Wendy Kopp

Current Company

Teach For All — Founder & CEO

A Senior Thesis That Changed American Education

In 1989, Princeton senior Wendy Kopp wrote a thesis proposing a national teacher corps that would recruit top college graduates to teach in under-resourced public schools. The idea became Teach For America, which she founded immediately after graduation with no teaching experience and no business background — just a conviction that talent and commitment could make a difference in the nation's most challenging classrooms.

Teach For America grew from 500 corps members in its first year to placing thousands of teachers annually in schools across the country. The program became one of the most selective employers in America, attracting graduates from top universities who committed to two years of teaching in low-income communities. Alumni went on to lead schools, districts, nonprofits, and education policy at every level.

Taking the Model Global

In 2007, Wendy Kopp co-founded Teach For All, a global network of independent organizations in over 60 countries that adapt the Teach For America model to their local contexts. From Teach First in the United Kingdom to Enseña Chile in South America, the network has recruited and trained tens of thousands of teachers and leaders working to expand educational opportunity worldwide.

As Founder and CEO of Teach For All, Kopp oversees a movement that has fundamentally shaped how the world thinks about educational equity, leadership development, and the role of talent in solving systemic problems. Her journey from college thesis to global education network is one of the most impactful social entrepreneurship stories of the past 35 years.