The National Rowing Foundation and our Board of Directors believe in the power of sport to bond us to each other in common humanity; however, we recognize that there are injustices that need to be addressed before this can happen. As an organization, we strongly condemn racism and inequality which has, for far too long, limited opportunities in Black communities and communities of color. We pledge to educate ourselves to be better – as colleagues, teammates, friends, and advocates. We also pledge to improve diversity in our sport and to look for avenues to bring the life-changing impact of rowing to athletes of all races, ethnicities, and cultures.

The National Rowing Foundation (NRF), together with USRowing (Princeton, N.J.) today announced the launch of the Row to Tokyo Million Dollar Challenge Campaign. The Challenge runs through June 30, 2020 and it is a dollar for dollar matching grant, up to $500,000, sponsored by a generous group of NRF donors. 

“This is an Olympic year and the USA has exceptional athletes working hard to be the best in the world. We want to ensure that the athletes have the funds they need to take advantage of additional coaching resources, training opportunities, and most importantly international racing at World Cup II (May 1-3) and World Cup III (May 17 – 19),” said NRF Co-Chair Marcia Hooper.

Qualifying gifts include all donations this year above what a donor gave last year, all donations from first time supporters, and any donations from donors that did not support the NRF in 2019.  Gifts will be matched until June 30 or until the $500,000 matching pool has been fully activated. Contributions can be made online through the special giving link: https://give.classy.org/RowtoTokyo.

The campaign was inspired and led by NRF board member Charles (Chuck) Pieper, with additional donations by others, including the Rogers Family Foundation, Hansjörg Wyss and Andrew McLane. These donors are hoping their challenge inspires others to ensure that USA athletes receive the resources they need to be prepared and successful at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The U.S. team is scheduled to be named on June 3 and will leave for the Olympic Games on July 12.

“Our athletes have done their part, now it is time for us to do ours,” said Pieper. “This will be a challenging Olympics due to location and the incredibly competitive field. As the only country at the Games without ANY government funding, it is up to the American rowing community to make sure that our athletes have what they need to ensure podium finishes.”

“We thank Chuck and the others in the matching donor pool for their generosity, vision and commitment to our athletes,” said NRF Co-Chairs Jamie Koven and Marcia Hooper. “We believe their actions will inspire others to be a part of the excitement that comes with supporting our Olympic Team. In an Olympic year, our athletes are asked to put everything on the line. We are asking our donors to stretch and work together to support Team USA in this endeavor.”

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“Donors to this campaign will know that their gift will have double the impact and make a significant difference for our athletes,” Executive Director Tracy Brown added. Funds raised through this Challenge are above and beyond the annual grant that the NRF provides to USRowing to support Team USA.

About the National Rowing Foundation

The National Rowing Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to raising funds to support the U.S. National Rowing Teams. Founded in 1966, the NRF has been supporting Olympic and world championship athletes for more than five decades. The funds raised support year-round training, development, and competition. www.natrowing.org

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For additional Information: National Rowing Foundation Executive Director Tracy Brown (617) 803-8660. E-mail: tracy@natrowing.org

The National Rowing Foundation (NRF) today announced that at its 2020 Annual Meeting on January 16, 2020, four new members were elected to its Board of Directors: Charles Cole (New York, NY), Glenn Ochal (Los Angeles, CA), Alison Townley (Minneapolis, MN), and Robert T. Shepherd (Los Angeles, LA).

These new members join two additional members elected to the Board of Directors in June, 2019: Jon Bernstein (Brookline, MA), and Kathryn “Kathy” Keeler (Cambridge, MA).

“This slate of new board members is among the strongest we have welcomed to the NRF. Together they bring extensive experience in the corporate arena and non-profit leadership and fundraising. All six of these new members know what it takes to compete at the highest level and represent Team USA. I am proud to welcome two members to our Board who competed as recently as the 2016 Olympics. This first-hand knowledge of the current environment is crucial as we work to meet the challenge to support the 2020 Olympic Team at the highest level,” said NRF Co-Chair Jamie Koven.

“We are thrilled to welcome these new board members in this Olympic Year. The work we do this year is geared towards success in Tokyo and laying the foundation for Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028. These new members are legends in our sport, have robust professional and personal networks and several bring exciting west coast connections. We appreciate the commitment of our new members to our U.S National Teams,” said NRF Co-Chair Marcia Hooper. Board terms for this incoming group will run from 2020-2023.

About the National Rowing Foundation

The National Rowing Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to raising funds to support the U.S. National Rowing Teams. Founded in 1966, the NRF has been supporting Olympic and World Championship athletes for more than five decades. The funds raised support year-round training, development, and competition. www.natrowing.org

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Attachments: Bios and Photos.

For additional Information: National Rowing Foundation Executive Director Tracy Brown (617) 803-8660. E-mail: tracy@natrowing.org

The National Rowing Foundation (NRF) today announced the naming of Olympian and past National Team member Tracy Brown as Executive Director. Brown has served as the Interim Executive Director since the departure of Mara Keggi Ford in January of 2019.

Jamie Koven, Co-Chair of the NRF stated, “During this important year prior to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Tracy has shown significant success in stewarding our current supporters, identifying and capitalizing on opportunities, and has developed a strong pipeline of new donors critical to the long-term support of our National Team.” “Tracy’s leadership and initiative have put the NRF in a strong position for exceeding our year-end goals and we’re excited to be working with her and the rest of the NRF team as we head into the next Olympic quadrennium,” said NRF Co-Chair Marcia Hooper.

Brown joined the NRF in 2018 and has been an integral member of the NRF team, developing and executing the organization’s overall strategy, managing the NRF’s day-to-day operations, growing the organization’s donor community, and assisting with all fundraising efforts supporting US National Team Rowers. Brown, a two-time US National Rowing Team Member (1990, 1991) and Olympian (1992), is familiar with the needs of the athletes and is committed to increasing the support for USA Rowers to win medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, and beyond.

Tracy Brown stated, “During my time competing on the National Team and as an Olympian, I was supported by the NRF, and I understand how critical the NRF funding is for our athletes. It is an honor and privilege to work to help provide the support that they need to achieve their goals.”

We’re excited to introduce you to the athletes who will be competing at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru this week!   While this event will not be live broadcast, the NRF and USRowing will work to share results through our social media channels. 2019 Pan American Games M1x Lucas Bellows (Forest Lake, MN) | University of Minnesota W1x Jenifer Forbes (Baltimore, MD) | Northeastern University M2x Wes Vear (Marquette, MI) | University of Michigan Nathan Lado (New York, NY) | Middlebury College W2x Julia Lonchar (Columbus, OH) | Purdue University Maggie Fellows (Warwick, MA) | St. Lawrence University LM2x Cooper Hurley (Andover, MA) | University of Delaware Jimmy McCullough (Pennsylvania, PA) | University of Delaware LW2x Keara Twist (Seattle, WA) | Seattle University Sydney Taylor (Dover, DE) | Williams College W2- Liz Euiler (Meredith, NH) | University of Massachusetts, Amherst Solveig Imsdahl (Scheelholz 15, Germany) | Cornell University M2- Logan Smith (Lancaster, PA) | Philadelphia University James Garay (East Leroy, MI) | University of Michigan W4x Julia Lonchar (Columbus, OH) | Purdue University Maggie Fellows (Warwick, MA) | St. Lawrence University Keara Twist (Seattle, WA) | Seattle University Sydney Taylor (Dover, DE) | Williams College M4- Paul Verni (New Rochelle, NY) | Syracuse University Thaddeus Babiec (Alexandria, VA) | Boston University Jonathan Zagroba (New Rochelle, NY) | George Washington University Veton Celaj (Bronx, NY) | Bucknell University M8+ Logan Smith (Lancaster, PA) | Philadelphia University James Garay (East Leroy, MI) | University of Michigan Paul Verni (New Rochelle, NY) | Syracuse University Thaddeus Babiec (Alexandria, VA) | Boston University Jonathan Zagroba (New Rochelle, NY) | George Washington University Veton Celaj (Bronx, NY) | Bucknell University Jason Read (Ringoes, NJ) | Temple University Kyle Peabody (LaGrange, NY) | Boston University Coral Kasden |University of California, Santa Barbara 2019 Pan American Team Coaches Stephen Whelpley – M1x, W1x, M2x Ian Simpson – W2x, LW2x, W4x Yohann Rigogne – W2-, M2- Tristan Snow – LM2x Nick Dawe – M4-, M8+

2019 Pan American Team Coaches Stephen Whelpley – M1x, W1x, M2x Ian Simpson – W2x, LW2x, W4x Yohann Rigogne – W2-, M2- Tristan Snow – LM2xNick Dawe – M4-, M8+