Why it's time for international development to put people first
International development needs to shift its approach from defining problems and intervening to developing the agency and leadership of those affected.
Wendy Kopp is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Teach For All, and the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Teach For America. She proposed the creation of Teach For America in her undergraduate senior thesis in 1989 and has spent +20 years working to grow the organization’s impact. She was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2008, and received numerous honorary degrees and awards. She is the author of A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn’t in Providing an Excellent Education for All (2011) and One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way (2000).
International development needs to shift its approach from defining problems and intervening to developing the agency and leadership of those affected.