Judy Newman
Alumnus
Judy Newman is Chief Impact Officer at Scholastic and a lifelong champion for literacy and book access. With over 30 years at Scholastic, she has led efforts to promote book access and choice as a driver of student success, particularly through initiatives like United States of Readers, which provides free books to children in under-resourced communities. A proud alumna of IES Abroad Paris, Judy has hosted IES Abroad interns and alumni events at Scholastic’s New York headquarters, including a Global Speaker Series event in 2019. She also serves on several nonprofit boards and holds degrees from New York University and Harvard University, continuing to advocate for educational equity at the intersection of publishing and global engagement.
“In 2022, I accepted a new position within Scholastic—Chief Impact Officer—to challenge the brutal reality that 70% of children in the US are not reading proficiently by 3rd grade. I’ve brought my 25 years of experience as EVP, President of Scholastic Book Clubs to this job and launched a new program, The United States of Readers, piloted and tested to serve 10 million children living in poverty, attending under-resourced schools who currently have no access to choose and own their own books and develop their literacy. Named a Big Bet for America by the Rockefeller Foundation, chosen as a partner by Save the Children, and supported by notable literacy advocates such as author James Patterson, WNBA Star Caitlin Clark, and many others, the United States of Readers is on its way to change the world by improving literacy for all kids in the US (and eventually across the globe) by delivering on book choice and ownership, and measuring improvements in self-confidence and reader identity among PreK–8th grade kids. If you are interested in learning more, please email me anytime at JNewman@Scholastic.com.Judy Newman
I wanted to make sure I could speak with authority about current education and literacy instruction practices, so I returned to graduate school—while working remotely from Cambridge—and received my Master of Education from Harvard University. I also wanted to create high-interest, low reading level books for kids who want interesting stories but are not yet fluent readers—and go through the experience of being an author—so I published a book series with Scholastic: The Bobs and Tweets. And because I was truly terrified, I wrote these rhyming chapter books under the pseudonym Pepper Springfield. I continue my work with many nonprofit organizations, including the brand-new Impact Reading, as well as Reach
Out and Read and Pajama Program.
And closest to my heart, I became a grandmother to three beautiful girls: Sophie, Nina, and Emmylou, and nothing reminds me more of the importance of getting great children’s books into kids’ hands than when we read together.”