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.

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 Wendy Kopp is married to Richard Barth. They have four children and live in Manhattan.

Awards Honorary doctorates 2015: Arizona State University 2014: University of Oklahoma 2013: Boston University 2012: Dartmouth College 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 2023: ASU+GSV Lifetime Achievement Award 2021: WISE Prize for Education 2009: The Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship 2008: Presidential Citizens Medal 2006: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 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)