Wendy Kopp

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Wendy Kopp
File:Wendy Kopp - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012.jpg
Kopp at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in 2012
Born Wendy Sue Kopp
(1967-06-29) June 29, 1967 (age 56)
Austin, TX
Nationality American
Alma mater Princeton University
Occupation Founder, Teach For America CEO and Co-Founder, Teach For All

Wendy Sue Kopp (born June 29, 1967) is the CEO and Co-Founder of Teach For All, a global network of independent nonprofit organizations working to expand educational opportunity in their own countries and the Founder of Teach For America (TFA), a national teaching corps.

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 and the University Press Club.

Teach For America

In 1989, 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, Kopp 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, Kopp transitioned out of the role of CEO of Teach For America and named Elisa Villanueva Beard and Matt Kramer as co-CEOs of the organization. Villanueva Beard assumed full leadership in September 2015. Today, Kopp remains an active member of Teach For America's board.[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.

According to 2012 online records, Kopp makes at least $416,876 per year.[5]

Personal life

Kopp is married to Richard Barth, president of the KIPP Foundation. They have four children and live in Manhattan.[6]

Awards

Honorary doctorates
  • 2014: The University of Oklahoma
  • 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[7]

Published works

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.
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  7. http://www.jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national
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External links

Biographies:

Interviews and speeches: