Josh Pechthalt was elected president of the California Federation of Teachers in 2011. He also serves as a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. He is a former vice president of United Teachers Los Angeles and former president of AFT Local 1021. Pechthalt was raised in Cali, Colombia, and Los Angeles and is a product of the L.A. Unified School District. He earned his bachelor’s from UC Santa Cruz and his master’s from the University of Wisconsin. His began his career by teaching ESL in Colombia. In Los Angeles, he taught social studies at Manual Arts High School for 20 years. Pechthalt was a school site union representative, a member of the UTLA House of Representatives, regional director and a citywide officer. He also helped build a reform group within the union that focused on building ties with parents and community members.