Become a Part of NCTE’s Story—Submit an Award Nomination Today! - National Council of Teachers of English
Back to Blog

Become a Part of NCTE’s Story—Submit an Award Nomination Today!

Field Notes

NCTE’s awards tell the story of excellence in literacy education. The stories of the individual leaders receiving our awards illustrate a high level of expertise and dedication to students and our profession—and commitment to building a better world.  

NCTE offers many awards, spanning a wide range of categories within the field of literacy education. Every award is judged by a panel of literacy educators—members of our NCTE community who are eager to recognize the excellence present in the field. The award application process for many awards takes only a few minutes to submit after requested information is gathered, and we encourage applicants at all levels, preK through university. Many of our awardees receive national recognition at the NCTE awards ceremony held every fall as well as other recognition and support. 

Are you ready to contribute new stories of excellence in literacy education? Do you have a colleague whose story and body of work deserves national recognition? Submit your nominations for our awards today! A full listing of awards, criteria, and deadlines can be found on the Awards homepage, with different categories such as the NCTE Leadership Awards available for refined searching. Contact us at NCTEAwards@ncte.org if you’d like to periodically receive information about NCTE’s awards.  

Nominate the leaders you admire. Together, we will create new narratives that center excellence.

Emily Kirkpatrick
Emily Kirkpatrick is an experienced senior executive with deep expertise in organizational strategy, programmatic innovation, external communications, and fundraising in the education and nonprofit space. Ms. Kirkpatrick assumed her position as the Executive Director of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)—the oldest and one of the largest literacy and education organizations in the United States—in November 2015, overseeing the professional home to English language arts teachers from preK through university and amplifying the voices of educators through connection, collaborations, and a shared mission to improve the teaching and learning of English. Prior to NCTE, Ms. Kirkpatrick served in multiple leadership roles at the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), an organization dedicated to eradicating poverty through education solutions for families. During her tenure at NCFL, Ms. Kirkpatrick created the award-winning digital learning platform Wonderopolis®, which reached millions of children across the globe and which was recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the top 50 websites of 2011.   A transformative leader, Ms. Kirkpatrick has dedicated her career to public service and civic engagement, seeking to increase national literacy and social mobility, amplify educator voices, and advance the inclusion and empowerment of women.   A native and longtime resident of Kentucky, Ms. Kirkpatrick has also served in planning and public relations roles at the Kentucky Office of the Secretary of Education, Arts and Humanities, and advanced the inclusion of women in public service positions while at the Kentucky Commission on Women. She earned her MBA with honors from Bellarmine University and her BA from Centre College in Kentucky.