Candidates for Councilor-at-large
(Listed in alphabetical order by last name)
Michael Barrett
Assistant Professor, Composition
I've been a part-time employee at Berklee for the last six years, and when people ask me what it's like to work here, I'm usually inclined to express how supported I've felt from day one. It could easily be otherwise, working for such a many-armed academic behemoth, but decades of collective action by my predecessors and contemporaries have created an environment where I feel that my voice can be heard.
If I have the good fortune to serve as a Councilor, I would, above all, listen, in the hope of better understanding the complex set of needs and interests, and therefore building the necessary relationships, that allow the union to serve its members. Two areas in which I have particular (and personal) interest are finding healthy balances between work and the rest of life, and continuing to address the vexing question of getting to and from work, especially for longer-distance commuters.
Nomi Epstein
Associate Professor, Composition
When I first started at Berklee I was so excited to find out there was a thriving faculty union which included both full-time AND part-time faculty, and that it had been in place for such a long period of time! I'd come from teaching at 5 other universities where the faculty unsuccessfully fought to unionize, so it was a treat for me to find the Berklee faculty union. An experienced board member founding and then, for the last 10 years, running my not-for-profit 501c3 ensemble, serving as the president of its Executive Board, and as a member at large in another 501c3 organization. I'm an active advocate for gender equity in academia, curriculum, concert programming, and research.
Michael Johnson
Professor, Contemporary Writing and Production
I have now served several terms as Councilor-at-Large, through 2 bargains, one in which we almost went on strike. As a part-timer at Berklee for 16 years, I feel a special calling to represent the majority of faculty at this institution - part-timers! We have unique needs and struggles, some of which have been addressed in the most recent contract, but we still have a long way to go.
In the Spring of 2023, I was honored by the Massachusetts chapter of the American Federation of Teachers with the 2023 “Distinguished Service Award” for my efforts during the 2022 bargain. You can read about it here (scroll to the bottom of the page.) I hope you will allow me to continue to serve you as a Councilor.
Teodros Kiros
Professor, Liberal Arts
At a crucial time in which the human is dissolving in race, gender, sex and class, we need a new voice who looks at the American condition through the lens of the human and restore the battered dignity of blacks and browns, who are being killed everywhere, and women of all colors who are still being treated unfairly. My work at the union as a professional moral philosopher is to highlight, analytically dissect and formulate alternatives to the deplorable present condition, as this applies to our condition at Berklee.
Lee Moretti
Assistant Professor, Songwriting
Lee Moretti is an Assistant Professor for Berklee in Boston as well as Berklee NYC and holds her Bachelors and Master’s degrees from Berklee College of Music (BM: Performance / Music Business, MA: Music Business). She is a guitarist, pianist, bassist, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter and is the founder of award winning indie rock band The Furies (Mint 400 Records / Sony: The Orchard). Moretti is also the former touring multi-instrumentalist for Third Eye Blind. She toured with the platinum-selling rock band extensively and appeared with them on many platforms including The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, and The Sundance Film Festival. Her Broadway credits include: SIX: The Musical, SIX: The Aragon Tour, MJ: The Musical, A Strange Loop, and more. She currently plays guitar for Anthony Rapp’s “Without You.”
She has had the pleasure of working with: Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Third Eye Blind, Brandy, Jordin Sparks, Lady A, Delta Rae, SIX on Broadway, MJ: The Musical, The Upwelling, Vanessa Carlton, Billy Gilman, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Indigo Girls, Jesse Malin, Sheila E, Juliana Hatfield, The All American Rejects, Howie Day, and many others.
Platform:
I have been a part of the Berklee community since I came to the five week program at sixteen years old. My father has been a Professor here since I was a child, and I have had the privilege of watching the institution grow and change at first from the sidelines, and then as part of the student body, and now as an Assistant Professor. It has been an amazing growth process.
The Berklee Faculty Union is an immensely important part of what makes Berklee a thriving institution. Without staunch protections for ourselves and our colleagues, the integrity of our school is uniquely challenged: How can we be a place that creates the next world leaders of the music industry and simultaneously devalue those who deliver those teachings? My platform is simple - I believe in more benefits for full time faculty and retirees as well as increased job security and benefits for part-time faculty. I also believe we must focus on equitable pay and benefits for part-time workers as well as faculty members in Boston Conservatory. Furthermore, there should be more thorough opportunities for part-time faculty to transition to full-time, as well as increased facilities and resources for all the school. Some departments are struggling for space, even as attendance at the school increases each year - this is something that must be rectified.
It is my solemn promise that I will represent the interests of all of my colleagues throughout this process. I believe in clear communication and an open door policy, please reach out to me anytime regarding concerns or thoughts. That's what we're here for. I hope to earn your vote and that I will have the pleasure to serve all of you in the coming year.
Stephanie Reich
Professor, Liberal Arts
Stephanie Reich has advocated for Part-Time faculty on the UEC since 2016. She has supported the Union’s bargaining for increased conversion to FT across Departments and Divisions and also successfully advocated for a better Student Grievance written policy (in the Student Handbook) that now articulates students’ first responsibility to communicate concerns with faculty in the school’s Grievance Process.
Rachel Devorah Wood Rome
Assistant Professor, Electronic Production and Design
As a former public librarian in New York City, my union organizing started with the AFSCME AFL-CIO Local 130 and I am proud to bring my unique experience to the Berklee Faculty Union. I am an improvising electronic musician and teach Creative Coding in Electronic Production and Design. Since arriving at Berklee in 2017 and joining the Union Executive Committee in 2021, I have been a tireless advocate of equitable, accessible technologies for our faculty and our students. Will Silvio once said of me: "It is good to have a hacker on the team." More information about me can be found here.
Bob Stanton
Associate Professor, Guitar
I have been in the Berklee Faculty Union since its inception. I was full time in the Performance Studies Department for 12 years, and have now been a part-timer in the Guitar Department for the past ten years. I have belonged to the Musicians Union since I was a teenager, and in a labor union while working in my father’s construction company as well. I have always been a staunch supporter of the BFU and now want to take a more active role as a counselor. I am eager to roll up my sleeves and fight for our rights from the perspective of someone who saw what it was like when we had no union, and very few rights.