WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 9, 2025 – The NEA Foundation has announced that Karen J. Pittman, founding partner of Knowledge to Power Catalysts and a leading voice in positive youth development, will receive the prestigious 2026 Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education. The award honors Pittman’s transformative work in expanding educational opportunity and building systems that help all young people succeed.
Pittman’s impact on public education spans decades of building organizations that challenge traditional approaches to youth services. She co-founded the Forum for Youth Investment in 1998, which incubated field-strengthening initiatives including the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, the Opportunity Youth Network, and the Ready by 21 National Partnership.
In 2021, she co-founded Knowledge to Power Catalysts, a consulting firm advancing science-informed strategies for youth thriving, and most recently established the Alliance for Youth Thriving to create community-wide, year-round pathways for young people. Often called the “godmother” of the positive youth development movement, Pittman has championed integrating academic learning with social-emotional development and out-of-school opportunities, fundamentally reshaping how educators and policymakers understand youth success.
“Karen Pittman’s visionary leadership has transformed how we think about supporting young people’s development across the entire learning ecosystem,” said Sara A. Sneed, president and CEO of The NEA Foundation. “Her work has consistently centered equity, emphasized the importance of youth voice, and insisted that we optimize all the people, places, and possibilities available to help children and youth thrive. She exemplifies the kind of transformative leadership this award was created to honor.”
For over two decades, the Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education has honored individuals and organizations that have significantly increased understanding of public education or otherwise dedicated themselves to serving educators and students. Past recipients include educators, organizations, and leaders such as Linda Darling-Hammond, President William J. Clinton, and Sesame Street Workshop.
The award will be formally presented at the NEA Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education gala on February 13, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The annual gala celebrates excellence in public education and recognizes outstanding contributions to advancing educational equity and opportunity.
About The NEA Foundation The NEA Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting justice, opportunity, equity, and excellence in public education. Founded by educators in 1969, the NEA Foundation ensures that all students have access to the high-quality learning experiences they need to become informed, empathetic, and engaged citizens—vital to a thriving democracy. For more information, visit www.neafoundation.org.
