Story #13: Jessica J. Tang Leaning into Advocacy as President of AFT Massachusetts

Today, Jessica J. Tang ’04 is the President of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts — representing more than 22,000 education staff including teachers, paraprofessionals, school librarians, substitute teachers, school nurses, and many more. 

Jessica’s public service journey began with PBHA. Jessica directed Mather School Tutoring — a smaller program that primarily worked with kindergarten and third-grade students — for all four years and also served as a Student Officer as PBHA’s first ever Student Development Chair.

Jessica said that working at PBHA was extremely formative and influential. Being highly involved allowed her to see the inner workings of a large nonprofit.

“You learn stuff in your classes and then from PBHA you learn not just from student development programs, but from the work you’re doing, too,” she said. 

Though Jessica graduated from Harvard in 2005, she’s never truly left PBHA, she said. 

“I never really felt far from PBHA. I’ve come back to PBHA a million times over the past couple of decades,” she said.

During her senior year, Jessica had completed the Undergraduate Teacher Education Program — a program that certified students as teachers, which is no longer offered at Harvard. Following her graduation, she worked at the Gavin Middle School — a school “close by” to the Mather School, which she selected hoping that students from the Mather School would matriculate through — for five years. 

As a teacher, Jessica continued her advocacy work: she founded the Teacher Activist Group in Boston and ran for a position in the Boston Teachers Union. While on the Boston Teachers Union executive board, she helped to create the Community Advisory Board, which later grew into the Boston Education Justice Alliance, inspired by PBHA.

“I remember talking to Maria” — PBHA’s current Executive Director — “and being like, ‘okay, well, I’m really trying to build a model where we have students, teachers, and the community working in collaboration with each other,” she said. 

“It was upon her advice, and others, that I started the Community Advisory Board.” 

In 2017, she was elected BTU President. According to the AFT website, Jessica is the first woman, first person of color, and first openly LGBTQ leader in more than 30 years to serve as president of the BTU. Now as President of the American Federation of Teachers, Massachusetts, Jessica has expanded open bargaining and common good bargaining, lobbying for affordable housing and social, racial, economic, and climate justice.

“When we bargain, we’re not just bargaining for teaching conditions. We’re also bargaining for common good demands,” she said. “So, for example, we’ve bargained for vouchers for homeless students, housing vouchers, and restorative justice practitioners. We’ve bargained for a lot more than what’s traditionally bargained in contracts.” 

Interviewed by Darcy Lin ‘27