One of our goals for this Chapter Leader newsletter is to create a forum for chapter leaders to learn from each other and about each other. We’re calling this feature “A Rising Tide” because when one of our chapters succeeds, we all succeed – and we should share those strategies and successes with each other to lift all our boats, metaphorically speaking.  

This month, we’re featuring Maryanne Schiller, one of four chapter leaders of the PA, Philadelphia – 8 chapter. Her co-leaders are Cheryl Boyd, Harriet Williams, and Lee Tracy. 

Maryanne Schiller was born, raised, and raised her children in and around the Philadelphia area. In retirement, she moved back to the city and has been an active member of Together Women Rise for over 10 years. She sees her involvement in Rise as a continuation of the stimulating environment that she had while teaching high school world cultures for 35 years. She loves to read, socialize, and participate in civic actions both locally and nationally.  

Kia: How did you come to be involved with Rise? 

Maryanne: In 2012, I went to see a documentary called Solar Mamas at a local theater. The director was there and spoke after the show. Two Rise members, Debbie Britt and Cindy Ariel, were in the audience, and they spoke about what was then Dining for Women and invited others to get involved in this type of work. I had just moved to a condo in Philadelphia and didn’t know many people. I wanted to meet like-minded women, and this seemed like a great opportunity to build a network. Debbie and Cindy’s existing chapter did a presentation for me and a few others at my condo, and I was hooked. We had about 5-6 members at our first meeting and raised about $200 that month. We thought that was amazing, and now in 2024 we just reached $200,000 in total donations. We never anticipated that it would last all these years and that we would reach such a goal.  

Kia: Wow! That is very impressive! What are meetings like now, more than 10 years later? 

Maryanne: We have five leaders for about 50 people who come regularly. We call the leaders facilitators. They lead discussion, help set up for the host, and do the affirmation, among other things. Many of us travel, so we rotate around the responsibilities to make sure we are still meeting regularly. Because we have so many members, our chapter hosts two meetings per month, and people can pick which one to go to. Our condos are not big, so we can’t host very large groups, and we still have about 30-35 people who come every time (although not always the same people). A few members have more space, and we use those condos to host joint meetings of the whole chapter twice a year. We now meet at 4pm and bring snacks, but in the past we used to do a potluck dinner in the evenings. We have always loved the social and learning components, even though things have changed over time.  

There are a lot of active, smart women who live in our building, very smart people who are focused on making a difference. That is our niche, and the model at Rise works wonderfully for us. Sometimes people move away, but they may still donate and remain on our roster. We want to see Rise expand in our condo (there are over 700 units!), and we let people come to our meetings and see what we do. I told a friend in another building about us, and she started her own chapter. It’s been great to share the mission with others.  

Kia: Your condo is part of a “NORC” or a “Naturally Occurring Retirement Community.” Can you tell us more about that?  

Maryanne: A NORC is not officially a retirement community by design, but it’s a location that just happens to have a lot of seniors living there. NORCs and planned 55+ communities are full of people who have resources, time, and interests that align with Rise. It’s great when communities like ours can connect with one another and learn from each other. We ask our members to refer us to other condos or official retirement communities where residents may be interested in starting a Rise chapter. Our chapter seeded one other chapter in center city Philadelphia a few years ago. I am a Chapter Support Liaison volunteer with Rise, and I work with the other NORC chapters. There are some chapters in Florida, for example, who have similar memberships and we talk to each other. Sometimes people leave, move but there are always more who are interested in getting involved. 

Kia: Your chapter also has a “study group” — what is that? 

Maryanne: It started with Mary Ellen Graham. She is on the Grants and Partnerships Committee, and she is in our chapter. She is a powerhouse, brilliant. She was telling us about the things she was reading for the committee and she would recommend these very serious books. We asked her to talk about that more, and then it grew from there. No one really runs the study group, it’s very organic, but we meet about every six weeks. We don’t meet on a certain day but decide as a group when we are available and who is interested in attending. The folks who participate are very committed and consistent. We read books that Rise recommends, other things about gender equality, we watch documentaries, we look at current events, study the history of feminism. We talk about our own lives. We even discuss philanthropy and the idea of justice vs. charity. We like to think of ourselves as an incubator, and test things out for the larger group. The conversations we have in the study group really elevate the full group meetings. We ask more thoughtful questions and have better discussions…it makes everyone think more deeply. 

Kia: That sounds so fun. Other chapters should start study groups! What do you contribute to the longevity of your chapter?  

Maryanne: I think it’s very important to have succession plans, to know what will happen if you cannot remain the leader. For our group, we also have 5 leaders because it’s too much for one person. To me, it’s important to have help and I’m not afraid of asking for help. I also write an update every month about what happened at the meetings, what we’re working on. There now is a template that we developed so it’s easy to complete. We also record who presented, who facilitated, who attended. When I am not here, one of the other leaders writes it. We use Signup Genius as well, so we know who is attending meetings. We also want people to let us know if they are not coming. That adds a layer of responsibility to the group. These notes help us determine who might be good at presenting or hosting. Once we ask someone to engage in this way, they always like it. We also give them support when they host or present. That gets them more invested in the whole chapter. That is the teacher in me, getting people to engage. It’s not a top-down approach but a bottom up one.  

Kia: So engagement is key. Can you talk more about that?  

Maryanne: You have to engage people. They enjoy socializing and need to find meaning in the meetings. It’s not just a “take it or leave it” approach but being able to provide good presentations, and even better discussions. The “aha” moments are important. Some people talk about their experiences, or the experiences of their grandmothers even. For them it is personal. The key is community and making sure that everyone gets a piece of it by hosting or presenting or bringing in a book, to keep that ball bouncing. For us, the other piece is convenience. We meet at convenient times and no longer focus so much on the food. We all live here. No traffic, no storm issues. That is the benefit of these types of communities.  

If you keep growing as an individual, you keep coming, you keep learning. We also hang out outside of Rise meetings sometimes. Not all of us, but people have made friendships. As a leader though, one of the most important things is listening to the members. That is the job of the facilitator. So, when meetings are getting repetitive, they notice and mix it up. When the presentations got too long and we lost out on discussion, we established a time limit. Meet people where they are and listen when they ask questions. Rise continues the most meaningful part of my career as a teacher, but my members don’t graduate like my students did, and we have built a really vibrant community within our larger community.