future our students deserve.
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Josh Diem
TBA
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Tommy Ender
TBA
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Lindsay Houck
Lindsay Houck is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and director of the Behavioral Neuroscience minor. She served as a sabbatical replacement member of the AFT Executive Committee for the Spring 2026 semester and has enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to the RIC AFT. In her short time on the Executive Committee, Lindsay has helped read and interpret policy documents, contributed meaningfully to discussions on AFT business, and offered insights to procedures impacting faculty research and teaching. If elected, she is excited to continue serving on the AFT Executive Committee to be a voice for RIC faculty.
Carse Ramos
My name is Carse Ramos, and I'm an Associate Professor of Sociology, where I am also currently department chair. I've been involved in our union since I started at RIC in 2016, first as a member of the Human Rights Committee, then as COPE Treasurer (a capacity in which I still currently serve) and then as Grievance Chair for three years. I am currently on the RIC/AFT executive committee and grievance committee. This past year, I also had the pleasure of working with two of our wonderful colleagues to draft an outline for developing and updating departmental bylaws. Throughout my time at RIC, I have learned that, as a faculty, we are only as strong as our union—and as a union, we are only as strong as our faculty. It has been a privilege to serve on our executive committee, and with your support, I would like to continue for another year.
Rebecca Sparks
I have proudly served on the Executive Committee since the ratification of the contract with the new salary structure. During that time, I have been responsible for updating and maintaining salary information for all faculty. In particular, I have worked with the union president and Human Resources, as well as Administration and Finance to insure adjustments and corrections were made consistent with our multi-tier salary structure. If elected, I look forward to continuing to insure promotions and step increases are correctly implemented. In addition to this responsibility, I will serve to support union needs and consistent adherence to the contract.
AFT CONVENTION DELEGATES
(in alphabetical order)
Mikaila Arthur
See statement above
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Vince Bohlinger
See statement above
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Elijah Edelman
I write this statement to provide insight into my goals in representing Rhode Island College as a delegate at the 2026 AFT convention being held in Washington, D.C. July 16th to July 19th. As brief background, I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and, as it relates to AFT, have served twice as our department representative and am now co-chair of the Human Rights Committee. My candidate statement is likely a strange one as I don’t see myself as any more deserving of serving in this role over any of our wonderful colleagues. I am genuinely excited that RIC will be represented, regardless of who represents us. As such, this statement is less about ‘why me’ and more about what issues I long to see discussed. Some of these are issues that impact me personally as a disabled queer and trans person who also happens to research trans activism. This conference does pose an incredibly and increasingly rare opportunity for me: as a trans person I have lost the right to legal documentation that reflects my gender. As a result, I am unable to engage in any form of travel that requires personal identification. This would be the first academic or social justice event I would be able to attend in a number of years as it is easily drivable. However, I don’t believe this should serve as a deciding factor in what my role could or should be: most of the most pressing issues don’t directly impact me and are those that I believe we should be the most committed to as forms of injustice.
Each day I am confronted by the same fears, anxieties, and concerns that I know impact so many of us as both faculty and as people: the precarity experienced by folks with immigrant backgrounds, the targeting of Black and Brown bodies inside and outside of the classroom, the denial of existence, erasure, and pathologization of trans people, the erosion of disability rights, the collapsing of programs and departments that focus on BIPOC communities, women, queer and trans folks, the dismantling of public health, and how that all articulates with structures in higher education. I am eager to learn from and share with our AFT comrades across the country on how we, as faculty and our employers, embedded in structures of higher education, are managing this crisis. Collective action is what has always brought my life meaning; whether I engage in that from southern New England or in the Mid-Atlantic, it will always be meaningful to me. Thank you taking the time to read this.
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Daniel Hewins
I am seeking election as a RIC Delegate to the AFT Convention in Washington, D.C. As an interdisciplinary faculty member in the Biology and Environmental Studies, I am deeply committed to academic freedom, evidence-based teaching and research, and the free exchange of ideas essential to our mission.
In my Environmental Studies courses, I take an integrative approach that frames content through a lens of social-justice, emphasizing how environmental challenges impact vulnerable communities and ecosystems. I also teach foundational scientific concepts such as climate change and evolutionary biology, two subjects increasingly targeted by misinformation. Evolution, for example, requires evidence-based instruction grounded in scientific facts, yet it is often misrepresented or challenged in public discourse. Similarly, climate change has been mischaracterized as a hoax and used as a divisive political tool, despite overwhelming scientific consensus on its causes and consequences. Navigating these challenges has strengthened my commitment to protecting academic integrity and defending the autonomy of educators to teach rigorous, evidence-based curricula.
I also serve as a faculty advisor to the RIC Environmental Club and co-lead on the NSF EPSCoR-funded SIMCoast project (Socio-ecological Impacts of Microplastics in Coastal Ecosystems). Together we’re partnering with the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council in Olneyville to develop student-centered internships that support community-led environmental justice initiatives. This work connects research, education, and public impact while advancing equitable, science-informed policy solutions around plastic pollution in our waterways.
At a time when truth and scientific expertise are under increasing pressure, I feel an obligation to remain informed and engaged. Attending the AFT Convention will allow me to collaborate with colleagues nationwide to advance strategies that safeguard academic freedom and research capacity. I will bring back practical tools to support our faculty, strengthen academic integrity, and ensure our students receive a rigorous, experiential education.
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Chris Kunkel
TBA
Estrelita Moronta
Thank you for the nomination and the opportunity to be considered for a leadership role within RIC AFT. I am honored to be recognized by my colleagues and to have the chance to contribute more actively to our union’s mission.
As an educator and social worker, my professional values are rooted in advocacy, equity, and collective empowerment. I am deeply committed to supporting faculty, advancing fair and inclusive policies, and ensuring that all voices, especially those historically underrepresented, are heard and valued in our union spaces. My experience working across diverse communities has strengthened my ability to engage in thoughtful dialogue, navigate complex systems, and advocate effectively for meaningful change.
If selected to represent RIC at the Annual AFT meeting, I would approach this role with integrity, collaboration, and a strong commitment to bringing back insights that will benefit our membership. I am eager to learn, contribute, and represent our institution with professionalism and purpose.
Thank you for your consideration.