Marie Blistan, Co-Chair

Marie Blistan is the recipient of the 2021 Shirley Chisholm Breakthrough LeaderAward. 

As the immediate past (two-term) president of the New Jersey Education Association, Marie Blistan defied expectations blazing a trail as an educator, labor leader and political powerbroker who advanced the interests of her members while acting as a force for progress for millions of working families in New Jersey. 

We look forward to working with President Blistan as she continues to defy expectations and as we advance the cause of social justice, civil rights and equal opportunity for all of our children, families and communities.

Awards will be presented during the conference: School Segregation in New Jersey - A pandemic of inequality & lost opportunity on Friday, September 24 • 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at The Conference Center at Mercer in West Windsor, NJ with Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, the first recipient of  Shirley Chisholm Breakthrough Leader Award.

Marie Blistan, a high school special education resource center teacher in Washington Township public schools, is the Immediate Past President of the New Jersey Education Association. Blistan previously served as NJEA’s vice president and secretary-treasurer. She was reelected to a second two-year term as president effective Sept. 1, 2019, which she completed on August 31, 2021.

A graduate of Glassboro State College (now Rowan University,) Blistan earned a master’s degree in reading. She and her husband Bob, a retired high school special education teacher in Washington Township, live in Harrisonville. Marie Blistan has taught in New Jersey for 35 years.