Election – 2022 EXB and ARs – Chandler Education Association

CEA is currently holding an election for four positions on the CEA Executive Board, as well as CEA Site Representative. CEA members can vote online through Monday, May 2 at 5:00 pm.

Please note that only current dues-paying members of CEA are eligible to vote in this election. If you are eligible to vote in this election, you can access the ballot by visiting our online voting page and logging in as follows:

Username: first initial plus your full last name, including spaces or hyphens, but without commas or apostrophes (e.g., the username for Sarah Howard-Mason would be SHoward-Mason)

Password: last 4 digits of your social security number (as on file with AEA)

While all voters can cast a ballot for our open Executive Board positions, voters will only be able to cast a ballot for Site Representatives at their site. Write-in options will be available for all positions, including sites where no candidate is listed. If you are not seeing the correct site listed when you access your ballot, please contact Shaun Creighton immediately for assistance.

The candidates for this election are as follows.

Executive Board

President (2-year term)

Diane Lundahl (Hamilton High School)
Katie Nash (Chandler High School)

Vice President of Association Representatives (2-year term)

No candidates nominated

Vice President of Committees (2-year term)

Carly Mahlmeister (San Marcos Elementary School)

Corresponding Secretary (2-year term)

Caroline Hall (Perry High School)

Site Representatives

Diane Lundahl
Hamilton High School

My name is Diane Lundahl, and I am honored to have been nominated to represent the CEA as President. My career began in this district 24 years ago when Hamilton High School opened its doors under the tutelage of Fred DePrez. My experience as a parent in CUSD began in 2006 when my oldest attended CTA Freedom as a kindergartener under the principalship of Wendy Nance. Throughout the years, I have had positions ranging from Foreign Language Department Head, AP Leadership, and serving on the Covid Relief Committee, and Equity Team. Through these positions, I have learned the importance of advocacy. I have been supporting the CEA mission to be involved in all aspects of the educational process and advocate for its members and the issues which affect them at my home campus of Hamilton High School as site representative. As site rep I grew our membership and increased our site representation from one to five reps. I have been selected to serve as AEA State Delegate for three years in a row, and as such I have found innovative ways to uplift our profession. Furthermore, I am also very involved at the state level advocating for all educators and students regardless of their district. I have grown more than I could have imagined as an advocate this past year through the trust members at my site and other colleagues have placed in me. I have also learned a lot about the limits of representation this past year, and I hope to bring more insight back to our Chandler community from leadership at the AEA if elected as president. There is still much work to be done, and I am committed to making CUSD a district which we are proud to work in and represent. My goal is to help CUSD become a leader among Arizona schools in teacher and education advocacy.

Katie Nash
Chandler High School

It has been an honor and privilege to serve as your CEA president. I am humbled by the amazing work you all put in on a daily basis to support your colleagues, students and community. Every day I wake up excited to advocate on your behalf.

This past year, CEA has supported new educators, including at the district mentorship nights. We have partnered with the Department of Equity and Inclusion to host the equity lecture series. In Super Q, where we bargain on behalf of all CUSD staff, we made great strides in compensation and work load. We heard your concerns and read all of your comments about class size, case loads, equity, professional development, wages, health insurance, and that ever important work life balance.

In keeping the promise of quality education, we must commit ourselves to the difficult work of equity and inclusion. We must be deliberate in our words and in our practices, seeing the value in each of our students and in each other. These systemic changes don’t happen overnight.

Change starts in our classrooms, on our buses, and in our cafeterias. It starts by asking students their preferred name and pronouns, choosing diverse and inclusive texts, incorporating diverse and inclusive images, and allowing for student led and driven discussions around diverse and inclusive topics. As our students enter the workforce, empathy, compassion and the ability to collaborate are qualities 21st century employers desire.

As amazing as that all has been, we still have progress to make. We will continue to work on behalf of educators and our students, both those in our district and across the state. Together, we are stronger!

Carly Mahlmeister
San Marcos Elementary School

I am honored to be nominated to serve on the CEA board as the Vice President of Committees. I understand the priority of advocating for students and teachers and would strive to promote positive working and learning conditions in CUSD.