He made new Forbes’ ’30 under 30’ list for what he did as a Lexington teen and since

As a high school junior in Lexington in 2012, Andrew Brennen co-founded the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team, which convinced the Kentucky General Assembly to restore $14 million in need-based scholarships.

On Tuesday, Forbes.com featured Brennen, now 24, in its list of “30 under 30” accomplished young people in education.

“In 2020, he’s been involved in awarding $1.4 million in grants to youth programs and youth-led organizations, as an education fellow at the National Geographic Society and through his work with the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and Teach for America’s Reinvention Lab,” said the article. “He’s also studying toward a master’s in education policy and management at Harvard.”

A 2014 graduate of Lexington’s Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Brennen said he is currently living with his family “right across the Jessamine border” in Nicholasville.

Tuesday’s recognition by Forbes is further proof that Kentucky is leading the way when it comes to reimagining the role that students play in shaping their own education, Brennen told the Herald-Leader.

“As a result of COVID-19, K-12 education is at an inflection point, and students are on the front lines, reimagining a system that isn’t working for far too many of them. It is a privilege to support these young leaders,” he said.

Rachel Belin, senior director of the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team, said her first thought upon learning of Brennen’s recognition “was how proud I was of Forbes for knowing a great thing when they saw him.”

“This is a person who has been working virtually nonstop since he was in high school himself to make the case that as primary stakeholders, students can contribute mightily to making our education system more equitable and better all around, “ said Belin.

The Forbes recognition is a testament to Brennen and other Kentucky youth, in the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team and elsewhere, who are increasingly serving as education thought leaders and activists on the local and national level, she said.

This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 1:14 PM.