Rowley Succeeds Levine as President of Foundation Board

SPRINGFIELD—The Community Foundation of Otsego County has announced the election of new officers for the 2025-2027 term. President David Rowley is joined by Vice President Tim Lord, Treasurer Scott White and Secretary Patricia Kennedy.

“I believe the Community Foundation of Otsego County has made a substantial impact in the last five years and I have been proud to serve on the Board of Directors,” said Rowley. “I am keenly aware that becoming president will be a significant challenge, but I am fortunate to be succeeding Harry Levine, our past president, who has done just an outstanding job leading CFOC over the past five years.

“The fact that I will have the support of a remarkable Board of Directors, many of whom were part of the core group that founded CFOC, is very reassuring,” Rowley continued. “I am truly looking forward to working with our highly effective Executive Director, Jeff Katz, and Joanne Tobey, our director of development. My goal is to carry on the incredible growth achieved in the first five years and to expand our good work throughout Otsego County.”

Levine said, “I am pleased to be stepping ‘up’ to the new title of past president. This transition has been in the planning stage for about two years. I am excited to watch as the foundation matures from infancy to young adulthood. I feel like a parent watching a child mature. It is very gratifying. None of this would have been possible without the support of our donors.”

The Community Foundation of Otsego County would not exist, and not have grown so quickly, without the vision and dedication of Harry Levine, according to Katz.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with Harry in his role as board president, and I look forward to continuing our collaboration with him as our first past president,” Katz said. “David Rowley will no doubt continue Harry’s legacy and be a wonderful president. The years ahead look bright.”

Rowley is a native of Otsego County and a graduate of Oneonta High School. He received his BA from Hartwick College, teaching certification from SUNY Oneonta, his MPA from the Pennsylvania State University and his CAS in Educational Administration from SUNY New Paltz. He began his career in public education as a social studies teacher and coach at Edmeston Central School District in 1979 and eventually worked in a total of six different school districts in New York. He fully retired from public education in 2022, having spent 11 years serving as superintendent of schools in the Edmeston, Oneonta and Stamford school districts.

Rowley has served as a volunteer for the Oneonta Family YMCA, the A.O. Fox Foundation, Friends of Bassett, the Oneonta Rotary Fund Inc., Friends of the Oneonta Theatre and Otsego County’s Industrial Development Agency. He and his wife, Gail, have lived in the Town of Oneonta for the last 17 years.