About the Fund
The Roothbert Fund awards grants for undergraduate and graduate study in the United States. It also works to build fellowship among current and former grant recipients.
History & Mission
Albert & Toni
They met in New York and married in 1937. At the time, he was a retired banker, and she was a retired fashion photographer.
The Roothberts’ shared a devotion to young people, whose idealism, they believed, was the best defense against a recurrence of the tragedies of the first half of the 20th Century.
1958
The Roothbert Fund, Inc. is a small, nearly all-volunteer scholarship fund based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 as a living memorial to the combined idealism of two people: Albert and Toni Roothbert, both of whom emigrated from Germany in the early 20th Century.
The Present
In the wake of the cataclysmic events of World War II, Albert Roothbert believed that "our young generation will create a new, more enlightened society, which will want to live democratic principles, not merely claim them."
About the Founders
Albert Roothbert
Albert Roothbert was born in 1874 in Frankfurt, Germany to a long assimilated German Jewish family that had lived in that city since 1504.
Albert pursued a career as an investment banker throughout the cataclysmic events that shaped the early 20th century.
In 1925, at the age of 50, he retired from his firm and corporate directorships, and his life grew more dedicated to combining the art of living with a strong desire for social betterment.
In 1937, at the age of 63, Albert married Toni von Horn. In 1958, the two established the Roothbert Fund with the aim to seek out candidates whose daily actions appear to be prompted by spiritual motives.
Antonie Von Horn Roothbert
Antonie von Horn was born on March 31, 1899 in Mannheim, Germany.
One of the first woman commercial photographers of this century, Antonie "Toni" von Horn Roothbert was also a social activist and benefactress.
Toni von Horn established herself as one of the most active and well-known society and fashion photographers in New York. Her regular editorial work at Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, her repetitive shoots for the most sought after advertising accounts like Bergdorf Goodman and the soap companies, and the portraiture conducted from her studios establishes her as a prominent professional at a time that many consider to be among photography's most dynamic and dramatic periods.
Toni had sincere interests in or at least flirted with a wide variety of spiritual figures and alternative religions: Buddhism, Theosophy, Krishnamurti, Rudolf Steiner, and possibly (almost certainly!) others. After World War II, she was attracted to Meher Baba whose objective was to bring all religions together. She was certainly comfortable comparing or debating the merits of many religions, but it is also hard to identify any one that was closest to her own inner spirit.
Board of Directors
Jim Rosengarten
Jim Rosengarten received a Roothbert scholarship in 1988 towards his M.Ed. in Secondary Ed./English. He teaches history at a Quaker independent school in the Philadelphia area. He also works as a wedding officiant with Journeys of the Heart and is involved with Horizons at Greene Street Friends, a summer educational experience devoted to decreasing the “summer slide” for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. The Roothbert Fellowship has continued to be an important part of his life, offering support and inspiration through a wonderful, fascinating, and diverse group of friends and fellow sojourners.
Nathalis Wamba
Ilunga Kalala
Vijay Varma
The Roothbert Fellowship helped fund my masters in public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2011.
The Roothbert Fund captures for me the driving tenants of my spirituality: diversity, kindness, connection, and activism. In addition to serving on the board of the Roothbert Fund, I am a scientist working on improving healthcare for older adults.
Nadjwa Norton
Shaped by spirit, God, and family,
Nadjwa is a poet, an innovator, a ponderer--
a catalyst, an educator, a competitor.
Shaped by spirit, God, and friends,
Nadjwa is a researcher, a New Yorker, a lover of words--
a critical design-game theory-systems- theorist-activist.
Adler Prioly
Adler is a sustainable infrastructure investment professional and has been focused on providing capital and structuring to support growth in middle-market companies devoted to sustainable infrastructure development. His particular passion is in working to understand long-term needs of companies and to design strategic solutions to support scaling projects and corporate development. He also mentors cleantech companies and provides endowment management support and portfolio management primarily to non-profit and educational institutions. He enjoys the diversity and intergenerational elements of the Roothbert community.
James Heinegg
I was on grant with The Roothbert Fellowship 1999-2001 while completing a doctorate in educational leadership at Teachers College/Columbia University.
I currently work as a public school administrator in New Jersey.
One of the Roothberts' ideas that has always resonated with me is that "Spirituality has to be manifested in a very practical way, by 'living in the world without being overwhelmed by it.
Senior Fellows
Jason Buhle, 2007 / Florian Halili, 2000 / Leonisa Ardizzone, 2000 / Brian Smiga, 1976 / Diamond Cephus, 1992 / John P. Devlin, 1977 / Barbara A. Edwards, 2001 / Toby M Horn, 1969 / Donna M. Johnson, 1977 / Gilbert M. Joseph, 1974 / Jane Friedman Century, 1967 / Michael J. Mooney, 1972 / Blake T. Newton, III, 1975 / Bd Susan S. Purdy, 1978 / Elizabeth Vermey, 1969 / Stephen F. Wilder, 1985