About Us
When we first started working with students, we were just a scholarship provider giving deserving students financial support. Eventually, we began coaching our students during the ZF application process and learned that they, and their families, needed to make decisions that affect them for years, perhaps decades, into the future. These decisions, such as school choice, academic emphasis and financial obligations, become difficult to change once made. So we decided to broaden ZF's mission from simply providing financial support to “Helping Students Become Effective Adults.” We began working with students and families earlier in their college decisioning process and found ourselves coaching far more than evaluating and selecting students to receive our scholarships. Some of our applicants have made decisions where they did not need our financial support but did want to keep their ZF coach!
We are not experts nor do we have hidden agendas - political, economic, academic or vocational. We are situational; we focus on specific student needs and where we can add value & perspective. We learn by coaching our students, by asking questions & listening, and by encouraging discussions between students, their families and advisors. While no one can ensure “right” decisions, we encourage thoughtful and informed decisions. As we see patterns, we seek or develop reference materials and tools, such as our College Affordability Toolkit, as resources for all to use.
We are not experts nor do we have hidden agendas - political, economic, academic or vocational. We are situational; we focus on specific student needs and where we can add value & perspective. We learn by coaching our students, by asking questions & listening, and by encouraging discussions between students, their families and advisors. While no one can ensure “right” decisions, we encourage thoughtful and informed decisions. As we see patterns, we seek or develop reference materials and tools, such as our College Affordability Toolkit, as resources for all to use.
Meet Dorothy Zenie
My parents met in college and married after graduation. With every unexpected twist and turn of life, they were a team. Their commitment to and for one another while pursuing their individual dreams and wants is an amazing example to all relationships. They lived their values. Along the way they founded the Zenie Foundation (ZF). My mom died unexpectedly on March 13, 2014 - they had been married for 57 years.
My mom’s passion was learning. In her eyes, life was a perpetual learning opportunity whether in a classroom setting, or reading & discussions at book club, or chatting with the locals at a breakfast joint. In my lifetime, she was on the city's arts grant committee, the planning board, and the board of the YMCA. She learned to fly a plane, went to art school in her 50s, started an AAUW (American Association of University Women) group in our hometown, and built a design business. She had discovered MOOCs (massive open online classes) and was taking a course on the History of Chinese Architecture when she died. Learning always, even at 80 years old. My mother's legacy of learning is at the core of the Zenie Foundation. We weave this through all that we do with our students, our team and the greater ZF community.
Katherine Zenie Chatterjee
Executive Director, Trustee & Coach
My parents met in college and married after graduation. With every unexpected twist and turn of life, they were a team. Their commitment to and for one another while pursuing their individual dreams and wants is an amazing example to all relationships. They lived their values. Along the way they founded the Zenie Foundation (ZF). My mom died unexpectedly on March 13, 2014 - they had been married for 57 years.
My mom’s passion was learning. In her eyes, life was a perpetual learning opportunity whether in a classroom setting, or reading & discussions at book club, or chatting with the locals at a breakfast joint. In my lifetime, she was on the city's arts grant committee, the planning board, and the board of the YMCA. She learned to fly a plane, went to art school in her 50s, started an AAUW (American Association of University Women) group in our hometown, and built a design business. She had discovered MOOCs (massive open online classes) and was taking a course on the History of Chinese Architecture when she died. Learning always, even at 80 years old. My mother's legacy of learning is at the core of the Zenie Foundation. We weave this through all that we do with our students, our team and the greater ZF community.
Katherine Zenie Chatterjee
Executive Director, Trustee & Coach
Meet Frank Zenie & Learn ZF's History
Dorothy and I founded the Zenie Foundation (ZF) on December 24th, 1983. We learned from our parents, and always have believed, that learning, knowledge and values are the foundation to becoming effective adults. As soon as we had children, we instilled the same in them and began to save for their college education.
Our children did not need our savings. Our initial feelings were to invest our unspent savings to help students who needed financial assistance. We always donated to our colleges - MIT & Wellesley - but felt removed from how they chose to use our donations. By 1983 Dorothy and I believed we could have a 1:1 impact on students, so we founded ZF. Our early students found us by word of mouth and we made modest grants to most applicants.
The whole college landscape has changed since our original ZF founding. College costs have skyrocketed, driving up student loans, and students are advised to get a college degree regardless of financial impact and economic potential. We have learned students need coaching and better access to financial decision-making assistance.
While we remain absolutely true to our original vision and commitment, ZF now flies under a new banner: “Helping Students Become Effective Adults” We incorporate real-world coaching, focused reference materials, planning and decision-making along with our financial assistance. We believe college-bound students are able to, and must, make sound decisions that will impact their lives for years into the future. We try to provide the coaching and tools to help students make informed and value-based decisions.
Frank Zenie
Co-Founder, Trustee, and Coach
Dorothy and I founded the Zenie Foundation (ZF) on December 24th, 1983. We learned from our parents, and always have believed, that learning, knowledge and values are the foundation to becoming effective adults. As soon as we had children, we instilled the same in them and began to save for their college education.
Our children did not need our savings. Our initial feelings were to invest our unspent savings to help students who needed financial assistance. We always donated to our colleges - MIT & Wellesley - but felt removed from how they chose to use our donations. By 1983 Dorothy and I believed we could have a 1:1 impact on students, so we founded ZF. Our early students found us by word of mouth and we made modest grants to most applicants.
The whole college landscape has changed since our original ZF founding. College costs have skyrocketed, driving up student loans, and students are advised to get a college degree regardless of financial impact and economic potential. We have learned students need coaching and better access to financial decision-making assistance.
While we remain absolutely true to our original vision and commitment, ZF now flies under a new banner: “Helping Students Become Effective Adults” We incorporate real-world coaching, focused reference materials, planning and decision-making along with our financial assistance. We believe college-bound students are able to, and must, make sound decisions that will impact their lives for years into the future. We try to provide the coaching and tools to help students make informed and value-based decisions.
Frank Zenie
Co-Founder, Trustee, and Coach