This study examined the lived experience of 10 activist teachers at the kindergarten through 12th grade level. All participants were veteran teachers with 10 or more years of public school experience who have come to terms with bureaucratic elements inside the system and yet continue to practice active resistance to policies, practices, and pedagogies that are serving a corporate ethos. By corporate ethos, I am referring to reform efforts from philanthropies sponsored by billionaires. This money given to public schools by these philanthropies comes with the implied expectation that schools and districts not only adopt the ideology of the business community, but in many cases adjust policy and practice to fit the wishes of the philanthropic agency. I utilized portraiture as the methodology for this research in an effort to capture the complexity and reveal this lived experience of real teachers who are practicing activism on a daily basis. Interviews with participants revealed several major findings. First, all of the teachers expressed a stoical attitude in relation to activism. They were not driven by emotional zeal. Additionally, the teachers in this study expressed an awareness of education issues well outside the framework of their individual schools, districts, and communities. They saw how the national context affects the local, and political and financial intersections direct public school policy. This led to challenges for these teachers, including consistent questioning and reaffirming of their expertise as educators. Another crucial element to the activists was finding allies within, but more often outside of the educational settings in which they worked. All were driven by an understanding that they are in the profession of education to serve: serve students, serve parents, serve communities, and ultimately serve society. Finally, these are people willing to risk their position, standing, and wages, to help schools live up to a higher standard; indeed to the professed standards of public education. I discuss implications for school leaders and preparation programs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]