Day 20: Focus on Education: Diana Burroughs, TeachersCount
Diana Burroughs, co-founder and Executive Director of TeachersCount, holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University, where she was the recipient of a Domestic Fulbright for four years. She most recently served as the Manhattan Borough Deputy to the NYC Schools Chancellor.
TeachersCount is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to raise the status of the teaching profession and provide resources to the education community. Using a public service announcement national ad campaign and related initiatives, TeachersCount is working to create a permanent culture of teacher appreciation in the United States.
TeachersCount’s most visible program is the “Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher” Campaign—which began as a series of print public service announcements in the Time Inc. family of magazines. Each ad features a celebrity and his or her teacher, along with a few uplifting words about teaching. In October, 2006, First Lady Laura Bush, who posed for an ad with her favorite teacher, spoke at the official launch of the campaign in New York City. Other famous faces in the campaign include actor America Ferrera, musician Carrie Underwood, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, NFL legend Steve Young, fashion designer Zac Posen and many others. Due to a large number of requests from teachers, the campaign was expanded in 2008 and poster versions of the ads were created. Jones New York In The Classroom, which underwrites the production costs of the ads, and Scholastic, which distributes the posters, are the campaign’s biggest supporters.
11 MAY 2011