tishea lester & chris bilal

Summary You've got questions. We've got answers. For example, what is a floating holiday? How many are you alotted annually? What is the status of PSRP Negotiations? What are longevity stipends? How can I get involved? What is a living wage? PSRPs will leave with news that you can actually use.

Tishea Lester is a Community Schools Site Specialist and former teacher with an expertise in Restorative Practices who hails from Baltimore. She is the creative mother of two honor roll scholars who attend Mt Royal EMS and Baltimore City College. Mrs. Lester has over 12 years of experience volunteering as a mom. Her first hand experience fuels her passion to improve school conditions. Since joining the BTU, Mrs. Lester, "The Advocate," has dived headfirst into the area of filing grievances around violations of the contract coming above water with victories for aggrieved members.

When Chris Bilal was offered an external assignment with the BTU, Mr. Bilal was busy serving his school community as a Community Schools Site Specialist supporting families through the COVID-19 crisis. Before he took on that role, Bilal served in the BCPSS Office of Family and Community Engagement where he planned the monthly "BCPSS Community Conversations with CEO" , Dr. Sonja Santelesis. Since joining the BTU, Bilal advocates for PSRPs and teachers alike as a PSRP Member Engagement Team Associate based off of his experiences working at "North Avenue," "The Classroom" and as a volunteer and graduating student of Ericka Bridgeford's community mediation training at the Baltimore Community Mediation Center. As a member of the BTU Negotiation Team, he has pushed for equity and additional incentives for the PSRP Chapter resulting in a historic and more equitable raise. As a member of the Communications Team, Bilal has strategically used the BTU's social media platforms to achieve small wins like the restoration of the COVID-19 Dashboard, press articles that expose unsafe conditions in schools, and the purchase of more air purifiers in school because he grew up at Cecil Elementary and matured as a community organizer in the "I Can't Breathe" generation.