500 Forever Retired Members
Executive Committee Candidates
Retired Members Executive Committee - President
Monika Roberts
My name is Monika Roberts and I am a retired School Administrative Secretary from Lucy Barnsley Elementary School. I served as the Special Projects Chair for SEIU 500 Forever. I was an employee of MCPS for 30 years starting as a School Secretary at Walt Whitman High School, then Guidance Secretary at Albert Einstein High School then Kingsview Middle School. I have been on the School Administrative Secretary Meeting Planning Committee for 9 years during which time our meetings have grown into a PLC, I served as Chairperson on the Centralized Investment Fund for 3 years and a Support Staff Mentor for 4 years. I also served as the ESR for Lucy Barnsley Elementary School and encouraged the schools support staff to become a valued, important part of our school staff. I believe in the SEIU mission of “in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide, and am dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society.” I was a proud member of Team Local 500 United.
Retired Members Executive Committee - Vice President
Barbara Weiner
Biography
I am running for Vice President for this term, stepping down from President of 500Forever.
Prior to my retirement I was a paraeducator and IDA and also served as my school's ESR. While my children were still in school, I also served on PTA boards and Cluster Coordinator.
I joined the retirees after my retirement in 2015 as a way to stay in touch with friends, meet new people and stay involved in the community. Since 500Forever became a formal committee of SEIU Local 500, we have been reaching out to retirees to get involved. We have helped MCCH, made and donated comfort pillows to the schools and buses for special needs children.
As Vice President I will continue to look for ways to grow our committee and work on community service projects to give back.
Retired Members Executive Committee Secretary-Treasurer
Roxanne Moore
Biography
My name is Roxanne Moore and I have been the Secretary/Treasurer for the SEIU 500 retirees committee since our first election in June 2022. I retired from MCPS in 2018 and joined this committee when I was looking for ways to give back to the community. The members of this committee had some great ideas and were open to various opportunities that appealed to me. My job as secretary has been to take notes during our meetings and to present them to the committee. I have been involved in the planning and fulfillment of donation drives for the Homeless, Comfort pillows for students, Retiree Picnics, creating our By Laws and researching Awareness Projects. Our committee has worked on Educating the community about local candidates and our voting rights. This has included trips to Annapolis. I found this informative and I was excited to feel a part of the legislative process.
I received my degree in Education from the University of Maryland and taught kindergarten for 24 years in private schools. I then joined MCPS as a para educator working one on one with students with special needs in inclusive classrooms. For 11 years I loved helping all students work together and learn from each other. After my retirement I wanted to continue to be a part of that journey of helping others.
I would love to see 500 forever grow into a committee that will be politically active, a service to the community and offer a variety of ways to involve the SEIU 500 retirees. Many of our projects have come from talking to other retirees and SEIU 500 members. When retirees work together we can accomplish great things.