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Helen Gym

2014 Speaker

Helen Gym is a community and education leader whose work across different organizations supports the right to a quality public education for all children. A former school teacher, she co-founded Parents United for Public Education, a citywide parent group that is focused on equitable resources, quality teaching and learning and has successfully advocated for millions of dollars in new revenue for Philadelphia public schools. Gym leads the board of Asian Americans United, a 28-year old organization serving Philadelphia’s Asian American and immigrant communities. At AAU, she has led campaigns against predatory gambling and anchored a successful federal civil rights case focused on the responsibility of adults to create safe school environments free from bias and harassment. She is a frequent writer and contributor in local media circles, and has founded an independent education newspaper, the Philadelphia Public School Notebook. Gym helped establish the nationwide parents group, Parents Across America, and also serves on the editorial board of Rethinking Schools, a social justice teaching journal.@parentsunitedpa