About Us
When we first started ZF, we were just a scholarship provider giving students financial support. Eventually, based on what we learned from our students and their needs, we started coaching our students. We learned that our students and their families were making life decisions that affected them for years, perhaps decades, into the future - school choice, academic emphasis (career), and financial commitments. For some, these became difficult to change once made. So we decided to broaden our mission from simply providing financial support to “Helping Students Become Effective Adults.” We began coaching our students and families earlier in their college decision process using what we've learned over the years as a guide. We ultimately discovered that we were coaching (and learning) far more than evaluating students to receive our scholarships. Some students did not need ZF's financial support but asked to remain with their ZF Coach!
We've evolved even more over the past years. Our mission expanded recently to: Helping students become effective adults and helping effective adults become inspired leaders. Please read about our expanded mission and new logo here.
We've evolved even more over the past years. Our mission expanded recently to: Helping students become effective adults and helping effective adults become inspired leaders. Please read about our expanded mission and new logo here.
Our vision is an ever-growing community of effective adults driven by their desire to learn, their commitment to their core values, and their passion to better our society. This community will become our inspired leaders. We hope our students become part of the ZF lifecycle - Applicants, ZF Students, ZF Student Advisory Group members, ZF Coaches, maybe leadership team members and visionaries, helping to guide ZF into the future.
Co-Founder, Dorothy Zenie
Dorothy'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 folks at her local breakfast joint. During her lifetime she served on the city's arts grant committee, the planning board, and the board of the local YMCA. She learned to fly a plane, went to art school in her 50s, started an AAUW (American Association of University Women) group in her family's hometown, and built an interior design business. Early on she discovered MOOCs (massive open online classes - the original online learning platform) and was taking a course on the History of Chinese Architecture when she died. She was a lifelong Wellesley woman and would gather monthly with her multi-generational alumni friends. Her legacy of "live a life of learning" is at the core of the Zenie Foundation. We weave this through all that we do with our ZF team, our students, and our greater ZF community. Katherine Zenie Chatterjee - Dorothy's Daughter, ZF Coach, Executive Director & Trustee
Dorothy'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 folks at her local breakfast joint. During her lifetime she served on the city's arts grant committee, the planning board, and the board of the local YMCA. She learned to fly a plane, went to art school in her 50s, started an AAUW (American Association of University Women) group in her family's hometown, and built an interior design business. Early on she discovered MOOCs (massive open online classes - the original online learning platform) and was taking a course on the History of Chinese Architecture when she died. She was a lifelong Wellesley woman and would gather monthly with her multi-generational alumni friends. Her legacy of "live a life of learning" is at the core of the Zenie Foundation. We weave this through all that we do with our ZF team, our students, and our greater ZF community. Katherine Zenie Chatterjee - Dorothy's Daughter, ZF Coach, Executive Director & Trustee
Co-Founder, Frank Zenie & 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 college-bound students who needed financial assistance. We always donated to our alma maters but felt removed from how the schools chose to spend 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 applicants.
The whole college landscape has changed since our original ZF founding. College costs have skyrocketed, student loans even higher, and students are advised to get a college degree regardless of future financial impact and economic potential. We have learned from our students that they benefit from coaching and informed access to financial decision-making assistance.
While we remain absolutely true to our original vision and commitment, ZF continues to evolve. From scholarship provider, to “Helping Students Become Effective Adults” to "Helping students become effective adults and helping effective adults become inspired leaders." We incorporate our real-world experiences and what we have learned from our students into our coaching. We focus on developing resource materials based on our students' needs; plan and help with decision-making through financial assistance. We believe students are able to, and need to make sound decisions that positively 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 college-bound students who needed financial assistance. We always donated to our alma maters but felt removed from how the schools chose to spend 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 applicants.
The whole college landscape has changed since our original ZF founding. College costs have skyrocketed, student loans even higher, and students are advised to get a college degree regardless of future financial impact and economic potential. We have learned from our students that they benefit from coaching and informed access to financial decision-making assistance.
While we remain absolutely true to our original vision and commitment, ZF continues to evolve. From scholarship provider, to “Helping Students Become Effective Adults” to "Helping students become effective adults and helping effective adults become inspired leaders." We incorporate our real-world experiences and what we have learned from our students into our coaching. We focus on developing resource materials based on our students' needs; plan and help with decision-making through financial assistance. We believe students are able to, and need to make sound decisions that positively 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