On April 20, 2022, Tracey-Ann Nelson became the Executive Director of the Oregon Education Association, the state's largest education union.
“The students and educators of Oregon are well served with Tracey-Ann leading the work of the OEA,” said Reed Scott-Schwalbach, president of the Oregon Education Association. “Tracey-Ann brings a depth of knowledge about education policy, union activism, and organization management that is unparalleled in our field. Her presence and leadership have immediately made an impact.”
Nelson has a long history of leadership with both unions and progressive issues. Before coming to OEA, she served as the Executive Director of the Arkansas Education Association (AEA) for seven years, where she steered AEA’s strategic direction and managed the union’s overall organization. Prior to her time at AEA she served as the Director of Government Relations and Communications at the Georgia Association of Educators where she provided oversight to the Association’s public relations, legislative, political action, and external communications programs. Under Nelson’s leadership, AEA defeated every attempt to undermine the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS), fought off legislation that would have expanded public school vouchers, won the highest investment in public school funding in 14 years and secured 2 teacher pay increases.
Tracey-Ann Nelson holds a Master’s of Public Administration in Management and Finance from Georgia State University ‘s Andrew Young School of Public Policy; a Certificate in Economic Development from the Sorbonne and is a 2015 Fellow of the Education Policy Fellowship Program.
