Rostan, June

Dates

• Existence: 1947-

Biography

June M. Rostan was born in Valdese, North Carolina on May 8, 1947. She graduated from Valdese High School in 1965. After graduation she attended Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1969. Rostan then did graduate work at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and earned a Master of Arts in Special Education in 1970.

After receiving her graduate degree, Rostan taught at schools for the deaf in western North Carolina and East Tennessee. In 1974, Rostan became involved in grassroots organizing through participation in the Georgia Power Project in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1975, she received education in community organizing at the Midwest Academy in Chicago. She also became involved in adult education as a staff member of the Southern Appalachian Ministry in Higher Education, 1976 to 1977.

In the late 1970s, Rostan served on various committees and led numerous workshops for the advancement of adult education, women's rights, and occupational health and safety. She served as the labor education coordinator at the Highlander Research and Education Center in Knoxville, Tennessee in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At Highlander, Rostan taught General Education Development (G.E.D.) classes to members and family members of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union.

Rostan served as health and safety coordinator for the Coal Employment Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee from 1982 to 1987. In February 1987, she assumed a position as an educator at the Southern Empowerment Project (SEP) in Maryville, Tennessee.

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