Dr. Sarah Bennison is an educator, scholar, social entrepreneur, and keynote speaker whose life's work sits at a powerful intersection: where rigorous scholarship meets urgent social need, and where educational institutions become genuine engines of change.

A faculty member at New York University — where she was nominated for the 2024–2025 Steinhardt Teaching Excellence Award — Dr. Bennison teaches and researches at the intersection of curriculum, educational institutions, and social impact. In addition to her speaking and consulting work, she is the founder of the nonprofit Mattering in Action, co-founder of the Mattering Movement, and a pioneer in Mattering-Centered Education.

As a keynote speaker and consultant, Dr. Bennison partners with schools and institutions to transform organizational cultures through Mattering-Centered Education. She inspires audiences across education, nonprofit, and social impact sectors with a message that is both intellectually rigorous and deeply human. Dr. Bennison's approach to education is rooted in a simple but radical belief: that schools are not just places where students prepare for the world — they are places where students begin to change it. This conviction has driven her most significant work as an institution-builder and innovator.

Dr. Bennison holds a Ph.D. from NYU; an M.A. from Columbia University; an M.A. from Columbia Teachers College; a B.A. from Smith College.