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Melinda Person - President

Melinda Person is the President of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), the union representing more than 700,000 people who work in, or are retired from, New York’s schools, colleges, and healthcare facilities. A passionate advocate for fairness and opportunity, Person leads with a vision of creating schools and campuses where every student and educator can thrive.

Under her leadership, NYSUT has delivered some of the most significant victories for public education in decades — from significant Fix Tier 6 pension reforms to restoring APPR to local control. She championed the statewide push for phone-free schools to protect instructional time and student mental health, helped secure universal school meals for New York students, and fought successfully for workplace violence protections for educators. Person has also been a driving force behind investments in public higher education, including the new SUNY/CUNY Reconnect initiative, updated funding formulas for BOCES and career and technical education programs, and ensuring full funding of Foundation Aid for the first time in state history.

A lifelong believer in the power of organized labor, Person has dedicated more than two decades to advancing education policy and strengthening the voice of working people. Before being elected president in 2023, she served as NYSUT’s Executive and Political Director, where she revolutionized member engagement through initiatives like the Member Action Center, which mobilizes over 100,000 members to take collective action, and the Member Organizing Institute, which builds leadership and activism across the state. She also founded the NYSUT Pipeline Project, which has trained and supported more than 200 members to run for office at every level of government.

Person began her career as a student teacher in a sixth-grade Boston Public Schools classroom before working in the New York State Assembly and the Division of the Budget, where she negotiated and advised on education and fiscal policy. She is a graduate of Cornell University, including the Cornell Union Leadership Institute, with dual degrees in Policy Analysis and Management. As a graduate student at Cornell, Person participated in an effort to organize her fellow Cornell graduate students with the UAW, an experience that deepened her commitment to worker voice and collective action. She holds New York State certification in Elementary and Childhood Education.

Outside of her union work, Person is an Ironman triathlete and yoga instructor. She and her wife Kelly are the proud parents of Tommy, Andrew, Jude and Lindy, who continue to remind her daily what this work is all about: building a fairer, more joyful future for every child and every educator in New York.

Jaime Ciffone - Executive Vice President

Jaime L. Ciffone was elected Executive Vice President of NYSUT in April 2023. She leads the union’s Research and Educational Services Department and its Education & Learning Trust (ELT) and serves as NYSUT’s liaison to the New York State Education Department.

A former Bronx educator and literacy coach, Jaime brings more than two decades of classroom and coaching experience to her statewide leadership. She is driving NYSUT’s Science of Reading initiative, ensuring educators across New York have access to the learning and tools needed to bring evidence-based literacy instruction to every classroom.

Jaime believes educators are the experts in their profession and must be at the center of creating policies that best support students. She has spearheaded statewide workgroups, including NYSUT’s More Teaching, Less Testing Task Force, which published recommendations on the future of assessments and graduation measures in New York State, and The Future of Teacher Preparation Task Force, which examines how to best prepare and certify aspiring educators.

Her vision is to strengthen the growth and professional development of educators — by other educators — through robust support for New York’s Teacher Centers and an expanded and enhanced ELT network. For Jaime, professional learning is central to NYSUT’s purpose as a union: empowering members to lift one another through shared expertise, mentorship, and collective growth. Jaime also serves as a Vice President for the AFT, AFL-CIO, and the Italian American Labor Council.

Ron Gross - Second Vice President

Ronald Gross was born and raised in the small suburban town of Mastic Beach in Suffolk County, N.Y. After graduating from SUNY Cortland, he taught social studies for 30 years at his alma mater, William Floyd High School. Gross served his local union, William Floyd United Teachers, in multiple leadership roles and eventually served as president for more than 11 years. In 2017, Gross was elected as one of the four teacher-members of the NYSTRS Board.

In 2020, Gross was elected to the position of NYSUT Second Vice President. In that role, he oversees the union's Program and Constituency Services department, which encompasses Retirees, School-Related Professionals, Social Services and Healthcare Professionals. Program Services also provides local support in health and safety, advocacy for small or rural locals, and innovative leadership and local development training.

Gross brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to education and advocacy. His three decades in the classroom gave him firsthand understanding of the daily realities faced by educators, and his years leading a local union prepared him to support those who dedicate their lives to students. That foundation in local leadership now shapes his work at the statewide level, where he has prioritized collaboration, inclusion, and building union strength from the ground up.

Under Gross's leadership, Program Services has expanded training opportunities and built leadership pipelines that reflect the diversity of NYSUT's membership. He oversees the Local Action Project, a three-year leadership development program designed to cultivate stronger, more active local unions, as well as the Leadership Institute, which develops promising local leaders. His department coordinates major conferences serving NYSUT's wide range of constituency groups — including School-Related Professionals, BOCES educators, small and rural locals, retirees and Collective Care Teams made up of social workers, psychologists, counselors and nurses. These conferences and programs are critical elements of member engagement, leader training and ensuring NYSUT remains a strong and vibrant union for members of all types and job titles. 

Gross has also strengthened NYSUT's focus on health, safety and workplace protections. His department has advanced initiatives on school safety, workplace violence prevention, and professional supports, ensuring that members across all settings have the tools and resources they need. He remains a champion of robust retiree activism as part of NYSUT's "union for life" philosophy, reinforcing that every member remains an integral part of the movement.

J. Philippe Abraham - Secretary/Treasurer

NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer J. Philippe Abraham coordinates the union’s Member Benefits, Accounting and Facilities departments, the Printshop, as well as NYSUT’s social justice efforts.

Elected to NYSUT’s leadership ranks in April 2017, Abraham is NYSUT’s first higher education member and first person of African descent to serve as a statewide officer. He came to NYSUT after serving for six years as the elected statewide vice president for professionals of United University Professions, NYSUT’s largest higher education affiliate representing faculty and staff at the State University of New York.

In July 2016, Abraham was elected as an at-large representative for higher education on the National Education Association’s Board of Directors. In October 2017, he was elected a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers.

Abraham, on leave from the University at Albany, was twice elected to UUP’s Executive Board. He chaired and co-chaired several statewide UUP committees, including Legal Defense, Affirmative Action and the Committee on Latino Affairs. He also served as a member of the UUP Negotiations Team and chief negotiator.

On the UUP chapter level, Abraham was one of three elected senators representing UAlbany on SUNY’s Faculty Senate. He was elected to three terms as the chapter vice president for professionals.

Abraham earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Education and a Master of Arts in Spanish American Literature, both from UAlbany. He is a graduate of the NYSUT Leadership Institute, the New York State AFL-CIO Cornell Union Leadership Institute and NEA’s Emerging Leader Academy.

Abraham began his career teaching Spanish and French in middle school, high school and college, and then became an academic advisor at UAlbany; most recently he held a position as the university’s Director of Career Services. 

Since his election as a NYSUT officer nine years ago, Abraham has worked diligently to raise the bar as relates to the union Social Justice work. He created the Many Threads, One Fabric program and brand, which are the umbrella for all of the union’s work in that arena. Under his leadership, a number of firsts were developed: the Social Justice Academy, the BIPOC Pathways to Leadership program and the Members of Color Affinity and Action (MoCAA) conference, to name a few. In addition, the efforts to educate the membership on topics through workshops offerings such as Implicit Bias 1.0 and 2.0, and Reversing Runaway Inequality have seen a steadily increasing demand. 

Born and raised in Haiti, Abraham is of Haitian and Dominican ancestry. He is fluent in French, Spanish and Haitian Creole, as well as English.