Today we’d like to introduce you to Gail Rothman.
Hi Gail, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am the youngest of four kids and grew up on Long Island in NY in a town that was very homogeneous. My grandparents all immigrated from Eastern Europe in the waves that came in the first decades of the 1900s and had that “American dream experience”, and my parents after growing up in Brooklyn moved the suburbs. I never felt like I belonged in NY and Long Island but at the time, I wasn’t sure why. At 18, I moved to Berkeley, CA for college and that changed the trajectory of my life in a lot of ways – I met my future husband there who also wanted to leave his hometown of Atlanta, GA and now as I look back, I think we both knew there was more out there than we were experiencing and certainly Berkeley was a place that was completely different. At Berkeley, I was exposed to so many new ideas and majoring in cultural anthropology was a great fit for my interest in exploring new ways of thinking about the world. My very first job was going into public high schools to provide college guidance for low-income students who were the first in their family to pursue a college education. Since then, my jobs have been varied but every one of them was centered on helping youth in one way or another…
My husband Doug and I moved to Vermont soon after we got married and I got my Master’s degree at the School for International Training in Brattleboro. I created my own focus area of Intercultural education and training but alas, my idea that we might fall in love with Vermont and live in a picturesque farmhouse did not come to fruition – it snowed that year starting on Halloween and kept snowing until Memorial Day and my southern husband after initial snow enthusiasm, just was not cut out for cold weather (if I am being honest, neither was I). We returned to CA, had two sons Haegan and Baylen and just after Baylen’s birth (really like when he was three weeks old), with our toddler, our newborn and our two cats, we moved back across the country to Atlanta to live in and fix up a historic log cabin that Doug had grown up in.
My job choices continued to revolve around supporting students – after a brief stint at GA Tech, I worked at Brandon Hall School as their Director of College Guidance and Asst Director of Academics, I worked at a non-profit called GOAL which focused on girls’ leadership development, first as a program coordinator and eventually as CEO.
During that time when I was CEO, the economy tanked and running a nonprofit was very stressful. At the same time, I had a four year old, a ten year old and a 12 year old and my mother in law was dying of lung cancer. As an only child, my husband was the primary caregiver and we were both running on empty. A crucible moment occurred when, exhausted, I was unloading groceries from my car and had neglected to turn the motor off…I reached in from outside the car to turn the ignition off and my car started rolling down our street with no driver – my son, who was behind it, moved out of the way thankfully but I could see people in the street and ran with the car, jumping in and turning the wheel to navigate into a neighbors yard. I feel that the universe sometimes provides signs and when you ignore them they provide bigger signs. It was clear that something needed to change and I submitted my resignation that week which for me was a big deal since I had no idea what job I would get or what I would do next.
After just a few weeks off, a friend called to let me know that Decatur Education Foundation was looking to hire its first executive director and encouraged me to apply. I had never heard of DEF (though I had lived in Decatur for six years by then). I remember doing some research and seeing that DEF funded a grant to give reloadable cell phones to families experiencing homelessness so they could stay in touch with their kids’ teachers and I knew that was an organization that I wanted to lead. That was 13 years ago this February and I have never regretted the decision.
Growing DEF into an organization that works to find creative solutions to the problems facing our kids has been a tremendous source of pride in my life. Our mission: We solve the problems that keep our kids from finding success by connecting people, resources, and ideas. Central to this work is a commitment to eradicating barriers caused by systemic racism, income inequality, and the lack of behavioral health supports.
As the very first paid staff for the organization in 2009, there was so much to build and learn. There are many things I love about the work. There are so many challenges facing our world and the bad news can be overwhelming – during those times, it is so helpful to go micro and when I look at the creative ideas and generosity that people come to DEF with, I am astounded. See more at www.decatureducationfoundation.org
I have had the honor of working with (too many) families who have lost loved ones and who have channeled their grief into supporting others. This is the hardest part of my work and also something that is sacred as I learn over and over the lesson that love has no boundaries and that there is so much beauty in a community standing with those experiencing grief.
Since 2009, DEF has grown to a team of six and every single person on the team is so critical. Covid has shown me how important it is to build a work culture that puts people first and acknowledges and supports that everyone is juggling so much more than just their work. I started writing a blog for DEF and this was the subject of my first post: https://decatureducationfoundation.org/connecting-the-dots/
One thing I love doing is mentoring or consulting with non-profits and education foundations and I have been part of the National membership group for education foundations since I started at DEF. I love presenting at conferences and have presented on topics including:
• The Education Foundation’s Role in the Reopening of your School District – 2020
• Supporting Anti-racism, Diversity & Inclusion Programming in Your School District – 2020
• How did they Get Here? A Panel of Experienced Education Foundation Leaders – 2020
• Addressing Underlying Student Needs: Behavioral Health, Homelessness, Hunger – 2019
• Building a Culture of Gratitude at your Foundation – 2018
• The Opportunity Partnership: Leveraging your Foundation’s Connections to Open Doors for Kids – 2017
• You Can’t Do it Alone! Engaging Volunteers to Increase your Capacity – 2016
• It Takes a Village: A Model for Engaging the Community in your Foundation Work – 2013
In March, I am presenting on a great project we did in partnership with VOX – Teens Speak out on Mental Health which will inform what we fund in the future.
Since I love non-profit work and consulting, I always agree to chat with anyone who asks. Several years ago, I met with a Decatur woman who introduced me to Kamal Carter. Kamal had been doing college advising with immigrant students for ten years and I was amazed to learn that he did it on his own with another volunteer and that he had not become a non-profit. We began meeting regularly to discuss non-profits and fundraising and now, Step Ahead Scholars, run by Debra Neely, is continuing to do amazing work.
Through my friendship with Kamal, I was tapped to help with A Long Talk (alongtalk.com) and supporting Kamal and Kyle, the founders, over the past 18 months has been an amazing experience. I worked with them on Pillars of Change, which started out as an educational experience that people could do after they participated in a three-day conversation (called A Long Talk) which is an anti-racism activation experience. I had never been involved in such an exciting start-up venture and I have learned so much. Pillars of Change is now an online, nationwide community of activists with a goal of eradicating racism. Erin Cassel (who joined the team by offering her great ideas and energy) and I worked with others on the amazing ATL team to put a platform together that will allow people to connect and use their spheres of influence to make change. I have really been trying to move my organization and the way I lead to be more actively anti-racist and I believe that white leaders have a responsibility to be proactive and to also learn from mistakes. In fact, I have shared my own mistakes because I believe that is the only way to change and leaders being transparent allows others to do the same.
Aside from DEF and Pillars of Change/A Long Talk which feed my need to make change in the world and leave things better than I found them, I have also learned how to feed my soul and spirit.
I make sure that my day includes exercise and nature – I love walking in the woods near my house where my dogs can run off leash… the joy I get from seeing Juno (one of two rescues in our lives) bound through the woods reminds me to find ways to experience joy even on the hard days. The woods are a place for me to balance, sometimes with friends along to gab, sometimes with a great podcast (fan of Kate Bowler, Glennon Doyle, Brene Brown).
I am an avid peloton person. After trying one at the YMCA during 2019, I agonized for weeks about buying myself one (I am pretty thrifty when it comes to purchases especially for myself) but in January of 2020, I decided to do it… of course having no idea that the world would shut down and that bike would become a lifesaver. I ride for mental health and on hard days, my husband would say “go…get on your bike” because it really did help.
I also get great pleasure out of traveling and even during covid made sure this was part of my life. My husband and I bought a rooftop tent and during the summers of both 2020 and 21, we drove out to Colorado for some nature immersion. We also got to have an amazing trip to Greece when things were better in the summer of 2021. I love thinking about our next adventure and find being in other countries and cultures a rich experience.
http://www.iamdecatur.com/gail-rothman/
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think I struggled with confidence for many years. My work with GOAL on girls’ leadership development was trying to combat the socialization that tells girls they are never enough and I think we still have so much work to do in this area. At 53, I feel like I can really own my authentic style of leadership and not apologize for having strong ideas and opinions. Mansplaining is real and I have had to navigate sexism which made me question myself.
That being said, my anti-racism work reminds me that for all I face as a woman, my whiteness also provides so much privilege and I am figuring out how to be a better leader. I really believe (as Maya Angelou said ) when you know better, you do better a topic of my 2nd blog post) https://decatureducationfoundation.org/2022/01/05/living-in-community/
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Most proud of our work on behavioral health and equity and for building a culture at DEF that is creative, welcoming and puts people at the center. We are celebrating our 20th anniversary and doing a campaign “where are they now” which shares photos of students who are now grown – we have had a part in raising a generation of Decatur’s kids.
I am also proud of a mentoring program that was inspired by the work of Robert Putnam
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/books/review/our-kids-by-robert-d-putnam.html
We are in the 5th year and will be adding a college advising component in future years.
What matters most to you?
Living authentically, Transparency is high on my list – prefer direct communication and find that people really don’t know how to have hard conversations. Listening to yourself and noting when you have cognitive dissonance as a way to recognize when you are outside your values. Finding things that support mental health in your life and making sure you make time for them. Having deep relationships with fewer people, being really intentional about how you spend your time, working to make things better during whatever time we have here. Prioritizing people – whether that is having a people-centered workplace or making sure that I have quality time with my family.
Living true. Focusing on people. Making a difference. Being Intentional. Taking care of mind, body and spirit.
Contact Info:
- Email: gail@decatureducationfoundation.org
- Website: www.decatureducationfoundation.org
- Facebook: Facebook.com/DecaturEducationFoundation
- Twitter: Twitter.com/DEF_DecaturGA
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/decatur-education-foundation/posts/?feedView=all
Image Credits
Scholarship photos (starting at podium) Arthur Ratliffe photo of gail on rock Beate Sass
