Dave Levin

After graduating from Yale University in 1992, Dave Levin joined Teach For America where he taught fifth grade in Houston, Texas. In 1994, Dave won Teacher of the Year honors from his school in Houston, the Jefferson Award for outstanding community service in the city of Houston, and an outstanding teaching award from Teach For America.

Dave co-founded KIPP, the Knowledge is Power Program, in 1994. KIPP began as a college-preparatory program with 47 fifth graders and is now a national network of PreK-12 public charter schools serving more than 175,000 students and alumni.

Dave has been awarded the Presidential Citizen’s Medal, our nation’s second highest presidential award for a private citizen; Thomas Fordham Foundation Prize for Valor; the National Jefferson Award for Distinguished Public Service by a Private Citizen; the Charles Bronfman Prize; the Ashoka Fellowship; the McGraw Hill Prize; and the National Community Service Award from Spelman College.

Dave holds an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from both Yale University and Duke University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University. Outside of KIPP, Dave helped co-found five organizations: Relay Graduate School of Education, Zearn, the Character Lab, nXu, and Array Education, an innovation studio. Dave currently splits his time between KIPP and Array Education, where he serves as a partner. Dave lives in New York City with his wife, two sons, and three dogs.