PROVIDENCE — Hillary Salmons, executive director of the Providence After School Alliance, and Wendy Kopp, chief executive officer and founder of Teach for America, will be honored Wednesday by the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women at Brown University.

The two women will receive the Leadership for Change through Education Award during a ceremony that begins at 8 p.m. in the Salomon Center for Teaching at Brown University. As the national recipient of the award, Kopp will deliver the keynote address on “Realizing Educational Opportunity for All.” The event is free and open to the public.

Kopp founded Teach for America 20 years ago as a way to draw talented young college graduates into the teaching profession. The program provides college graduates with an intensive summer training program to prepare them for the classroom. In 2009-2010, about 7,300 teachers will work in the country’s neediest communities, reaching more than 450,000 students.

Kopp also serves as the chief executive director of Teach for All, which is expanding the Teach for America model to other countries. In 2009, Teach for America was the number-one employee of graduating seniors from Brown.

“We are thrilled to recognize Wendy Kopp’s transformational work in founding, developing, nurturing and sustaining Teach for America,” said Leslie Newman, chairwoman of the awards committee at the Pembroke Center. “Teach for America has enriched public school education and created a national and international movement of young people dedicated to equity and excellence.”

Salmons is being honored as the local recipient of the award. She founded a nationally recognized afterschool program for middle school students in Providence, which serves nearly 2,000 children. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma.

“Hillary Salmons has led the Providence After School Alliance to exciting new heights,” Newman said. “Under her leadership, PASA has been particularly effective in creating innovative partnerships between community-based organizations and the Providence public school department.”

The Leadership for Change award honors women who offer new ways of thinking about seemingly unsolvable problems. A $5,000 donation is made to an organization selected by each recipient.

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