John Legend Joins Teach For America's National Board

NEW YORK CITY, September 28, 2010—Teach For America announced today that it has named John Legend, humanitarian and acclaimed singer and songwriter, to its National Board of Directors. Teach For America is the national corps of top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in underserved schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity.

A recording artist, concert performer, and philanthropist, Legend has won six Grammy Awards and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. Throughout his career, he has worked to make a difference in the lives of others. In 2007, Legend launched the Show Me Campaign (ShowMeCampaign.org), an initiative to break the cycle of poverty by fighting for equal access to quality education in the United States.

“We’ve been so inspired by John’s deep engagement in improving education in urban and rural areas,” said Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America. “We are excited to welcome him to our board and have his help in generating the awareness and support to grow Teach For America’s impact and fuel an unstoppable movement to ensure educational opportunity for all kids.”

Legend, who will appear at a Teach For America recruitment event next month to rally young people to join the effort to close the achievement gap, said, “Teach For America understands that every child can learn at the highest level, if only he or she is given the opportunity to do so. I’m looking forward to working with this innovative organization in its ongoing effort to channel some of our nation’s best minds against our greatest civil-rights issue—the inequities in our education system”

Legend also sits on the boards of The Education Equality Project and the Harlem Village Academies, and serves as co-chair (with Rupert Murdoch) of the Harlem Village Academies’ National Leadership Board.

About Teach For America
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Today, more than 8,200 corps members are teaching in 39 regions across the country while 20,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.

About The Show Me Campaign
Created by Grammy Award-winning artist John Legend, the Show Me Campaign is a nonprofit organization that fights poverty using proven solutions. Believing that equal access to quality education is the civil rights issue of our time, the Show Me Campaign fights for education reform in the United States. More information can be found at www.showmecampaign.org.