Leadership

Advisory Board Chair

Director, Labor Center at University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jasmine Kerrissey is Director of the Labor Center at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, home to the premier worker-side graduate degree in labor studies. Kerrissey is a labor sociologist, and tenured faculty in the sociology department. Kerrissey's research examines the historical and contemporary role of labor movements in shaping working conditions, inequalities, and politics. She is the author of two books, including the award-winning Unions Booms and Busts: The Ongoing Fight Over the U.S. Labor Movement (Oxford University Press 2023). She has published numerous articles in leading academic journals, including the American Sociological Review, Social Forces, and Industrial and Labor Relations Review. Her work has appeared in a range of media outlets, from the Washington Post to NPR. Kerrissey holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine and a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. She's a proud member of the Massachusetts Society of Professors/ Massachusetts Teachers Association. 

President, Rhode Island AFL-CIO

Patrick Crowley is the President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO. He is a union organizer with over 25 years of service to the labor movement. During that time he has worked for the Teamsters, SEIU, and NEA Rhode Island.   Named one of the most influential Rhode Islanders by The Providence Business News, Pat holds masters degrees in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and History from the University of Rhode Island. In 2021, Pat helped found Climate Jobs Rhode Island, a broad and growing coalition of labor, environmental, and community partners committed to a just transition to an equitable, pro-worker, pro-climate green economy.  He also serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Institute for Labor Studies and Research the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), and the Museum of Work and Culture Foundation. In 2021, Pat published an essay in the journal “Rhode Island History”  about workers organizing against racial discrimination in the workplace in Providence during World War 2 and in 2022 published a book titled The Battle of the Gravestones and the Saylesville Massacre of 1934  about the 1934 general textile strike.  In 2024 he contributed a chapter in the book Power Lines Building a Labor–Climate Justice Movement published by The New Press and in 2025 will publish a chapter in the forthcoming journal The Climate-Labor Movement: Lessons Learned and the Promise of an Equitable and Diverse Clean Energy Economy for the Labor and Employment Research Association.

Executive Director, Workers Rights Institute at Georgetown University Law Center

Former Chairman, National Labor Relations Board

Mark Gaston Pearce is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, a fellow of the American Bar Association Foundation, and a Board of Governors member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He serves as a visiting professor and Senior Advisor at Georgetown University Law Center’s Workers’ Rights Institute. A graduate of Cornell University and the University at Buffalo Law School, he has also taught multiple courses at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

With nearly five decades of experience in labor and employment law, Mark has been appointed by both state and federal chief executives to key positions, including Member of the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals, Member and twice-designated Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, and Member of the Federal Service Impasse Panel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. He is a co-founder of the Buffalo, NY labor law firm Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen, and Giroux.

Mark is also an accomplished oil painter whose work has been exhibited in multiple cities. His paintings have been showcased at the Lobby Gallery of the AFL-CIO’s national headquarters and at the 2024 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference in Montgomery, Alabama, among other venues over the years. In April 2024, Mark was featured in the American Bar Association Journal as one of the organization’s "Members Who Inspire." The article highlighted several of his labor-focused oil paintings and explored how he combines art and law to advocate for workers' rights.

Director, NYU Wagner Labor Initiative at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Terri Gerstein is Director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner  Graduate School of Public Service. The Labor Initiative is a hub of research and action that, among other things, helps strengthen state and local enforcement of worker protection laws. Previously, Terri directed the State and Local Enforcement Project at the Harvard Center for Labor and a Just Economy and was a Senior Fellow at the Economic Policy Institute. Terri enforced labor laws for over 17 years in New York, including as Labor Bureau Chief in the State AG’s Office and Deputy Commissioner in the NYS Labor Department. Terri writes frequently on labor issues, authoring law review articles, think tank reports, and scores of op-eds in outlets including the New York Times, CNN, Slate, and more. Terri has testified as an expert before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and in state legislatures. She graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and lives in Brooklyn, NY. 

Director, Initiative on Labor and Economic Justice at Northeastern University’s Burnes Center for Social Change

Former Acting Secretary of Labor

Former Labor Advisor for President Biden

Seth D. Harris is a Distinguished Professor of Practice at Northeastern University and Affiliated Faculty and a Senior Fellow at the Burnes Center for Social Change (and its partner project The GovLab) where he runs the Initiative on Labor and Economic Justice. Prior to joining Northeastern University, Professor Harris was the Deputy Assistant to the President for Labor and the Economy and Deputy Director of the Biden White House’s National Economic Council.

Building on almost seven years of service in the Labor Department during an earlier administration, Professor Harris was Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor (and a member of President Obama’s Cabinet) and Deputy U.S. Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2014. Between the Obama and Biden Administrations, he was an attorney in Washington, D.C., a Visiting Professor at Cornell University’s Institute for Public Affairs and School of Industrial & Labor Relations, and one of the nation’s most sought-after analysts, speakers, and commentators on work, workers, workplaces, the economy and labor market issues, government leadership, and government
performance.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Professor Harris made several dozen television and radio appearances, and participated in webinars for numerous organizations, to help Americans understand the pandemic’s effects on the economy, workers, small businesses, and unemployment, as well as the government’s response to the health and economic crisis.

Professor Harris brings decades of experience as a teacher and scholar, attorney and advisor, corporate board member, and leader at the highest levels of the U.S. Government. He was a Professor of Law and the Director of the Labor & Employment Law Program at New York Law School from 2000 to 2009. He taught Leadership in Public Affairs for Cornell graduate and undergraduate students and created a certificate program in Public-Sector Leadership that trained hundreds of public-sector practitioners. He has co-authored three books, including Labor and Employment Law & Economics, and authored dozens of scholarly articles and op-eds on labor, employment, leadership, government performance, retirement, and economics topics.

Professor Harris earned a bachelor of science degree with honors from Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations and a juris doctor with honors from New York University’s School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and editor-in-chief of the Review of Law & Social Change.

Maine House of Representatives, Bangor

Rep. Ambureen Rana (she/her) is serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives. 

Rana grew up in Brewer and helped her parents run a small motel business, where she saw firsthand the struggles that too many families face trying to make ends meet every day. This sparked her passion for economic justice.

Prior to joining the Legislature, Rana spent three years working with LGBTQ+ people in Bangor, including revitalizing a program to support high school-aged youth. While at the Health Equity Alliance, Rana worked closely with people struggling with addiction and those entering recovery. Additionally, she worked alongside low-income advocates to increase dental care access to adults with MaineCare while working as a Community Organizer with Maine Equal Justice.

Rana earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Maine and a certificate in Leadership, Organizing and Action from the Harvard Kennedy School. She spends her summers gardening, discovering the wild strawberries and blooming flowers as they pop up around her backyard in Bangor.

Executive Director, Maine AFL-CIO

President, Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council

Born in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania, Jason J. Shedlock is serving his third term as President of the Maine Building Trades and is also a New England Regional Organizer for the Laborers' International Union of North America’s (LIUNA) as well as the Secretary-Treasurer of LIUNA Local 327. Additionally, he is gubernatorial appointee to the Maine State Workforce Investment Board along with the Maine Apprenticeship Council, where he serves as Chairman. Jason is the President of the Southern Maine Labor Council, the Principal Officer of the Building Solidarity Action Fund and sits on the Executive Board member and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Maine AFL-CIO.

Jason further serves his community as a member of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations, having been appointed to that role by the President of the Maine State Senate, and is also the immediate past Vice President of the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition. Jason is also a Trustee for First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church and is active as a coach and mentor.

Prior to joining LIUNA, Jason held the position of Executive Director at the Maine Building Trades and was Senior Advisor to the Mayor of Portland, Maine. His career also has taken him to the halls of Congress in Washington, DC where he worked for former Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA). During his time in Washington, Jason was also Chief of Staff at the DC City Council and a Senior Associate at the National Association of Counties. He holds a BA in Political Science from Catholic University and an MA in Government from Johns Hopkins University. Jason lives in Portland, Maine with his 13-year-old daughter (and de facto Apprentice Union Organizer) Josephine.

Advocacy, Policy, and Communications Manager, Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition

Ruben Luna Torres joined the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (MIRC) in October 2022 as a passionate advocate for immigrant rights and community empowerment. In his role, he collaborates with community partners across Maine to develop MIRC’s policy priorities. Torres often works with government officials in Augusta and city halls throughout the state. Torres’ advocacy efforts also include promoting the organization through both traditional and social media channels.

Before joining MIRC, Torres worked in the finance sector after graduating from the University of Maine Orono with a Master’s in Global Policy and a Bachelor’s in International Affairs, minoring in Legal Studies. During this time, he expanded his knowledge of international finance while studying at Carlos III University in Madrid, where he traveled throughout Europe.

Originally from California, Torres is deeply committed to inclusivity and community building. He strives to amplify the voices of marginalized communities, fostering dialogue and collaboration to create a more equitable society. In his free time, he enjoys cooking with local products, discovering new places, and watching football!

Executive Director, Mano en Mano

Juana brings over a decade of experience working alongside migrant communities and farmworkers, most recently serving as the organization's Interim Executive Director.

She first came to Maine over 20 years ago to participate in the wild blueberry harvest, and joined the Mano en Mano team in 2014. She has worked as the Program Director of the Migrant Education Program and the Director of Rayitos de Sol Bilingual Childcare, and has both designed and facilitated programming in collaboration with community members to overcome barriers and access culturally relevant educational services.

Juana is the recipient of the 2021 Marcia Lovell Award for her work at Rayitos de Sol, as well as the 2021 Francis Perkins Open Door Award, and the 2015 Vida A. Rivera, Jr. Award .  She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Women’s Health Resource Library, Healthy Acadia, and the Friends of the Milbridge Public Library.  

In addition to her experience working to support immigrant and farmworker communities in Maine, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Maine at Machias and a General Elementary (K-8) Teacher Certification from the Maine Department of Education.

Executive Director, Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter and Services

Katie Spencer White serves as the President and CEO of Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter & Services, one of only 5 low barrier shelters in the state, and one of the most innovative.

She has held gubernatorial appointments with the Maine Statewide Homeless Council and DHHS’ Access & Functional Needs Committee, and currently chairs the Maine Shelter Network, a collaboration of shelter directors across Maine who advocate for policy and funding to sustain homeless services across the state.

Prior to her work in nonprofits, White qualified as a lawyer in the UK where she practiced commercial law at a top 100 global law firm, primarily advising the higher education sector on a range of contentious and non-contentious matters. She has also worked for a Habitat for Humanity affiliate where she developed the strategy to not only redevelop a 240-unit trailer park into affordable housing without resident displacement, but she also drafted the legal policy that allowed the affiliate to sell homes to undocumented community members making it the first affiliate in the country to do so.

Dr. White has also worked as a high school social studies teacher in multiple states, most notably Baltimore, Maryland, and in a small migrant farming community in California.

Dr. White holds a BA in Women’s Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Postgraduate Diplomas in English Law and Legal Practice from the University of Law (UK) and the University of Staffordshire (UK), as well as a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management and a Doctorate in Law & Policy, both from Northeastern University. Her doctoral thesis on the experience of justice for pro se defendant tenants in eviction proceedings was awarded the Dean’s Medal for innovation and scholarly impact. In her spare time, Dr. White teaches on the Master of Science of Leadership at the Roux Institute in Portland. When not working, she is usually found watching her kids play soccer or, weather permitting, enjoying the coast and trails around her home in Brunswick, Maine.