Did you know that 206 teachers have earned NGPF's Distinguished Educator Award so far in 2023? Today we're celebrating 33 teachers who earned this award, complete with a beautiful plaque, during Cohort 38 of NGPF Certification Courses.

The NGPF Distinguished Educator Award is one way we recognize educators who commit to in-depth professional development in life-changing personal finance concepts. To earn this award, educators complete any combination of six or more NGPF Certification Courses... each of which consists of 9 hours of instruction and a 1-hour certification exam.

As you can tell, that's a serious commitment deserving of serious rewards. Each NGPF Distinguished Educator gets:

• A paparazzi-worthy plaque to showcase in their classroom,
• A delightful digital badge for their email signature and online profiles, and
• Recognition on the NGPF website, as below.

Meet the newly crowned Distinguished Educators!

Abbigail Blakney from PACE High School (WA)

Shane Brent-Maldonado from Breakthrough San Francisco At SF Day School (CA)

Suann Chapman from Narragansett Regional High School (MA)

Cuidan Chen from International High School at Prospect Heights (NY)

Casey Clark from Olympia High School (NY)

Elizabeth Demaris from Monroe High School (WA)

Maureen Flores from Desert Christian High School (AZ)

Mary Goss from Central Valley School District (PA)

Blaire Haggett from Green Mountain United Way (VT)

Michele Harney from Somerville High School (MA)

Kara Heitzenrater from Fairview High School (PA)

Sydney Hillery from Westside Global Awareness Magnet (CA)

Dr. Brenda Jacobsen from Idaho State University (ID)

Joy Jones from Rockford Christian School (MI)

Michael Lanstrum from Cuyahoga Community College (OH)

Brenda Martin-Lee from Seneca High School (NJ)

Tracey Mascolo from Cliffside Park High School (NJ)

Brenda McMurtrey from Pine View High School (UT)

Matthew Milaszewski from Sutton High School (MA)

Jessica Miller from Seckinger High School (GA)

Teacher Mona from Italki (NY)

Kelly Murphy from Edgemont High School (NY)

Brian O'Connor from Galileo High School (CA)

Pilar Pangelinan from Guam Community College (GU)

Rachel Ramsey from Wyoming Girls School (WY)

Michael Ann Rivera from Southeastern High School (OH)

Jennifer Scarmack from Low Country Virtual Academy (SC)

Sharon Steinke from Osseo-Fairchild School District (WI)

Lesley Timmermann from Wesclin High School (IL)

Michael Twigg from Kennard Dale High School (PA)

Jenn Varga from Willingboro Memorial Middle School (NJ)

Katelynn Whitman from Ashley Ridge High (SC)

Melissa Wooten from Griswold High School (CT)

Meet ALL the NGPF Distinguished Educators

As of writing, 832 teachers have earned the NGPF Distinguished Educator award!

• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 37, announced October 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Pilot Cohort, announced September 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohorts 35-36, announced August 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 34, announced July 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 33, announced June 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 32, announced May 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 31, announced April 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 30, announced February 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 29, announced January 2023)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 28, announced December 2022)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohort 27, announced November 2022)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohorts 25-26, announced September 2022)
• Meet the Distinguished Educators (earned Cohorts 1-24, announced July 2022)

About the Authors

Christian Sherrill

Former teacher, forever financial education nerd. As NGPF's Director of Growth & Advocacy, Christian is laser-focused on our mission to guarantee all students a rigorous personal finance course before crossing the high school graduation stage. Having paid down over $40k in student loans in the span of 3 years - while living in the Bay Area on an entry level teacher's salary - he's eager to help the next generation avoid financial pitfalls one semester at a time.

More posts by Christian

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.

More posts by Hannah