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Rosemary Pencil Foundation

Empowering through Education

Empowering through EducationEmpowering through EducationEmpowering through Education

About Us

The Rosemary Pencil Foundation was founded in 2005 and provides scholarships for students in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia to attend secondary school. Our goal is to improve the education of children who need it most. We also work on other initiatives that include bringing ICTs to the classroom in the form of e-readers and assisting those wishing to go on to higher education, particularly in teacher training. We piloted an essay writing competition across several secondary schools, fund an after-school program that focuses on conservation and the environment and are sponsoring a teacher at a school in Zimbabwe to help with student literacy.


The President and Founder is Gillian Rose, Executive Producer with Soho Moon, a European production company known for its high-end drama and documentaries.  She continues to live in the US and before joining Dublin-based Soho Moon she was a Senior Vice President at NBC Universal in New York. She started her career as a journalist in her native England before moving to the US and spent several years with PBS and European media company Sky.  She is a Director on the international Board of South African-based Radio Workshop, a non profit that trains youth reporters in radio and podcasting across Sub-Saharan Africa;  a former two-term Chair of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) New York and on the Advisory board of the Alliance for Media Arts and Culture.  Ms. Rose has a Masters Degree in Communication for Development.


The Rosemary Pencil Foundation was created in the memory of Rosemary Rose, a teacher and educator who believed that everyone deserves a good education.

Our Board of Directors

Emmanuel K. Akyeampong

is Professor of African History and African American Studies, Harvard University.

Charles Ambler

Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of History, University of Texas at El Paso. Former President, African Studies Association (USA).

Lorie Conway

is an independent producer and filmmaker for Boston Film & Video, a company she founded in 2000.

Robin L. Greenwald Esq.

 is a lawyer with Weitz & Luxenberg, a New York City-based law firm, whose experience includes working with many non-profit organizations.

Brighton Kaoma

Brighton Kaoma, originally from Zambia, served as Global Director for Youth at the United Nations Sustainable Development  Solutions Network (SDSN) in New York and is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Aman So. 

Wezi M. Msisha

 Originally from Malawi, is a Senior Health Specialist with the World Bank, based in South Africa.

William Spencer Reilly

is Executive Director of the Sheen Center in New York City.

Steve Sharra

is Senior Strategic and Technical Communications Advisor on the Next Generation Early Grade Reading Activity in Malawi, a USAID-funded project implemented by Chemonics International. Prior to this he was Dean of the School of Educationa, Social Sciences and Technolog at Unicaf University in Malawi. 

George Twumasi

is CEO of the ABN Holdings (African Broadcast Network) and Co-Founder of the African Public Broadcasting Foundation

Karen Carlton Wood

is the Sr. Director of Global Policy at Panthera, a conservation non-profit focused on the recovery of wild cat populations around the world.

Georges Leclere

  

Georges Leclere died December 4, 2022.  He had been Treasurer of The Rosemary Pencil Foundation since the organization started and is sorely missed.   A University Scholarship in his name has been created and in 2024 we awarded it to our first recipient, Caroline, who is attending University in Blantyre. 


Georges was a deeply caring person, an irrepressible optimist, extremely creative and he literally had friends across the globe. He was the embodiment of the international executive.  His ongoing concern for students we help in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia  never wavered nor his desire for us to do more.  His career included French Radio and Television in France; Director of Press, Radio, and Television for the United Nations; Executive Director of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; founder of LGMA; author; and international university lecturer.  Georges was truly a really good human being. 

Bruce Christensen

Bruce Christensen, a former Director on the Board of The Rosemary Pencil Foundation for over 15 years, passed away in November 2022. He was one of our first board members and believed strongly in our mission. He will be remembered for his wise counsel and thoughtful advice but he will be missed also for his enduring friendship and kindness. Bruce had a stellar career that included being President of PBS during some challenging times, and later President of the NBC TV/Radio station in Utah and a Dean at Brigham Young University. Sometimes people come along and while their lives may be cut short, you are just so grateful to have known them. Gillian Rose

To make a donation please use the donate now button on the front page or send a check made payable to the Rosemary Pencil Foundation to 332 Crystal Springs Road, Johns Island, SC 29455. Tel: 914 774 1323. email: gillian.rose08@gmail.com.

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