Aaron and Jeff sit down with three Region Advocacy Coordinators from across eastern Pennsylvania to talk about grassroots efforts educating members and communities on Project 2025. From press conferences to paycheck emails to Labor Day outreach, hear how PSEA members are turning worry into action — and drawing on hard lessons from past education cuts to fuel the push back.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

Every summer, PSEA members gather in Gettysburg for a week of learning and connection. But it takes months of planning and a dedicated team in red shirts to make it happen. Amy Pascale and Shannon Boyd of PSEA's Leadership Development Committee join Duty Free Lunch to share what goes on behind the scenes, from year-round planning to being the on-the-ground resource members count on all week long.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

Season 4 of “Duty Free Lunch” kicks off with Aaron and Jeff tackling one of the biggest issues of the new school year: Project 2025. They’re joined by two local association presidents, Bill Quinn (Easton Area EA) and Will James (Eastern York EA), fresh off community press conferences warning about a potential $3 billion federal education funding cut over the next decade. Having both faced mass furloughs, larger class sizes, and lost programs during the 2011 Corbett cuts, these two seasoned educators have a lot to say about what’s at stake this time around.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

JP McCaskey High School teacher Todd Mealy joins Aaron and Jeff  to discuss the Witness Stones Project, a three-year program where students dig through 18th century tax records, wills, and runaway ads to uncover the names of people who were enslaved and erased from history. They turn their research into biographical projects and lay granite memorial stones throughout Lancaster City meant to disrupt and challenge.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

Sixth-grade teacher Tim Cammisa turned a lifelong passion into a school tradition, leading the Fly Fishing Club at Haine Middle School in the Seneca Valley School District for nearly a decade. Aaron, Jeff, and Rachael sit down with Tim to talk about the persistence and confidence students build on the water and how conservation and ecosystem lessons cast a wider net than the sport itself.

Do you have some feedback for us? Send an email to [email protected]. 

Learn more and watch for upcoming episodes at psea.org/podcast.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

Where did PSEA's power to bargain, organize, and strike actually come from? Aaron and Jeff sit down for a fascinating history lesson with Corey Gochenaur, a high school social studies teacher in the Susquenita School District with a passion for union history. From one-room schoolhouses in 1852 to the historic 1968 march of 20,000 teachers on the Capitol steps, Gochenaur traces how Pennsylvania educators have fought for 174 years for the rights members enjoy today.

Do you have some feedback for us? Send an email to [email protected]. 

Learn more and watch for upcoming episodes at psea.org/podcast.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

The state budget for FY 2026-27 finally passed, and it delivers major wins for PSEA members, students, and retirees. Aaron and Jeff sit down with PSEA’s Dan Wiedemer and Chris Lilienthal to break down the $565 million boost in adequacy and equity funding, expanded student teacher stipends, and the long-awaited COLA for pre-Act 9 retirees. Plus: what didn’t make the cut, and what’s next.

Do you have some feedback for us? Send an email to [email protected]. 

Learn more and watch for upcoming episodes at psea.org/podcast.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

Ever wonder who's behind the scenes making sure PSEA's message gets out to members, the media, and the public? Aaron and Jeff sit down with PSEA Director of Communications Chris Lilienthal and Communications Committee Chair Elysa Farrell, a Millcreek Township math teacher, to pull back the curtain on PSEA's Communications Department.

Do you have some feedback for us? Send an email to [email protected]. 

Learn more and watch for upcoming episodes at psea.org/podcast.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

What started as a small field day during the COVID years has become the highlight of the school year for hundreds of students across Perry County. Jennifer Dillman, a 20-year life skills teacher at West Perry School District, joins Duty Free Lunch to talk about PECO, a countywide celebration she built from scratch that gives students with disabilities a day filled with competition, community, and joy.

Do you have some feedback for us? Send an email to [email protected]. 

Learn more and watch for upcoming episodes at psea.org/podcast.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.

Jeff and Rachael welcome Winter PSEA-PACE Grand Prize winner Erik Huebner alongside North Penn School District Educational Foundation Executive Director Christine Liberaski to discuss advocacy, educational philanthropy, and student success. They share how the foundation supports innovative programs and opportunities for students, and why strong partnerships between educators, schools, and communities make a lasting difference.

Do you have some feedback for us? Send an email to [email protected]. 

Learn more and watch for upcoming episodes at psea.org/podcast.

HOSTS
PSEA President: Aaron Chapin
PSEA Vice President: Jeff Ney
PSEA Treasurer: Rachael West

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and produced by David Constantin
Recorded and edited by David Arva

LINKS
Send an email to [email protected].
Learn more at psea.org/podcast.