Carolyn Widener

Carolyn Widener was appointed to the Teachers' Retirement Board of CalSTRS in 2001, and was elected to represent community college educators in 2004. She served as Board Chair from 2005-2007 and previously chaired both the Health Benefits and Benefits and Services committees. Since 1996, Carolyn has been the Executive Vice President of the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild, Local 1521/CFT/AFT, which represents the faculty of the nine colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District. Her responsibilities include developing policy positions and activities for members on retirement issues and representing the faculty on the District's Joint Labor-Management Health Benefits Committee, which she founded and co-chaired for many years. Carolyn Widener has counseled and taught in various colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District since 1970. At West Los Angeles College since 1989, she is a professor of English and former chair of the Language Arts Division. Ms. Widener earned a B.A. in History, with honors (Phil Beta Kappa), from the University of California, Los Angeles and both an M.A. in Education: Counseling Psychology and a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Certificate from the University of Southern California. Her awards include the “CFT Woman in Education” (1994) and a CalSTRS Certificate of Commendation (1998).

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