FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Katie Barrows
Communications Manager
P: 202-549-5991
Kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org

WASHINGTON, August 29, 2018—The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) announced today that DPE Assistant to the President Jennifer Dorning will become its next president, succeeding Paul E. Almeida who is retiring. Dorning was unanimously elected by the DPE Executive Committee in April 2018 to carry out the remaining three years of Almeida’s term. Dorning will take office on September 1, 2018, becoming the third president and the first woman to lead DPE in its 40-plus year history. As the first female president of DPE, Dorning will also become the first woman to lead an AFL-CIO trade department.

“I am honored to serve as the next president of DPE and excited to work with DPE’s 24 affiliates to continue to make gains for professionals in unions,” said Dorning. “Together, we are more effective as we confront challenges and identify opportunities to grow our movement.”

Dorning, who joined DPE in 2010, has been a strengthening force at DPE with her ability to generate new ideas and execute projects that lift up unions of professionals. Dorning led the effort to develop organizing tools tailored to professionals, which resulted in the creation of suite of resources for DPE affiliated unions that have been used to help more professionals join together in union. Prior to joining DPE, Dorning served in a number of advocacy-related positions, including as a criminal defense attorney, legislative assistant in the Oregon state legislature, and working on political campaigns for progressive candidates and causes.

As president, Dorning will build on the achievements made by DPE and unions of professionals during Almeida’s 17-year tenure as DPE president. Under Almeida’s leadership, DPE became more vital to the labor movement than ever through its work facilitating collaboration, developing resources, and hosting programs to help its 24 affiliate unions better organize, represent, and engage professionals. In 2017, DPE’s success and relevance was reinforced when professional union membership hit a new high at 6.15 million members. With more and more professionals interested in joining together in union, Dorning plans to seize the opportunity to help DPE affiliates continue to grow the number of professional union members.

“Working with Paul has given me invaluable knowledge in building and leading an effective coalition of unions and I’m thankful for the time I’ve spent working beside him,” said Dorning.

Jennifer Dorning’s bio and a high-resolution photo can be viewed here.

About DPE

The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.