AFT Vice President
Ed Geppert, Jr. has been president of the 90,000-member Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) since 2007.

An IFT member since 1969, Geppert has worked on behalf of public education, public services and worker rights for nearly 40 years. He began his career in education as a social science teacher at Cahokia (Ill.) High School, where he taught from 1969 to 1977, and served as president of the Cahokia Commonfields Federation of Teachers.

Since 1977, Geppert has held positions as field service director for the IFT; assistant to the IFT president for organization; secretary-treasurer of the IFT (1994-2001); and IFT chief of staff (2002-2004). In 2005, Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed Geppert to the Illinois State Board of Education, where he chaired the finance and audit committee until 2007.

Geppert's expertise in education and labor has been recognized by such groups as the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Learning Partnership and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Geppert and his wife Martha, a retired English teacher,  reside in Belleville, Ill.

(July 14, 2008)