Wendy Kopp

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Wendy Kopp

Kopp at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in 2012
Born Wendy Sue Kopp
(1967-06-29) June 29, 1967
Austin, TX
Nationality American
Alma mater Princeton University
Occupation

Founder and Chair of the Board, Teach For America

CEO and Co-Founder, Teach For All

Wendy Sue Kopp (born June 29, 1967) is the Founder and Chair of the Board of Teach For America (TFA), a national teaching corps. She is also the CEO and Co-Founder of Teach For All, a global network of independent nonprofit organizations that apply the same model as Teach For America in other countries.

Background

Kopp attended Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas and later was an undergraduate in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton in 1989 and was a member of Princeton's Business Today.

Teach For America

In 1989, Wendy Kopp proposed the creation of Teach For America in her undergraduate thesis at Princeton University. She was advised in her thesis by senior sociology professor Marvin Bressler.[1] She was convinced that many in her generation were searching for a way to assume a significant responsibility that would make a real difference in the world and that top college students would choose teaching over more lucrative opportunities if a prominent teacher corps existed.[2]

Shortly after graduating from Princeton, Kopp founded Teach For America. In 1990, 500 recent college graduates joined Teach For America’s charter corps.

In 2007, Wendy founded Teach For All, a global network of independent nonprofit organizations that apply the same model as Teach For America in other countries.[3]

In 2013, Wendy stepped down from her position as CEO of Teach For America and assumed the role of board chair for the organization. [4]

Kopp chronicled her experiences at Teach For America in two books, One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way and A Chance To Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education For All.

Personal life

Kopp is married to Richard Barth, president of the KIPP Foundation. They have four children and live in Manhattan.[5]

Honorary Doctorates

  • 2013: Boston University
  • 2012: Harvard University
  • 2010: Marquette University
  • 2009: Washington University of St. Louis
  • 2008: Georgetown University
  • 2007: Mount Holyoke College
  • 2007: Rhodes College
  • 2004: Pace University
  • 2004: Mercy College
  • 2001: Smith College
  • 2000: Princeton University
  • 1995: Connecticut College
  • 1995: Drew University

Awards

  • 2011: Spelman College National Community Service Award
  • 2008: The Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship
  • 2008: Presidential Citizens Medal
  • 2006: The Harold McGraw, Jr. Price in Education Award
  • 2004: The John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award
  • 2003: The Clinton Center Award for Leadership and National Service
  • 2003: The Schwab Foundation's Outstanding Social Entrepreneur Award
  • 1994: Aetna's Voice of Conscience Award
  • 1994: The Citizen Activist Award from the Gleitsman Foundation
  • 1993: Princeton University Woodrow Wilson Award
  • 1991: The Jefferson Award for Public Service[6]

Books

Trivia

Footnotes

  1. Patel, Ushma, Marvin Bressler, sociologist, education pioneer and mentor, dies, News at Princeton, Princeton University, July 9, 2010 12:42 p.m. ET. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  2. "Kopp Named MHC Commencement Speaker". 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-24. 
  3. "Our History". Retrieved 2012-11-29. 
  4. "Teach For America Founder Voted Chair of the Board". 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-15. 
  5. Gootman, Elissa (2011-04-10). "No Breakfast, but Bagels for Lunch". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-04-10. 
  6. http://www.jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national
  7. "Wendy Kopp Pays a Visit to the Colbert Nation". Retrieved 2007-04-19. 

External links

Biographies:

Interviews and speeches:

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