About
the
foundation
About | Founder | Benefactors | Team | Board
the
Our Story
The Rowland Foundation was established with the generous support of Barry and Wendy Rowland in 2008. The Rowland Foundation’s focus on school culture and climate came from our co-founder and first Executive Director Chuck Scranton. Chuck’s vision for teacher-driven, transformational change led to the first cohort of Rowland Fellows in 2009.
In every year since then, up to six Vermont schools have received a Rowland Fellowship award, and each year’s cohort has become a close-knit learning community for collaboration and innovation.
The Annual Rowland Conference, which first took place in 2011, has grown into Vermont’s largest educational conference and brings together Rowland Fellows, teachers, students, administrators, policymakers, and community members from around the state to share new thinking about making schools more equitable, inclusive, and democratic.
The Rowland Foundation is proud to continue its mission to invest in Vermont teachers to positively change the culture and climate of schools. In 2022, we expanded our work to include Fellowship proposals from middle grades educators. With over 100 Rowland Fellows around the state, we are grateful for this vibrant network of educators. As we continue to grow, we look ahead with optimism about the collective impact these amazing educators continue to have on Vermont schools.
From Our Founder
Mentor and friend to Rowland Fellows who are eternally grateful for his wisdom and support, Chuck Scranton is an important leader in Vermont education, a generous teacher, and a lifelong learner. He shares the following account of co-founding the Rowland Foundation with Barry and Wendy Rowland.
“Back in early 2008, after twenty-eight years of serving as a school principal, I recognized that it was time to step down. I loved my work, particularly all of my years teaching my class. But it was time for something different… a new challenge. But what? As George Harrison once wrote, ‘All things must pass.’
As spring unfolded, some clarity began to emerge. While reflecting on some of my accomplishments, it came to me in an instant that many of the positive changes I implemented were simply because a teacher walked into my office with an amazing idea, a dream or a vision. I reminded myself that teachers often planted the seeds for those changes. But far too often, they lacked the time or the resources to run with it. In that single moment of clarity in May of 2008, the Rowland Foundation was born!
I imagined a foundation which supported visionary Vermont teachers who, in partnership with their principals, wanted to step into a leadership role, one which would have a positive impact on their schools’ culture and climate. I drafted a proposal and approached Barry and Wendy Rowland, dear friends and significant benefactors to my school. They jumped at the idea and the rest is history!”
– Chuck Scranton, Founder & Past Executive Director of the Rowland Foundation
Our Benefactors
Barry and Wendy Rowland were great supporters of education in Vermont for many years. Barry Rowland was chief administrative officer for Eaton Vance, a Boston money management firm, for more than 30 years. In addition to generously giving to their local Vermont community in a number of ways, Barry and Wendy became deeply invested in the future of education at Burr & Burton Academy by giving the largest donation to the school’s endowment in its 180-year history and the largest gift to any secondary school in the state’s history. Barry’s attachment to Vermont began in 1951 when his father bought a vacation home here, and Barry and Wendy were residents of Londonderry for more than 20 years. They lived most recently at Middletown Farm, a working dairy farm which is still operated by their grandson Myles Rawson.
The Rowland Foundation is a testament to Barry and Wendy’s deep appreciation for teachers and educational opportunity for all. Barry deeply valued high quality education and wanted to make sure that all students had a chance to thrive in school. As a former high school French teacher, Wendy held a special place in her heart for teachers and the important work they do in our communities. Sadly, Barry Rowland passed away in 2018 and Wendy in 2019. Their legacy is continued by Barry’s brother Dan Rowland, their daughter Heidi Lynn, and their grandson Carter Rawson, who all serve on the Rowland Foundation Board of Trustees.
Our Team
Michael Martin
Executive Director
Michael Martin has worked as a classroom teacher, teacher leader, presenter, adjunct professor, consultant, and district administrator in Vermont, most recently as the Director of Learning for South Burlington School District. In 2009, he received a Rowland Foundation Fellowship to focus on learner engagement and worked as a Senior Associate for the Foundation for ten years. He has worked with Grant Wiggins, Angela Duckworth, and Katie Novak over the course of his career and was one of 100 education innovators invited to participate in the National Summit on Competency-Based Education in 2017. He co-created and offered The Vermont Leading Proficiency Series for The Great Schools Partnership in 2018. His work focuses on learner agency, equity, and school transformation.
Abby Paige
Executive Assistant
Abby Paige brings a varied background in non-profit administration and the arts to her role at the Rowland Foundation. She has worked for more than two decades as a freelance writer, editor, and administrative support person for theater companies, film producers, software developers, and small non-profit organizations. Her creative work as a poet, playwright, and theater creator often addresses the influence of French-Canadian culture on northern New England, questions of ancestry and heritage, and storytelling as a way of making meaning. Born and raised in Vermont and educated in Vermont public schools, Abby is passionate about diversity and inclusion in education and honored to support the Rowland Fellows’ innovative work.
Jean Berthiaume
Senior Associate
Jean Berthiaume is the Co-Principal of Winooski Middle/High School. Jean previously served as Principal of Fayston Elementary School, and as Associate Principal, Department Head and Social Studies teacher at Harwood Union High School. In 2009, he received a Rowland Foundation Fellowship to focus on democratizing school and nurturing a culture for authentic student voice. For the last 10 years, Jean has been a Senior Associate for the Foundation facilitating and supporting cohorts of Vermont educators in their teacher leadership work in their own schools via their change proposal initiatives. Jean’s career has brought him to work with schools throughout Vermont and the U.S. and abroad in the Republic of Georgia, New Zealand, and Uganda, amongst other places. Jean is a SRI-trained facilitator and has worked extensively with the Vermont Folklife Center. His work focuses on collaborative practice, shared leadership, and community stakeholder engagement.
Jeanie Phillips
Senior Associate
Jeanie Phillips currently serves as Professional Development Coordinator at the University of Vermont’s Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education (TIIE). She is the host & executive producer of the #vted Reads podcast and is a doctoral student in the UVM’s Educational Leadership & Policy Studies program. In 2014, Jeanie received a Rowland Foundation Fellowship to focus on play, passion & purpose for all learners. Jeanie has served as Lead Facilitator at the School Reform Initiative (SRI) Annual Meeting and as an adjunct professor for UVM, Castleton University & Southern New Hampshire University. Her work focuses on educational equity, student engagement, and culturally responsive pedagogies.
Lori Lisai, Associate
for Social Media & Tech
Lori Lisai is a Vermont-based educational consultant who has worked as a classroom teacher and technology integrationist. She most recently worked as the Innovation Coordinator at Lamoille Union Middle/High School. Her work with Bold Edventures focuses on design thinking and student-centered learning. In 2015, Lori received a Rowland Foundation Fellowship to focus on game-based learning. Lori designed the Geography of Self model for Personalized Learning Plans and has presented on personalized & proficiency-based learning. Her work focuses on student voice, flexible pathways, and personalized learning.
Our Board of Trustees
