CHAPTER CHAIR PROFILE

 

Like many of our AOEC colleagues, Ron Rapallo is a man with a fascinating background.  Born, raised and educated near Boston, Massachusetts, Ron graduated with a degree in engineering, joined the Peace Corps and worked in Bangladesh in their Rural Public Works program.  Upon return to the U. S., he joined the Navy and saw duty in Massachusetts, California, Vietnam, and Okinawa.  Ron also has a degree in landscape architecture and a certificate in nursing.

 

Ron has made Los Angeles his home since 1979.  However, he did a second tour with the Peace Corps in Lesotho, Africa from 1981-83, bringing water to its mountainous villages.  Upon his return, he first taught high school, then in 1988 moved into adult education at Belmont teaching ESL.  Ron’s had his own “second language” experiences himself with Bengali, Sesotho, and Spanish.  Although this is Ron’s rookie year as chapter chair at Belmont, he has been actively engaged in union activities for almost a decade.  He’s a regular participant at our monthly AOEC meetings (one thing we know about Ron from these meetings is his passion for veggies!), cheerfully volunteering whenever help is needed.  He hopes to use his position to improve the quality of education for our students and to ensure teachers’ rights.

 

 

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