Kicking off BestPrep’s 50th Anniversary at the 2026 Educational Forum

Publish on February 25, 2026 Categories -

BestPrep’s 2026 Educational Forum was a huge success!

Nearly 700 guests joined us at the event on February 11 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Guests gave tremendous feedback on John Hope Bryant’s keynote, praising his authenticity, knowledge, and passion for financial freedom and economic opportunity. We were excited to hear that John was equally as moved with our event! Read about John’s experience here.

[John Hope Bryant during his keynote address.]

Staying true to our student-centered mission, students were the heart of the program, from start to finish.

We proudly announced Audrianna Washington of Juxtaposition Arts and Osseo Senior High School as the first-place winner of BestPrep’s Student Spotlight Competition, sponsored by ECMC Group. As the first-place winner, Audrianna received the Kristie Award, a $2,500 scholarship provided by the Kristie Greive family. Students who participated in the competition submitted either an essay, poetry, art, or video in response to the prompt: Explain what financial freedom means to you. The top 20 winners, their teachers, and their families were invited to join the Student Spotlight reception prior to the program where the contest submissions were displayed and the top 5 winners were recognized.

[2026 Student Spotlight Competition Award Winners.]

The event also celebrated additional winners during the panel discussion with John Hope Bryant and ECMC Group’s Director of Student Success, Angela Greenlay. The panel conversation kicked off with a question from a video submission from second-place winner Lillian Chan of Park Center IB World School and was further enriched by third-place winner Ritvik Gopinath of Minnetonka High School, who joined the panel as a featured speaker.

[Left image: Screenshot of video submission from second-place winner, Lillian Chan. Right image: Panel discussion with Jordana Green, Angela Greenlay, Ritvik Gopinath, and John Hope Bryant.]

We were also pleased to have Minnesota Business Venture alumni join us on stage; Dmer Browne, Seth Damsgard, Adia Vang, and Olivia Xiong; highlighting what BestPrep is all about!

In celebration of BestPrep’s 50th anniversary, founder Bob Kaitz was recognized for his visionary leadership and decades of dedication to expanding educational opportunities for Minnesota students.

[Bob Kaitz (standing) being recognized.}

A special thank you to the Educational Forum’s wonderful group of sponsors and our media partners who promoted the event.

As we keep the momentum going, stay tuned on how we will continue to celebrate a half-century of BestPrep!