July 31, 2024
Meet our New Executive Director!
A Letter from the Board
On behalf of the board of directors, I am delighted to share that CMI has appointed Kerri Forney to be our next Executive Director.
Kerri's knowledge, experience, and her tireless and effective work through much of CMI's history on many of its initiatives--from curriculum to conferences, board leadership to staff guidance, and program design to execution--position her well for this next phase of the Institute's story. Kerri is a loved and valued colleague and her collaborative leadership will include responsibility for strategic integration of CMI's vision, operational oversight, financial stewardship, program and service development and enhancement.
We could not be more pleased to welcome Kerri into this position set to begin on September 3, 2024. If you don't yet know Kerri, or even if you do, we are sure you will enjoy her letter of introduction below.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any encouragement or conversation.
Warmly,
Deani Van Pelt, Board Chair, Charlotte Mason Institute
A Letter from Kerri
Dear CMI Community,
I am overjoyed to write to you from the desk of the Executive Director of the Charlotte Mason Institute. The vision that Dr. Carroll and Andra Smith set forth—to ensure that Charlotte Mason's relational education would be available for generations to come— has continued to grow, expand, and bear much fruit! It is with great excitement and anticipation that I step into this new role, eager to see our work in research, curriculum development, teacher training, school support, and community building continue to expand and thrive.
My journey with CMI began as a volunteer at the first conference in 2005, and over the years, I have had the privilege of serving in various capacities to support the Institute’s mission; I am humbled and honored to now carry this work forward as the Executive Director alongside the CMI board. Our commitment to fidelity, charity, and humility remains steadfast, and our passion to make the feast of ideas accessible to more children in various home and school settings, of a multiplicity of ethnic backgrounds, and with a wide variety of unique gifts and challenges, has only grown stronger. In a time when many educators and parents are seeking alternatives to the current educational model, we are thrilled to offer a way forward that protects personhood, fosters relationship, and promotes growth for both students and educators.
As my husband and I enter the final year of homeschooling the youngest of our five children, our gratitude for the life-giving ideas of Charlotte Mason has deepened tremendously when reflecting on that treasured first reading of For the Children’s Sake. Yet, without the support, encouragement, and challenge we’ve received from CMI over the past twenty years, those seminal thoughts and principles would not have come to life in us and our children. It is therefore my highest privilege to serve the community and lead the Institute in the fulfillment of its mission.
Whether this is your first interaction with us, you have been part of the CMI community from the beginning, or you are somewhere in between, I am profoundly grateful to share this journey with you. Together, we strive to bring the knowledge of God, humanity, and the universe to children everywhere.
Kind regards,
Kerri Forney, Executive Director, Charlotte Mason Institute
Kerri Forney, like many, was introduced to the life-giving principles of Charlotte Mason through reading For the Children’s Sake. She and her husband, Scott, currently living in Wake Forest, NC, continue to grow in their ability to live out these principles. She has graduated four children and the last is a senior in high school. Leader of a monthly CM study group in North Raleigh, she enjoys rescuing used books, researching and writing about Charlotte Mason, and mentoring and growing with fellow educators. She holds a B. A. in Sociology and Bible from Wheaton College and has completed additional coursework in biblical counseling. Kerri has presented at numerous conferences, in the US and the UK, and has led workshops on topics such as teaching learning at the high school level, exams and assessment, teaching history, parenting, and narration. Kerri, an Alveary curriculum team member from its inception, has provided leadership as a CMI board director and as a Templeton grant recipient. She is passionate about Charlotte Mason's life-giving principles for education and gifted in the work of bringing them into the 21st century. Beginning in the fall of 2024, Kerri will serve the Charlotte Mason Institute as Executive Director.
