On April 21, 2021, New York Book Forum President JANET MCCARTHY GRIMM was joined by chief executive KYLE ZIMMER in a virtual program.  

Kyle Zimmer is the president, CEO, and co-founder of First Book, a national nonprofit social enterprise providing equal access to quality education for children ages 0-18 growing up in low-income families. First Book has the largest and fastest growing network of formal and informal educators serving children in need, currently numbering more than half a million educators and growing by 1,000 each week.  

Founded nearly 30 years ago, First Book has been recognized with awards from the Library of Congress, the National Book Foundation, the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, the National Education Association Foundation, the Authors Guild, and others. First Book operates across the U.S. and Canada, from offices in Washington, D.C., and Toronto, Ontario.  

Through its groundbreaking Stories for All Project™ First Book has increased access to high-quality, diverse, and inclusive books, enabling children to see themselves and learn about each other through books, furthering empathy and understanding, and making reading and learning more relevant in the lives of millions of children.   

In addition to books, First Book expands access to educational resources of all kinds, through its educator-driven models, including First Book Research & Insights, the First Book Accelerator and the First Book Marketplace. The organization has provided more than 200 million books and educational resources, with a retail value of more than $2 billion, to address the opportunity gap and fuel learning.

Watch the recording of this virtual program on YouTube here.