Former NYC paraprofessional makes it big in the corporate world
UFT career ladder was first step in launching Pegine Echevarria's career

Pegine Echevarria has made a name for herself as a nationally known motivational speaker, leadership trainer and business consultant. But she still remembers her first real “team-building” experience at P.S. 155 in New York City’s Spanish Harlem about 20 years ago.

Echevarria was working at the school as a bilingual paraprofessional when she took on the task of helping organize a celebration for the school’s 600 students at a nearby park. In addition to the usual games, races and activities, she had the idea of a cleanup contest at the end of the day, with a pizza party for the room that collected the most trash. The park was spotless by the time the students returned to school after what everyone agreed was a successful event.

“I just found my passion in that moment,” Echevarria says. As a United Federation of Teachers (UFT) member, she took advantage of the union’s groundbreaking career ladder program. Working as a para during the day and attending classes at night, she was able to earn a bachelor’s degree and went on to teach in the New York City schools. She eventually earned a master’s degree in social work and had developed curricula for high-risk teenagers in one of the city’s schools when talk-show host Montel Williams heard about her work. Echevarria became a regular guest on his show, which garnered national prominence and helped launch her business career. She has since appeared on countless TV news and talk shows and in major national newspapers and magazines.

As the head of her own firm, Echevarria publishes a regular newsletter and has produced a series of CDs—including one called “Pegine’s Kick Butt Strategies for Success”—in addition to regular work with everyone from corporate executives to groups that focus on mentoring programs for at-risk youth. And she proudly sets herself forth as a Latina role model in a segment of the business world where Latina women are not often found.

Throughout her work, Echevarria says, she still uses the teaching skills she honed in the New York City schools. She remembers the way Lilly Valle, the teacher she worked with back at P.S. 155, made a point of getting her students physically involved in their learning, at one point using hopscotch to teach math. Echevarria also draws on her training in drama and comedy to connect with her audiences.

Echevarria has a few pieces of advice for the thousands of New York City paras who are on her former career path. She encourages them to take advantage of the many training and educational opportunities that exist within the UFT and the New York City board of education. “There are so many resources that people don’t even tap into,” she says. “There are amazing men and women out there for you and programs that you can take at no charge.”

From a personal standpoint, Echevarria emphasizes the same positive thinking message she imparts to business leaders. “Look at the attitude you bring to work and how that affects the people around you,” she says. “Look at ways you can constantly evolve.”

And no matter if you spend your career as a paraprofessional or move on to teaching or something else in education, Echevarria reminds paras that by interacting with children, “just by giving them support and telling them they can do it, you will reap rewards. Know that your work will have an impact.”