Mary Jane Bertram
Current Company and Position: Hudson Valley Regional Director for the Workforce Development Institute.
Family: Spouse - Steve Bertram; 6 children; Christine, Kevin, Jennifer, Aaron, Courtney, Tammi; 5 grandchildren; Jake, Eric, Jaylen, Timmy, Mara.
First Job: My first job in the labor movement was as an organizer for SEIU international. I worked in the southern region of the United States helping employees gain a voice on the job. My first job ever was selling concessions in a movie theater.
What it taught me: What can be accomplished when people work together.
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Listen more than you talk.
Who is your hero and why? My hero is not one person but rather all of the workers that stand together against injustice.
Biography: Mary Jane was born in Burlington, VT to parents Herman and Margie-Ann Whitenight. As the third of four siblings she had the opportunity to live all over the United States as her father furthered his career as a metallurgical engineer and consultant in the nuclear energy field. The family spent several years living in Tupelo, Miss. Mary Jane was in the 6th grade the first year that enforced busing was begun in the public schools. The anger and outcry during this time puzzled the young Mary Jane and the seeds of a future activist were planted. Her first opportunity to take a stand occurred in High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho and Title 9. Mary Jane participated on the Title 9 committee advocating for equality in funding for female athletic programs. She also led the battle that allowed the drama, debate and speech teams to earn a school letter just like the boy’s football and basketball teams. Unfortunately, she did not benefit from this fight as the change was instituted the year after she graduated.
High School was followed by college, marriage, the birth of her first child and a move to Misawa, Japan. Three more children for a total of two girls and two boys along with several moves and career changes found Mary Jane in Orlando, Florida in the mid 90’s working as a clinic director for the National Parkinson Foundation Rehab. In this role she was able to open two clinics and assist Stetson University with the rollout of an exercise program for Parkinson patients and other individuals with limited mobility. After an unsuccessful campaign to maintain federal funding for this vital program, Mary Jane looked for a new position that would feed her desire for positive change.
In 1999 Mary Jane and the labor movement found each other when she went to work for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as an organizer for the public sector in the Southern states. After successful organizing drives with the workers of Macon and Savannah, Georgia and a successful organizing drive at the Nashville Public Schools, Mary Jane moved to New York where she assisted workers form their unions with SEIU 200United. During this time, she served on the Hudson Valley Areal Labor Federation Ex. Board and was elected as a VP for the Hudson Catskill CLC.
Mary Jane joined the staff of the Workforce Development Institute in 2008 where she is the Hudson Valley Regional Director working across nine counties to support and expand access to jobs with family sustaining wages, apprenticeships and pre-apprentice programs.
Mary Jane currently serves on the Dutchess County WIB Executive Board, the CTE Perkins Local Advisory Council, Selikoff Centers Advisory Board, Orange County Partnership Task Force, Columbia ReEntry Task Force, ESPRI, BOCES Health Occupations Advisory Board, Dutchess County Economic Development Advisory Council and the REDC Workforce committee. She is a past volunteer for the National Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Society and is still active in mentoring newly diagnosed patients. She attended Valencia Community College, Brigham Young University, and received a teaching certificate from the Sogetsu School of Ikebana in Misawa, Japan.
Mary Jane and her husband Steve live in LaGrange, Dutchess County and are the proud parents of their own “Brady Bunch” with 6 children, 4 grandsons and 1 granddaughter.
