Wendy Kopp
# Wendy Kopp

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

Wendy Kopp attended Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas and later was an undergraduate in the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She received her Arts Baccalaureate 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 177-page long senior thesis titled "An Argument and Plan for the Creation of the Teachers Corps" which she completed under the supervision of Marvin Bressler. 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.

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.

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.

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.

## Personal life

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

## Awards

### Honorary doctorates

* 2014: University of Oklahoma
* 2013: Boston University
* 2012: Harvard University
* 2010: Marquette University
* 2009: Washington University in 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
* 2008: Ashoka Fellowship
* 2006: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
* 2006: The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize 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
* 1991: Echoing Green Fellowship

## Trivia

On February 5, 2007, Kopp appeared on The Colbert Report.

## Published works

* One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way (2001)
* A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education for All (2011)
