Wendy Kopp

Wendy Kopp is an American social entrepreneur best known as the founder of Teach For America, a national nonprofit organization that recruits and trains recent college graduates to teach in public schools in low-income communities. Her subsequent founding of the global network Teach For All has expanded this model to over 60 countries. Kopp's career has been dedicated to addressing educational inequity in the United States and around the world, making her a prominent figure in education reform.

Early life and education

Born in Austin, Texas, she grew up in the Dallas suburb of University Park. She attended Highland Park High School before enrolling at Princeton University. As an undergraduate majoring in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, she became deeply concerned with the disparities in the American education system. Her senior thesis at Princeton University proposed the creation of a national teaching corps, which became the foundational blueprint for Teach For America.

Career and Teach For America

Upon graduating from Princeton University in 1989, she immediately began working to turn her thesis idea into reality. She raised a $2.5 million startup grant, much of it from major corporations like Union Carbide and Mobil, and recruited the inaugural corps of 500 teachers. Launched in 1990, Teach For America placed these first members in six underserved regions, including Los Angeles and New York City. As the founding CEO, she led the organization for 24 years, overseeing its growth into a major force that has placed tens of thousands of corps members in hundreds of school districts across the United States. The model has also inspired numerous alumni to pursue leadership roles in education, such as founding the KIPP charter network and serving in the United States Department of Education.

Later work and other initiatives

In 2007, she co-founded Teach For All, a global network of independent partner organizations adapting the Teach For America model to their own countries' contexts. Partners include Teach First in the United Kingdom, Enseña por México, and Teach For Bangladesh. She served as CEO of Teach For All until 2021. She is also the author of two books: *A Chance to Make History* and *One Day, All Children...*. Furthermore, she co-founded the One World Network of Schools, an initiative aimed at sharing educational innovations globally. She continues to serve on various boards, including those of the Broad Center and the Teach For America national board.

Awards and recognition

Her work has been widely recognized with numerous honors. She received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 1994, she was named one of *Time* magazine's "40 Under 40" and later, in 2008, was included in its list of the "100 Most Influential People." She has been awarded the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education and honorary doctorates from institutions like Princeton University, Georgetown University, and Smith College. The Clinton Global Citizen Award and the Presidential Citizens Medal are among her other notable accolades.

Personal life

She is married to Richard Barth, the former CEO of the KIPP Foundation, a national network of college-preparatory charter schools. They have four children and reside in New York City. Her family life is often noted in the context of her dual commitment to both her pioneering work in education and her role as a parent.