Mary K. Barden

Mary Barden is the Executive Director of the National Education Association Rhode Island. She serves on the Rhode Island Board of Education, Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, and on the  Executive Committee of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO.

Prior to becoming Executive Director at NEARI, Barden served as a UniServ Director/Assistant Executive Director at NEARI. She coordinated the organization’s professional development program with educators and assisted with the organization’s  New Member Organizer program, Mental Health Summit, and Racial and Social Justice Committees.  

Barden spent the majority of her 20-year education career teaching 8th grade social studies at Davisville Middle School in North Kingstown. During that time she was selected as a Fulbright Exchange Teacher and taught for a year in the United Kingdom.

Barden holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Providence College, a bachelor’s degree in secondary education/social studies from Rhode Island College and a master’s degree in labor relations from the University of Rhode Island.