Celebrating the legacy of E4E’s Co-Founder and former Co-CEO, the Sydney Morris Activist of the Year Award signifies many of the exemplary qualities that drove Sydney in her Bronx classroom origins to become the leader of an organization dedicated to empowering and uplifting teachers’ voices. The spirit of Sydney’s tenacity, her dedication to ensuring that teacher policies are informed by teachers themselves, and her tireless pursuit in ensuring that teachers always have a seat at the table are just some of the qualities this award seeks to honor in each of our chapters.
2024 Award Winners
Corinne Lydon
Middle School English Teacher Chicago, IL
Corinne Lydon is a Chicago Public Schools educator, who notably became a teacher later in life to change education for the better as an activist from within the system. As an E4E teacher leader, Corrine has often been at the forefront of campaigns, advocating for teachers and students at both the district and state levels. Corrine can always be counted on to lead by mobilizing her fellow educators, inspiring change, and making hard asks.
Tiffany is consistently at the forefront of the fight in Hartford—whether it’s being involved in the union, speaking at Board of Ed meetings, or being quoted by various media outlets. She has written countless op-eds, been quoted in media, and is a model teacher leader, rallying educators together to make change throughout the district. Tiffany is a strong activist and leader within Hartford, with deep ties to the community.
“I advocate for teachers and students because it is a passion of mine – but like teaching, I don’t expect to be appreciated for it. So to be honored for the work I do outside of the classroom on behalf of students and teachers means a lot to me.”
Antoine is an LAUSD teacher who has led the most active Teacher Leader Team at his school. He has recruited multiple teachers during leadership meetings throughout the school year and played a key role in helping E4E-LA secure a win for its campaign to get the LA school district to implement a rubric assessing the cultural relevance of curriculum every time they adopt a new curriculum. Antoine and his team held an event that saw most of their colleagues completing the Culturally Relevant Education rubric and he advocated at the decision-maker meeting with Dr. Baez that led to E4E securing a win!
“I enjoy making an impact in the lives of our students and schools across the district. This past year it was especially great to work with teachers regarding culturally relevant curriculum in our textbooks and have the rubric adopted by LAUSD.”
Angel is always eager and willing to work with us to create change in his community, mobilize other educators toward important actions, and bring new educators into the fold to work with us. He has put a lot of effort into getting his colleagues and peers to be more action-oriented and involved. We can always count on Angel to amplify important policies and put his best efforts into outreach.
“I am humbled and honored to receive the Sydney Morris Activist of the Year Award and I am grateful to E4E for supporting the work of expanding the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office in Brockton.”
Shay Williams-Clark is a Minnesota educator and prominent E4E teacher leader. Shay has long been at the forefront of education advocacy – most recently running for joint Treasurer of the MN Federation of Teachers (MFT) and Education Support Professionals (ESP). Shay’s personal experiences in the classroom drive her desire to improve education policy and advocate for positive change in the teaching profession.
April Rose is a devoted New York City educator and has been a prominent teacher leader with E4E since 2014. April was most recently involved with E4E, as New York City’s NYC Reads initiative was rolled out in the 2023-2024 school year. Through town hall events, media opportunities, and more, April shared her personal story, experiences, and advice for educators as they acclimated to new tools and resources.
“It has been an amazing journey being a part of E4E and receiving this award only reinvigorated my passion for the causes we advocate for. I feel especially honored that I am the first recipient of this award. Sydney was always our cheerleader starting from when we were having policy meetings in midtown to reaffirming her role as E4E’s Co-CEO.”