Alumni Stories

Share Your Story

Penn GSE welcomes news of how our alumni are educating, leading, and innovating to shape the future of education. We hope you will draw inspiration from the stories we’ve shared on Penn GSE social media and take a moment to share your work with us.


Learn More About Our Share Your Story Campaign

Covers of children’s books written by Penn GSE students and alumni, clockwise from top left: Every Child Deserves by Zaden and his two Dads, Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite, ABeCedarios: Mexican Folk Art ABCs in English and Spanish by Cynthia Weill, and The Lost Umbrellas of Lexington by Meredith Newman
July 22, 2024
Empowering young minds: Penn GSE's impact through children's literature

Penn GSE’s community reshapes stories for young readers with diverse voices. 

  • Race, Equity & Inclusion
  • Language, Literacy & Culture
  • Alumni
Penn GSE Associate Professor Brooks Bowden leaning against a chalkboard
April 30, 2024
Back Where She Began: A. Brooks Bowden's Journey from Student to Change-Maker

A. Brooks Bowden, now a tenured associate professor at Penn GSE, transforms her early passion for psychology into influential educational policy research, driving change and shaping futures from the very institution that once inspired her own.

  • Education Policy & Analysis
  • Alumni
April 1, 2024
2024 Education Alumni Awards honorees announced

These seven Penn GSE alumni will be recognized May 18 during the Celebration of Educators, alongside teacher honorees and other annual award recipients.

  • Alumni
Julee Gard, wearing a red cap, a navy blue and white striped shirt, and a brown apron, is focused on serving sausages at a soup kitchen in Joliet, Illinois, alongside her University of St. Francis colleagues.
March 12, 2024
Penn GSE alum Julee Gard protects the financial viability of small universities

Gard developed the Financial Viability Index, a color-coded tool designed to help small, tuition-dependent colleges analyze their financial health efficiently and take actionable steps to avoid closure.

  • Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Higher Education
  • Leadership
  • Alumni
Taylor Hausburg and Zachary Herrmann at the UN.
March 5, 2024
Pioneering change: How Penn GSE alumni combat climate crisis

Penn GSE alumni are addressing the challenge of climate change across various sectors, including film, finance, communications, and education, as highlighted in the Penn GSE Magazine.

  • Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Alumni
Nimet Eren, dressed in red attire, stands in her office surrounded by a collection of artifacts that reflect her journey as an educator.
February 16, 2024
Homeroom: The story behind Nimet Eren’s artifacts at Kensington Health

Nimet Eren, a Penn GSE graduate and principal of Kensington Health Sciences Academy, blends innovative education with a community focus.

  • Race, Equity & Inclusion
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Alumni
Dr. Constance E. Clayton sits in a peach colored skirt and blazer, surrounded by attendees at the 2016 Constance E. Clayton Lecture
September 29, 2023
Penn GSE community remembers Dr. Constance E. Clayton, a groundbreaking alum and former Philly superintendent

In addition to a chaired professorship in her name and a fellowship she helped establish, Clayton leaves behind a legacy of quality education for students from all backgrounds.

  • Philadelphia Impact
  • Race, Equity & Inclusion
  • Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Education Policy & Analysis
  • Leadership
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Alumni
Mark Ziegler-Thayer smiles at the camera wearing a white blazer over a gray sweater, standing in front of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C. The words “U.S. Department of Education” are mounted on the face of the building in large metal letters above Mark’s head.
August 23, 2023
Alum burnishes skills as a presidential fellow at U.S. Department of Education

Mark Ziegler-Thayer started out as a part-time kindergarten teacher’s assistant. The experience changed their life. Two master’s degrees later, they are now working to effect change at the national level in a prestigious, two-year Presidential Management Fellows program, where they hope to increase access to high-quality and equitable education for all students.

  • Alumni
Dean Grossman stands in the middle of six smiling Education Alumni Award winners in front of a screen with the Penn GSE logo on it.
June 20, 2023
Celebration of Educators event honored alumni, Dean Pam Grossman

The annual Alumni Weekend event included a panel discussion, an awards ceremony, and recognition of teachers who have served in classrooms for more than five years.

  • Alumni
April 3, 2023
2023 Education Alumni Award honorees announced

The 2023 winners, teacher honorees and other annual award recipients will be recognized May 13 during the Celebration of Educators, alongside a panel discussion with Dean Pam Grossman.

  • Alumni

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