Jeffery M. Freitas

Jeffery M. Freitas was elected president of the California Federation of Teachers in March 2019 after serving as CFT secretary treasurer for eight years. He is the first LGBTQ member to become president of the CFT. Freitas has advocated on behalf of members for over two decades. Before moving into statewide CFT leadership, he served as president of the Carpinteria Association of United School Employees, AFT Local 2216, and as a vice president of the CFT EC/TK-12 Council. He also served on CFT staff as a field representative and a lobbyist.

As a secondary math teacher and member of CFT in the Carpinteria Unified School District, he created the first all English language learner algebra class and the school’s first multicultural studies class. While a local president, he worked to organize the classified workers into the local union so that all of the employees would unite for fair and equitable contracts. He has continued his efforts of full inclusion and equity by also serving on several AFT committees including Futures III, the Racial Justice Task Force, and the Committee on Revenue and Retirement Security.

Freitas attended West Point from 1988 to 1990, then continued his education and received his B.A. in mathematics, his M.Ed. and his teaching credential from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In his role as CFT president, Freitas serves as a vice president of the California Labor Federation and the AFT. He lives in Sacramento with his husband, Doug MacLeod, who is a retired elementary school teacher.