Ryan Howard is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a three-time All-Star who won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2005 and followed that up by winning the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2006. He is extremely active in the community. Together with his wife, Krystle, they co-founded the Ryan Howard Big Piece Foundation which is dedicated to improve the lives of children by promoting academic and athletic development. Krystle Howard is a former elementary school teacher with a passion for education and childhood literacy. She graduated West Chester University with a degree in elementary education and a minor in literacy. She was instrumental in developing and implementing "Ryan's Reading Challenge," a program that resulted in more than 1 million minutes of reading by the children involved. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Ryan Howard Big Piece Foundation.