Joel Coyne has been a business and marketing teacher at Sun Prairie East and West High Schools in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, for 15years. A passionate innovator, Coyne has dedicated his career to empowering all students through authentic, real-world learning experiences that emphasize leadership, collaboration and community impact.

In 2020, Coyne co-created theBusiness Leadership Academy, part of a broader vision to rethink traditional education. Its success helped pave the way for the Marketing Academy in 2022, modeled on the same interdisciplinary and experiential framework. Co-taught with an English teacher, the academy model provides students with authentic projects from businesses and organizations in the community. Students are then supported and empowered to research, propose and execute on their ideas with purpose and creativity. Coyne has facilitated more than 85 student-led projects with partners ranging from Fortune 500 companies to local nonprofits.

Coyne also teaches in theBusiness Emerging Leaders program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’sSchool of Business and serves on the board of the Sun Prairie BusinessEducation Partnership. For 12 years, Coyne was head coach of the Sun Prairieboys’ swim team, earning Wisconsin Division 1 Boys Swim Coach of the Year honors in 2021.

Coyne is a 2025 Herb KohlFellowship recipient and holds a Bachelor of Science in marketing from theUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a business education certification fromEdgewood College and a marketing education certification from the University ofWisconsin-Whitewater.