About Rodel Leadership InstituteWe seek to make a significant, positive difference for future generations by helping to solve what we consider to be some our nation’s most important challenges. We pursue this work primarily through three initiatives – Rodel Arizona, Rodel Delaware and the Rodel Leadership Institute. The Arizona and Delaware initiatives focus on public education in their respective states, and the Rodel Leadership Institute works to improve the quality of public leadership in the U.S. Other areas in which we work include the advancement of clean energy, corporate purpose, investing in programs that support emotional health and wellness, and funding high quality research.Rodel Leadership InstituteRLI_e8fc5538-b205-11ec-a45a-5f0a1783ea00The Rodel Leadership Institute (RLI) is a nonpartisan, independent nonprofit devoted to strengthening American democracy and improving the quality of public leadership in the United States. Rodel Inc.Bill, Don and Susan Budinger formed the Rodel Initiatives, originally as the Rodel Foundations, in 1999 when Rodel Inc. was sold to a multibillion-dollar chemical company. Rodel Inc. was founded in the late 1960s by Bill Budinger in Delaware and Don Budinger in Arizona. Susan Budinger subsequently joined the company in the early 1990’s. Rodel’s first products were specialty textiles and chemicals used for a variety of surface preparation applications. Ultimately, variants of those products were developed for use in critical stages of semiconductor manufacturing, which fueled much of the company’s tremendous growth. Rodel Inc. had become global in the early 1980’s, through a joint venture in Japan, called Rodel Nitta, as well as the establishment of operations in Europe and elsewhere in Asia. It now operates as a division of the DuPont Companies.RLI LeadersBill BudingerFounding Director ~ Bill Budinger is the founder of Rodel, Inc. where he served for 33 years as its chairman and CEO. Bill is an inventor, holder of more than three-dozen patents including key processing technologies that enabled the return of semiconductor manufacturing to the U.S. in the 1990s. Rodel is now part of the Semiconductor Materials division of the restructured DuPont Company. Bill is also a founding director of the Rodel Foundations. He continues to serve on various non-profit boards including the several Rodel Foundations, the Public Policy Institute, the Aspen Institute Executive Committee, Third Way, and the Brookings Institute Governance Studies. Bill served for many years on the board of the Grand Canyon Trust and was a founding trustee for the Democratic Leadership Council and the Democracy Alliance.Don BudingerFounding Director ~ Don Budinger is Chairman of Rodel Arizona, Chairman and founding Director of Science Foundation Arizona, founding Chairman of College Success Arizona, a founding board member of Tucson Values Teachers, Emeritus Board Member of Stand for Children and currently serves on the board of Greater Phoenix Leadership, and Basis Charter Schools. He serves as a member of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, the O’Connor House Advisory Group and is a Lifetime Member of ASU President’s Club and served as a Trustee of Arizona State University. Don has been the recipient of several awards including being named one of the Morrison Institute for Public Policy’s Distinguished Associates, the 2010 O’Connor House Community Leadership Award; an Honorary Doctorate degree in Humane Letters from Northern Arizona University; the “Science of Early Learning Award” from New Directions Institute; the “Horace Steele Child Advocacy Award” from Children’s Action Alliance, the “Outstanding Achievement in Higher Education” award from the Arizona Board of Regents; the “Homeroom Heroes” award from Teach for America and the “Distinguished Service” award from the University of Arizona College of Engineering.Susan BudingerFounding Director ~ Susan Budinger is Vice Chair of Rodel Delaware. She is a passionate advocate for education and the emotional well-being of children and adults. Her business experience includes sales, marketing, human resources and general management. She began her career in advertising in NYC. Susan is a founding board member of Authentic Connections, which supports the well-being of mothers in high demand careers and works to improve student well-being in high achieving secondary schools. She is a board member of the Hoffman Institute Foundation and the Transformational Leadership Council. She has served on the boards of the Arizona Community Foundation, the Arizona Early Education Funds, The Ellis Center for Educational Excellence, the Biltmore Bank of Arizona and Phoenix Country Day School. In 2008 Arizona Governor Napolitano appointed her to the Arizona P – 20 Council. Budinger has an M.A. in developmental psychology from Arizona State University and a B.A. in mathematics and economics from Hamilton College.Paul HerdmanPresident and CEO, Rodel Delaware ~ Paul has been president and CEO of Rodel Delaware since 2004. He is a founding member of the Vision Coalition, one of the nation’s longest standing public-private partnerships. The group works to transform Delaware’s public schools to world-class status. He also serves on a range of local boards, including the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League and Delaware’s State Chamber of Commerce. Paul is a frequent speaker on the national stage. He is an Aspen Institute-NewSchools Fellow in entrepreneurial leadership, and a recipient of numerous national awards from Harvard’s Strategic Data Project, NewSchools Venture Fund (Change Agent of the Year), and the Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network. He is on the board of Grantmakers for Education and co-chairs the Education Funder Strategy Group’s International Working Group. Prior to his current role, he served as a senior manager at New American Schools, consulted with Brookings Institution, RAND, the U.S. Department of Education, and The World Bank. Paul has taught K-12 in the U.S., South Africa, and Australia, and co-founded an Outward Bound-based school-within-a-school in New York City which informed the creation of Expeditionary Learning, a national model. He assisted the secretary of education for two governors in Massachusetts during the wholesale redesign of the state’s policies on standards, choice, and finance. Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Delaware, and master’s and doctoral degrees in education administration and planning from Harvard University. He and his wife, Dana, live in Wilmington and have three children that have had great experiences attending Delaware’s public schools.Jackie NortonPresident and CEO, Rodel Arizona ~ As President and CEO of Rodel Arizona, Jackie is responsible for promoting the vision and developing the strategies for improving Arizona’s public education system. Prior to joining Rodel in 2011, she served as Vice President of the Arizona State University Foundation. A lawyer by profession, Jackie was a partner in the Phoenix law firm, Gallagher & Kennedy. She also served as the Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce and as Deputy Chief of Staff to Arizona Governor Fife Symington. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her law degree from Arizona State University. Jackie has served as a member of the board of directors of numerous organizations including Expect More Arizona, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ASU Law Society, University of Arizona College of Business and Public Administration and the Arizona Council on Economic Education. She has been honored to receive the Paul Fannin award for “Outstanding Service;” the “Distinguished Achievement Award” from ASU College of Extended Education and the “Leadership Award” from the Arizona Girl Scouts.Corliss DiazcadenaChief Financial Officer, Rodel ~ Corliss is the Chief Financial Officer of the Rodel Foundations. She manages financial reporting along with compliance requirements and regulations for Rodel Arizona, Rodel Delaware and the Rodel Private Foundation. She also acts as liaison between Rodel Foundations and the various community foundations with whom they interact. Corliss began her career with Rodel as International Finance Director for Rodel, Inc. She earned an accounting degree from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. She is a member of AICPA and Arizona Society of CPA’s.Rodel DelawareIn Delaware, Rodel connects people, ideas and resources with the objective of helping Delaware become a global leader in educating each of its students to contribute and thrive. We work with educators, corporations, community leaders and government to make things happen from concept to execution. Improving the complex, interconnected system of education state-wide requires work on many aspects and in many areas. Our current areas of focus are: funding and equity, early childhood education, social and emotional learning, and pathways to postsecondary success. Other areas of continuing work include: educator support and development, standards and assessment, English language learning, and generating and reporting education data.EducatorsCorporationsCommunity LeadersGovernmentDelaware Community FoundationRodel Delaware is a supporting organization of the Delaware Community Foundation.Rodel ArizonaIn Arizona, Rodel conducts research-based, demand-driven programs that work to tackle urgent needs in Arizona’s public schools. These efforts have included a math program that has significantly improved low-income students’ performance in second through fifth grade on the math portion of Arizona’s state test; a teacher training program that pairs extraordinary, seasoned teachers with new teachers who then go on to teach in schools serving low-income students; a principal training program modeled after the teacher training program; and the organization and sponsorship of regular convenings of a network of education champions from diverse community sectors called All A’s for Arizona.TeachersLow-Income StudentsPrincipalsArizona Public SchoolsArizona Community FoundationRodel Arizona is a supporting organization of the Arizona Community Foundation.Better leaders, stronger democracy_e8fc5632-b205-11ec-a45a-5f0a1783ea00To strengthen American democracy and improve the quality of public leadership in the United States_e8fc5718-b205-11ec-a45a-5f0a1783ea00NonpartisanshipIndependenceDemocracyPublic LeadershipLeadership DevelopmentServe as a center for leadership learning and intellectual development_e8fc58e4-b205-11ec-a45a-5f0a1783ea00Rodel FellowshipRLI’s signature program is the Rodel Fellowship, which was created in 2005. Each year, the program’s diverse selection committee invites 24 outstanding state and local-level leaders, divided equally between the two political parties, to come together for a series of three multi-day seminars held over a two-year period. Working with leading scholars as moderators, the Fellows read and discuss classic texts dealing with ethical values, democratic principles, and wise and effective leadership. Following completion of the core Rodel Fellowship seminars, Fellows have an opportunity to gather periodically to discuss critical questions of public policy and public leadership in a nonpartisan setting.Elected LeadersKeying off the readings, the Fellows examine new leadership approaches, deepen self-examination and self-awareness, and learn how to work together across party lines to identify shared values and find solutions to important problems. Since its creation, over 360 elected leaders have completed the program. These Fellows have gone on to serve as United States senators, governors, mayors, party leaders, Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, and Vice President of the United States.United States SenatorsGovernors MayorsParty LeadersCabinet SecretariesMembers of CongressVice President of the United StatesA center for leadership learning and intellectual development, RLI helps America’s most promising leaders: 1) deepen their commitment to democracy and the rule of law, 2) become more effective public servants, and 3) work together to address some of our nation’s most important challenges. RLI’s programs convene diverse leaders from across the political, legal and policy spectrum in an effort to find common ground, build relationships, and encourage the understanding and cooperation needed to govern a complex 21st century democracy.Democracy & LawHelp America’s most promising leaders deepen their commitment to democracy and the rule of law_e8fc59b6-b205-11ec-a45a-5f0a1783ea001Public ServiceHelp America’s most promising leaders become more effective public servants_e8fc5a88-b205-11ec-a45a-5f0a1783ea002CollaborationHelp America’s most promising leaders work together to address some of our nation’s most important challenges_e8fc5b64-b205-11ec-a45a-5f0a1783ea0032022-04-01https://rodel.com/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net