The Saint Paul teachers union has chosen a new leader to take the helm, replacing Leah VanDassor after more than a year of controversy.
VanDassor will step down as president of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE), with Carrie Kyung set to take over June 15, the union confirmed when Alpha News called to ask.
Kyung is listed as an English/Language Arts teacher at Washington Technology Middle School and has served on SPFE bargaining teams in recent contract negotiations.
As of Monday, the transition had not been publicly announced on the union’s website, which previously listed board roles but no longer appears to do so.
Leadership change comes after controversy surrounding VanDassor
In December 2025, a petition titled “Calling for Accountability and Leadership Change in SPFE” urged VanDassor to step down, citing concerns about public trust tied to allegations of sexual and physical abuse in her home and Alpha News’ exclusive reporting.
Alpha News is the only Twin Cities media outlet to report on those allegations, which include a first-hand account from VanDassor’s adopted daughter, Destiny, now 30, and police reports from 2007 to 2013 documenting physical and sexual abuse allegations inside the VanDassor home.
Those records include reports of bruising, disclosures from children, and repeated contacts with law enforcement and child protection agencies that did not result in charges at the time.
“I always had bruises and marks on me from getting hit by her,” Destiny alleged, saying her adoptive mother, Leah VanDassor, often slapped, punched and kicked her and the other adopted children when they were misbehaving.
Destiny also alleged that her adoptive father, Russ VanDassor — Leah VanDassor’s husband at the time — sexually abused her beginning when she was about eight years old and that Leah, a St. Paul teacher and mandated reporter, knew about the abuse and failed to act.
“Leah absolutely knew,” Destiny alleged to Alpha News. “I told her he was touching me, and she’d always say, ‘Well, did you talk to him about it first?’ But my thing was, why would I talk to him if I’m telling you what he’s doing to me?”
Destiny also recalled a time when she and her siblings — who she says were also being abused by Russ — allegedly found printed child pornography and fictional stories about a man having sex with a child, which she says they turned over to Leah. “She never did anything, never said a word,” Destiny claims.
Leah went on to be elected SPFE union president in 2021.
Leah VanDassor ‘supportive’ of Russ VanDassor after felony child sex conviction
Alpha News previously reported on Russ’s felony conviction for attempted criminal sexual conduct with an 11-year-old boy in 2018, which occurred at the St. Paul home he shared with Leah.
A criminal complaint described the disturbing details which included Russ pulling the boy’s pants down and asking if he could “suck [his] penis.” Police also found photos of the boy with his genitals exposed on Russ’s cellphone.
A January 2020 court document filed by Russ’s attorney in that case states that “Leah Van Dassor, Mr. Van Dassor’s wife, remains supportive of him, despite her hurt and confusion regarding the offense. They are divorced, but she describes their relationship as ‘amicable.’ She continues to visit him at the jail and speak with him over the phone.”
Russ was ultimately sentenced to 72 months in prison.
Neither Leah VanDassor nor the Saint Paul Federation of Educators has publicly commented on the abuse allegations, despite multiple inquiries from Alpha News.
READ MORE: Alpha News’ exclusive interview with Destiny VanDassor
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
