Longtime Winpisinger Education and Technology Center Director Chris Wagoner has announced his retirement from the IAM, leaving a storied legacy of expanding educational opportunities in the union. IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. has appointed Winpisinger Center Assistant Director Mary McHugh as the center’s new director.
Wagoner’s retirement and McHugh’s appointment are both effective July 1, 2022.
Over his 33-year career at the Winpisinger Center, Wagoner has continued to establish the Hollywood, MD campus, often referred to as the “crown jewel of the IAM,” as the leading union educational center in North America. Wagoner has overseen a massive expansion in programming at the center, including negotiations preparation, remote learning, and Spanish-language classes.
After hiring on as an education representative at the Winpisinger Center in 1989, Wagoner became the center’s assistant director in 2005. He has served as director since 2007.
“The impact that Chris Wagoner has had on the IAM and generations of members is nearly unrivaled in the history of our union,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “For more than 30 years, Chris has been a familiar and friendly face to IAM members, officers and staff, serving as a mentor to so many along the way. His legacy at the Winpisinger Center will live on in the hearts and minds of members who have benefited from his teaching and passion for justice, diversity and equality. We will sorely miss his presence in our union, but wish him and his family all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”
McHugh will become the fifth director, and first woman director, in the 40-year history of IAM’s Winpisinger Center on July 1.
After beginning her IAM career in 1995 as an associate general counsel in the Legal Department, McHugh became assistant director of the Winpisinger Center in 2006. She has taught a wide variety of subjects in staff, departmental and leadership programs at the Winpisinger Center.
McHugh, who was raised in a union household on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, will continue to adapt the Winpsinger Center to meet the needs of today’s working families.
“Mary knows the organization and she knows our membership,” said Martinez. “She is committed to making sure that IAM members, officers and staff have the skills they need to function effectively in a world that is rapidly changing. I look forward to Mary’s strong leadership as the Winpisinger Center continues to innovate and be a place where new ideas and approaches to growing and strengthening our union are discussed and implemented.”