The Blue Ribbon Panel for the Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award consists of the following individuals:
- Frank Corcoran, founding teacher of KIPP Academy New York, the highest-performing public middle school in the Bronx for eight consecutive years
- Mike Feinberg, KIPP cofounder
- Dr. Howard Fuller, director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University
- Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, a national nonprofit advocacy group working to close racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps
- Nancy Kinder, president of the Kinder Foundation, a family foundation in Houston
- Rich Kinderm cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Kinder Morgan, Inc., one of the largest energy transportation and storage companies in America
- Rebeca Nieves-Huffman, president of Hispanic CREO (Council for Reform and Educational Options)
- Sha Reagans, founding math teacher at TEAM Academy Charter School, a KIPP school in Newark, New Jersey
- Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association, vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, and director of the Teacher Union Reform Network, a group that challenges teacher union leaders to become agents of education reform
