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Ellen Dempsey

Ellen Dempsey is the founder and president of Teachers Network, a national not-for-profit organization established to enhance the educational experience of all students by recognizing and rewarding creative classroom instruction with direct grants to teachers and by promoting teacher networks.

With a B.A. degree in Psychology from Russell Sage College, and an M.A. in English Education from New York University, Ellen began her career in the classroom where she taught English in New York City's Chinatown. After receiving an M.S. in Guidance and Counseling from Hunter College, Ellen became a guidance counselor in East Harlem.

In 1977, Ellen became Assistant Director of Curriculum at the New York City Board of Education, which involved her in overseeing the development of publications and educational programs for the New York City public schools.

In 1980, Ellen became the director of IMPACT II in New York City —the predecessor of the Teachers Network. In 1984, she became the first president of the Teachers Network national organization—which currently has 25 affiliates across the country, as well as in Ireland and in the United Kingdom . Ellen was the executive producer of Take an Idea and Go Creative, and Where Have All The Teachers Gone? —film and videos produced by Teachers Network Productions, and shown on public television. Current projects under Ellen's leadership include The TeachNet Project, the Teachers Network Leadership Institute (TNLI), and the New Teacher Resource Program. She also spearheads the ongoing development of Teachers Network's #1 award-winning website, www.teachersnetwork.org .

Among awards received have been the Apple Polisher Award from the Association For A Better New York and the Educational Leadership Award from the Educational Administrators Association (AFL-CIO). Ellen has also served on the board of directors of A+ for Kids Teacher Network (WWOR-TV). Ellen was a consultant for WWOR-TV and Business Week Magazine on the television show "Our Future at Risk." She also served on the advisory board of the Carnegie Scholars Project for Teachers, a program of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teachers, and the Ford Foundation-sponsored Finance Project.

Ellen authored "Teacher-to-Teacher Networking" for the School Administrator and "IMPACT II: A Teacher-to-Teacher Networking Program" in Educational Leadership. Ellen wrote about Teachers Network's work in new media in an article "The TeachNet Project: Changing the Way We Teach and Learn Through New Media” for Technos Quarterly. Working in conjunction with Saint Patrick's College in Dublin , Ellen brought the TeachNet project to the Republic of Ireland in the spring of 2001. TeachNet Ireland was launched at a ceremony attended by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and Saint Patrick's College President Pauric Travers. In the spring of 2003, Ellen was also instrumental in launching the TeachNet project in the United Kingdom , in conjunction with the Specialist Schools Trust. Currently, a major project which Ellen is directing is the “What Keeps Good Teachers in the Classroom” initiative, sponsored by the Ford Foundation.