Don Cameron to Retire as NEA Executive Director

Don Cameron, who has served as the executive director of the 2.5 million-member National Education Association since 1983, announced Tuesday (February 8, 2000) he will retire effective January 2001.

Cameron presided over unprecedented membership growth in the organization – and more than a few transformational changes for the nation's leading advocate for public education and employees.

"It has been an extraordinary privilege to have worked for the NEA," said Cameron. "Its members and leaders are remarkable, dedicated people who make tremendous contributions to children and our country every single day."

Cameron noted his reasons for leaving are to spend more time with his wife, Sherry, to write, and to play golf.

Prior to joining NEA in 1979 as assistant executive director, Cameron had a long and varied staff career within the organization. He was executive director of NEA's Florida affiliate, communications director of the Michigan Education Association, and executive director of the Birmingham Education Association (Michigan).

He began his career as a secondary school teacher of American and World History in Birmingham, Michigan.

NEA President Bob Chase called Cameron "a pioneer and visionary" for NEA and public education itself.

"Don Cameron has been a trailblazer in growth and maturation of this organization," Chase said. "From his earliest days in the classroom, he struggled for a better break for children, a stronger voice for education employees, and more vigorous participation in American democracy."

During his tenure as executive director, the NEA grew by more than 1 million members, nearly doubling in size. At the same time, the NEA grew in influence through vigorous advocacy for children, public education, and public education employees – at the bargaining table, in Congress and state legislatures, and in the political arena.

Chase said, "We will miss the expansive vision and enormous energy he has brought to the task of building a better system of public education – and a better America."

Posted February 9, 2000