Cyndi Oberle-Dahm has been a social studies teacher at Belleville West for over 25 years and a member of the Belleville Federation of Teachers, Local 434 since her first day of teaching.  For the last 20 years she has held a position of leadership in 434, and she was recently elected as President of the Southwest Area Council (SWAC). In October 2022, she was elected as the Secretary Treasurer of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. 

Cyndi received her BS from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and her MS from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and she has been a staunch advocate for using social studies classes to frame movements for justice.  In fact, her eldest son is currently an organizer for the first wall to wall labor union in the country for undergraduate workers. Cyndi is a deputy registrar as well, frequently registering hundreds of students to vote each year.  Along with teaching high school students, Cyndi also has worked tirelessly as a Fulbright Scholar to promote global education in the state of Illinois.  In 2014 as a Fulbright, Cyndi traveled to Russia to share “innovative teaching methods” to Russian teachers of English.  

As President of SWAC, Cyndi sees how issues such as economic inequality, racial justice and underfunded schools impact all regions of the state and at all levels of public education.  In her spare time, Cyndi teaches yoga and mindfulness within the community.  She resides in Swansea, IL with her husband Norm, a retired public school teacher, and her four children.