We are happy to provide Foundation updates! Each month we will share a top-level update!

Board Member Perspective – The Value of TPSF

My name is Emily Morrison, and I am a proud TPS graduate and member of the Toledo Public Schools Foundation Board. I attended TPS schools all my life, beginning at Old Orchard and followed by DeVeaux and Start. Go Spartans! Education was always very important to my family, and I was taught early on to believe that the public education is the best mechanism to support growth and equality in our society. As a TPS graduate, attorney at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, and member of the Toledo community, I want to contribute to public education in a way that highlights the successes of TPS and all the incredible things happening in the district.

When I initially reached out to the TPSF Board in 2019 to see what I could do to help support the school district, I was excited to learn that I could begin assisting the Board with its mission right away. Through my law firm’s #LeadershipShumaker organization, I organized an effort to fund a student scholarship offered through the Foundation. I was recruited to a committee for the TPSF Creative Impact Grants, which are grants used to enable teachers to bring innovative and exciting ideas, techniques, and resources into the classroom. On this committee, I reviewed application after application and was thrilled to read about the many enthusiastic ways TPS teachers strive to make the learning process come alive for their students.

Soon after working on the Creative Impact Grants, I was asked to serve as a member of the TPSF Board. I joined the Board in mid-2020, and, despite the pandemic happening all around us, it was exciting to see the Board moving right along in its mission. #LeadershipShumaker continued to fund a scholarship through the Foundation, and I served on the scholarship committee and reviewed scholarship applications for some seriously high-achieving TPS students. It was great to see the high marks, GPAs, and future goals of the scholarship applicants, but it was truly a joy to read the recommendation letters and student essays. In them, I saw reflections of myself and my fellow TPS schoolmates, and I could see that many of the scholarship applicants had great success in their futures. I’ve continued to work on the Creative Impact Grant review committee as well, and it’s fun to follow the TPSF social media pages so that I can see the incredible results of how these grants impact TPS students and teachers.

Being on the Board has been a rewarding experience, and I love seeing the work and successes of TPS students and TPS teachers. There is so much to be excited about and feel #tpsproud when it comes to Toledo Public Schools!

Alumni Update – Dr. Ashley Benson

Not only is she a Rogers High School graduate (Class of 1999) but she is also a TPS Foundation Scholarship Donor! You may remember our last article about Dr. Benson (Missed the write up on her scholarship? You can check it out here!) which talks about her reason behind her family scholarship. We had an opportunity to sit down and talk with her before her big move.

Dr. Benson has been helping young adults at the collegiate level for many years and has just advanced in her career even farther! She has accepted a position at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa as the Dean of Student Engagement.

The dean of student engagement, is a newly created role, that is part of an administrative reorganization designed to create an integrated, student-centric approach to all academic and co-curricular services. Dr. Benson is exited for the move and looking forward to this new chapter in her career.

Dr. Benson is no stranger to Toledo as she frequents the area often – we are thankful for her donation to the Foundation and look forward to honoring her scholarship for years to come!

Would you like to donate to the Gray-Benson Scholarship Fund? Fill out the form below as all donations will go directly to the scholarship fund!

Welcome TPS Foundation Board Members! 

The Foundation had the honor of appointing four new board members during their June 2021 Annual Meeting. We are thrilled to have the following join our board!

  • Christine Sweeney – Executive Director at the Art Tatum Zone
  • David Theiss – Wealth Management at Fifth Third Bank
  • Daniel Brown-Martinez – Battalion Chief at Toledo Fire & Rescue Department
  • Geoffrey Hunter – CEO at AGM Technologies

TPS Foundation Executive Committee 

We want to give a huge thank you to Bob LaClair for serving as the TPS Foundation Board Chair for over three years! He has now stepped down as chair, but will remain on the executive committee.

The new executive committee is as follows:

  • Adam Motycka – Chair
  • Joel Epstein – Vice Chair
  • David Theiss – Treasurer
  • Matthew Mishler – Secretary

Additional Executive Committee Members:

  • Bob LaClair
  • Chris Varwig
  • Mark Luetke

Want to learn more about the board members? Follow us on social media for updates and bios! (Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn)

June 2021 Donors 

We want to give a huge thank you to our donors in June!

  • Associated General Contractors
  • Buckeye Telesystem
  • Carol Wieczorek
  • David Wieczorek
  • Mosser Construction, Inc.
  • Start High Class of ’68 – C/O Janis Fought

Feedback Welcomed 

We would like to get your feedback and thoughts about the Foundation – how do you feel that we are doing? What could we be doing differently? What do you think we could do better?

Please fill out a form here (as you can remain anonymous) or email Ashley directly at ashley@givetpsf.org today!