Ms Wendy Kopp
CEO and Co-Founder, Teach For All
Collective leadership
Global
Mobilising the energy of her generation against educational inequity
“Across the Teach For All global network, we’ve seen how much more progress we can make when we’re learning from each other across borders.
As we work to ensure that all children can fulfill their potential, we’ve seen there are many similarities in the challenges faced in different communities and countries, and that the solutions are much more shareable than many assume. I’m honored to be a part of the Council and am looking forward to contributing to this global community so that together, we can work towards ensuring that all the world’s children have the education, support and opportunity to shape a better future for all of us.”
— Ms Wendy Kopp
Ms Wendy Kopp is CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All, a global network of independent organizations that are cultivating their nations’ promising future leaders to ensure their most marginalised children have the chance to fulfill their true potential.
Ms Kopp founded Teach For America in 1989 to marshal the energy of her generation against educational inequity in the United States. Today, more than 6,000 Teach For America corps members—outstanding recent college graduates and professionals of all academic disciplines—are in the midst of two-year teaching commitments in over 50 urban and rural regions, and Teach For America has proven to be an unparalleled source of long-term leadership for expanding opportunity for children. After leading Teach For America’s growth and development for 24 years, in 2013, Wendy transitioned out of the role of CEO.
She led the development of Teach For All to be responsive to the initiative of inspiring social entrepreneurs around the world who were determined to adapt this approach in their own countries. Currently, the Teach For All network comprises of partner organizations in 58 countries on six continents, including its founding partners Teach For America and the U.K.’s Teach First. She has been recognized as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
Achieving education equity by developing collective leadership
Founded in 2007, Teach For All is a growing global network of independent organizations in 58 countries across six continents. The organisation aims to achieve education equity in a sustainable way by investing in developing collective leadership among students, educators, and community members, to reshape education systems around the world.
Teach For All network partners recruit promising local leaders to commit at least two years to teach in the schools and communities that are most in need. The network has placed 112,000 teachers over time. Through on-going training and development, these teachers become strong classroom leaders and gain a foundation for informing and building the collective leadership it takes to effect systemic change. Annually, these teachers reach more than one million in marginalized communities.
Teach For All has proven to develop a significant number of extraordinary leaders who continue to teach in under-resourced communities and/ or continue working to serve these communities as school and district leaders, policy makers, advocates, and entrepreneurs.
The organisation believes in leaders that are locally rooted and globally informed, therefore providing a platform for participants around the world to share solutions to accelerate progress.