Guest blog by Cleo Rohn, RFC Granting Coordinator

One of my mother’s earliest childhood memories is hearing one name repeated over and over in conversations around her: “Rosenberg.”

It’s no surprise that my mom grew up constantly aware of the horrors of the Rosenberg case. She was raised in a Jewish community in New York City at the time of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s trial and execution. Her parents - my grandparents - were the same age as the Rosenbergs. Like Julius, my grandmother had been born to Polish immigrants in New York. Like Julius and Ethel, she had become heavily involved with the Communist party. She and my grandfather had both been recruited to work on the Manhattan Project, only later realizing the darker side of what they had done. Needless to say, the news of the Rosenberg execution shook my family and their greater community to the core.

In this way, joining the RFC all these years later is both a personal adventure and a generational one.

I am stepping into the Granting Coordinator role at the RFC after spending the last four years teaching History, English, and Civics at one of the largest public high schools in the Seattle area. To anyone with young folks in their life, it will come as no surprise that my students taught me as much as I taught them, if not more. Working with teenagers taught me that young people are the strongest, most powerful force for good in our world. It also strengthened my belief that children deserve to be heard, supported, and fought for relentlessly. During my time as a teacher, I focused on fighting for a more justice-focused and inclusive public school experience so that all children could thrive and live authentically in their learning environment.

In June of this year, I returned to the Northeast to be closer to my family. While I knew I was going to take a step back from teaching, I also knew that I wanted to find a role that would allow me to help young people and fight for a better world. I am thrilled at the chance to join such a powerhouse organization whose mission is so dear to my heart. I have always believed that social justice cannot be achieved without community care, and I’m proud to be part of a community that helps nurture current and future generations of changemakers.

I am so happy to be here to cheer on the children of the revolution, and I can’t wait to dive into the work of helping RFC families. Let’s create the world we want to see.