New York, NY – Teachers College, Columbia University has recognized its 2025 Alumni Award recipients, celebrating five exceptional graduates whose work reflects the College’s mission to advance education, health, psychology and social impact around the world. The award recipients were celebrated during Alumni Day on Saturday, October 18, which brought together hundreds of alumni, students, faculty and friends for a day of community, connection and reflection. Attendees also engaged in expert conversations on topics like AI in learning, human resilience, leadership development and more.

Held annually, Alumni Day celebrates the Teachers College alumni community — a network of more than 100,000 graduates who are making an impact globally across education, health and psychology — and the transformative power of a Teachers College education. Each year, the event honors the achievements of several graduates who are making a difference across sectors — driving innovation, expanding opportunity, and improving lives in their communities and beyond.

“Teachers College alumni are leaders in addressing some of the greatest challenges of our time,” said Thomas Bailey, president of Teachers College, Columbia University. “Their work across PK-12 schools, mental health, artificial intelligence and more reminds us that the impact of education extends far beyond the classroom. It influences policy, strengthens communities and changes lives. Alumni Day is an  opportunity to honor that legacy and celebrate the enduring connections that make the TC community so strong.”

This year’s honorees represent the breadth of the Teachers College alumni community — from corporate leadership and global education to public health, migration research and higher education. Collectively, they exemplify the impact of TC graduates working to build a more equitable, informed and connected world.

2025 Awardees

Distinguished Alumni Award

• Monique Herena (M.A. '17) is the Chief Colleague Experience Officer at American Express, where she is responsible for leading all aspects of the colleague experience globally. Monique has 30 years of experience across the HR field, leading global teams and driving change and culture transformation.
• Rebecca Winthrop (Ph.D. '08) is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Her research focuses on education globally, with special attention to the skills young people need to thrive in work, life and as constructive citizens. She is the author of The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better (2025). 

Early Career Award

• Alexandra DeSorbo-Quinn (Ed.D. '16) is the Founding Executive Director of Pilot Light, a national nonprofit working to integrate food education into PK-12 classrooms through teacher partnership. Under her leadership, Pilot Light developed the first-ever Food Education Standards — an academic framework that empowers teachers to connect food to core subjects and equip students with lifelong skills for health, critical thinking, and community engagement.
• Gabrielle Oliveira (M.A. '14, Ph.D. '15) is the Jorge Paulo Lemann Associate Professor of Education and of Brazil Studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As an anthropologist of education, her research explores the dynamics of — and solutions to — migration, education, and inequality as experienced by Latin American children and youth, in the U.S. and internationally.

Award for Outstanding Service

• William Baldwin (Ed.M. '81, Ed.D. '82) is Professor Emeritus of Higher and Postsecondary Education at Teachers College. Since Baldwin’s arrival in 1977, his diligent service across the TC community has included both faculty and administrative leadership.

“Serving others is what TC alumni are called to do,” says Jane Elizabeth Brown (M.A. ’10), who became President of the Alumni Council on June 1. “The recipients of this year’s Alumni Awards embody that profound duty, and to honor them at TC Alumni Day is among our most meaningful experiences as a community in our shared work.”

Together, the 2025 Alumni Award recipients represent the spirit of Teachers College at its finest, leaders and changemakers whose work strengthens communities, advances knowledge and reaffirms the transformative power of education for the public good. Their achievements continue a long tradition of TC alumni driving progress worldwide.