KANAAE Staff
Garry Sigle
Executive Director, KANAAE
Director of MyLocalPLUS, AAE
Garry Sigle serves as the Executive Director of AAE’s state chapter in Kansas. Garry served for 33 years as a teacher and coach at Riley County High School in Riley, Kansas. Garry also serves as Director of MyLocalPLUS for the Association of American Educators.
He is a 1978 graduate of Fort Hays State University with a B.S. in Industrial Arts and a 1982 graduate of Kansas State University with a M.S. in Physical Education. While at Fort Hays, Garry was a five-time NAIA All-American in cross-country and track and field. In 2010, Garry was inducted into the Fort Hays State University Tiger Sports Hall of Fame.
At Riley County High School, Garry taught Woodworking and Drafting and was awarded the 1998 Wal-Mart Area Teacher of the Year. In addition to his teaching duties, Garry was the Head Girls’ and Boys’ Cross Country and Track and Field Coach. His teams won a total of 12 state championships, 7 in girls cross country, 3 in boys cross country and one each in girls and boys track and field. He coached 17 individual state champions in cross country and 56 individual state champions in track and field. Garry finished his track and field coaching career with a streak of 17 consecutive years with at least one individual state champion. The track at Riley County High School was renamed the Garry Sigle Track in 2011.
Garry earned Kansas Coaches Association Coach of the Year 3 times, twice in Girls Cross Country (1992 and 2009) and once in Girls Track and Field (1998). He was also the Midwest Region Girls Track and Field Coach of the Year in 1999 and the Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2010. Garry was active at the state level in the Kansas Coaches Association serving as the Chairman for Cross Country for 10 years. In addition, he served as the president of the Kansas Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association from 1996 to 2004. Garry was inducted into the Kansas Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coaches Hall of Fame, the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame, and the Osborne County Hall of Fame.
Garry has been a member of the Association of American Educators since 1996. In 2008, Garry was the chairperson of the Riley County Educators, a local teacher organization, which successfully voted to decertify from the Kansas NEA. The Riley County Educators then became the recognized bargaining unit for the Riley County teachers. He previously served on KANAAE’s board of directors before becoming Executive Director of KANAAE in 2011.
Garry and his wife, Linda, have three sons.
Garry's favorite teacher is Coach Kent Litton because he had high expectations and made Garry realize he was capable of achieving great things through hard work and perseverance.
Bruce Major
Regional Membership Director, KANAAE
Bruce Major serves as the Regional Membership Director for the Kansas Association of American Educators (KANAAE), the Kansas chapter of the Association of American Educators (AAE). Before taking on this role, he spent 40 years in classrooms, having received his B.S. in Secondary Math Education and M.S. in Educational Administration from Kansas State University. He taught in the Clifton-Clyde schools, Inarajan HS (Guam); Junction City HS, Academia Los Pinares (Honduras), Sacred Heart (Salina), Southeast of Saline, Hillsboro, and finished with one more stint at Sacred Heart.
Bruce is licensed in instrumental music, math, physics, and educational leadership, and has taught at all levels from 4th grade through college. He coached both wrestling and basketball, and his high school bands performed in collaborative concerts with Kansas State University, McPherson College, and Tabor College. He has taught percussion for the KSU Marching Band, Tabor College, and McPherson College, and math for Upper Iowa University. He also served as chairman of the KSDE Licensure Review Committee, and as chairman of the Board of Directors of KANAAE.
Noelani Kahapea
Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy, AAE
Noelani Kahapea serves as the director of policy and advocacy for the Association of American Educators. In this role Noelani cultivates AAE's outreach to the broader education and labor reform policy community.
Prior to joining AAE, Noelani served as the Senior Policy Staff on education and labor policy for the Republican Study Committee in the House of Representatives under three chairmen: Rep. Bill Flores, Rep. Mark Walker, and Rep. Mike Johnson. She also served as the Senior Legislative Assistant to Hawai'i Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom.
Noelani grew up with a diverse educational background, as she attended both public and private schools and was homeschooled. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa with a degree in Political Science. As the daughter, granddaughter, niece, and cousin of teachers, she truly values teachers, admires the role they play in a child's education, and has a true passion for K-12 education policy.
In her free time, Noelani enjoys dancing hula and visiting Disney World. Noelani has also been cast as an extra in a few television shows and movies including Hawaii Five-0 and Jurassic World.
It is easy for Noelani to pick a favorite teacher: her mom, Debbie. Debbie not only taught public school for many years, she also homeschooled Noelani and her two siblings. She instilled not only a love for learning, but also many valuable life lessons that Noelani has finally admitted are priceless.
Sharon Nelson
Senior Director of Legal Services, AAE
Sharon Nelson is the Senior Director of Legal Services for the Association of American Educators. In this capacity, Ms. Nelson oversees AAE's extensive legal teams across the country and works daily with members and panel counsel to address member legal concerns.
A passionate advocate for educators, Ms. Nelson has been a lawyer focusing on employee rights issues for nearly 25 years. Before joining AAE, Ms. Nelson worked in private practice advocating for employee rights.
As a litigator, Ms. Nelson has conducted numerous jury trials, arbitrations and administrative hearings. Licensed in Nevada and California (license inactive), Ms. Nelson has practiced extensively in all state and federal courts in those jurisdictions.
Ms. Nelson's favorite educator is Mr. VonBergon who taught her that life was for living and learning and that there was nothing she could not achieve.
Contact us.
Our team is standing by to serve you. KANAAE office staff in Manhattan, Kansas are supported by AAE staff nationwide. AAE serves members in all fifty states and has staff throughout the country, with offices in California, Arkansas, Kansas, and Pennsylvania.
KANAAE Membership Office:
2505 Anderson Avenue, Suite 101
Manhattan, KS 66502
Hours: M-F 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT
Phone: 785-477-1664
AAE Membership Headquarters:
25909 Pala, Suite 330
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Hours: M-F 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. PT
Phone: 800-704-7799 (toll-free)