You can contact an officer by email at ntfc6546@gmail.com. Please put “ATTN: NameOfOfficer” in the subject line of your message.
President
Theresa Dobbs (she/her) is a Senior Instructor in the Department of Mathematics. She is a former member of GEO and MTEA (the teacher’s union in her hometown of Milwaukee, Wis). Theresa has been an NTFC member since 2021 and served as NTFC Comms Chair in 2023-2024.
Vice-President
Mike Odom (he/him) is a Senior Instructor in the English Department and teaches courses in Rhetoric, American Literature, and fiction as a genre. He is a committed teacher, an avid tabletop gamer, a lover of horror and dark fantasy, and a rabid consumer of narrative in all of its forms. He has been an active member of NTFC since its inception, and has served in the past as a Steward, Vice-President, and President.
Secretary
Jordan Sellers (he/him) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English. He became UIUC faculty and a NTFC member in 2015 after also teaching at UIUC as a graduate student. Since 2018, he has held several positions in the union including the NTFC Stewards Council. From 2019-2022, he served as Chair of Bargaining Research and acted as lead negotiator during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since May 2022, he has taken over the records management work of Secretary and continues to participate in the Bargaining Research Committee.
Treasurer
Dani Nyikos (they/them) is a Lecturer in the English Department, who teaches classes in rhetoric, creative writing, and video game writing. They particularly love storytelling that engages with complex and difficult issues. They also enjoy staying up late at night thinking about the vastness of the universe. Dani served as co-lead negotiator, together with Rachel Fein-Smolinski, during the 2024 contract bargaining.
Communications Chair
Marisa Peacock (she/her) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Advertising, with interests in social media strategy, public relations, and content management. She became UIUC faculty and an NTFC member in 2019. Since 2023, she has served on the NTFC Stewards Council and Contract Action Team. She is also pursuing her MFA in design at UIUC.
Chief Steward
Eben Alguire (they/them) is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Theatre Department where they focus on creative problem solving, iterative design, and destigmatizing the perception of “failure” in their BFA program, “Arts and Entertainment Technology.” In parallel with this, they are active in their industry organizations, the United States Institute for Theatre Technology and the Entertainment Services and Technology Association, where they advocate for neurodivergent accessibility and representation. They’ve been a union member whenever possible, including laying the groundwork for the University of Pittsburgh Staff organizing effort. They can often be found taking on more projects than can be advisable.
Grievance Chair
Dave Morris (he/him) is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the English department, where he teaches courses in literature, writing, and film, and co-directs the Program in Professional Writing. He studies religion and speculative fiction, and he published a book, Public Religions in the Future World: Postsecularism and Utopia, in 2021. Dave has been a member of NTFC since 2011 and has served on the grievance committee (2015-17). He was co-president of GEO (2005-06) and a member of the GEO bargaining team (2005-07).
Bargaining Research Chair
Rachel Fein-Smolinski (they/them) is a Teaching Associate Professor of Studio Art in The School of Art & Design, an installation artist, and bargaining research chair of NTFC. They became UIUC faculty and an NTFC member in 2019 and have served on the Executive Council for NTFC in various roles including Interim Communications Chair in 2021, Chief Steward 2021-2022, Vice President 2022-2024, and Interim President in 2024. Fein-Smolinski grew up in Buffalo, NY where their father was a public school teacher and avid member and organizer in the Buffalo Teachers Federation.
