As a small, grassroots-driven organization, Rural Schools Collaborative relies on leadership from our Regional Hub Partners and our Board of Directors to enact our mission. RSC is excited to start off the new fiscal year by welcoming Cyrus Driver as the newest member of the board.
“The moment Cyrus learned about Rural Schools Collaborative, he became an instant advocate to do all he could to support our mission,” says Taylor McCabe-Juhnke, RSC Executive Director. “It is a treat to learn from someone so committed to collective impact and collaboration as a way to strengthen education across the nation.”
“Cyrus brings expertise in building generative, national networks, as well as a deep understanding of the role philanthropy plays in education,” says Brian Fogle, RSC Board Chair. “His expertise will be so helpful as RSC continues to grow.”

Meet Cyrus Driver: A Q&A with RSC New Board Member
Why are you excited to join the RSC Board of Directors?
The RSC Board has so many of the most committed and strategic rural educators and system leaders in the country, and I’m honored to learn from this group, and hopefully pass along some of the wisdom I've been able to acquire over the years – as a community organizer and adult educator, student of education history and systems, funder and non-profit leader, and as someone who has worked to build a similar network to RSC. I truly want to help RSC grow and thrive, and my experiences and connections hopefully can contribute to a positive impact.
How would you describe the importance of RSC's work?
As you might guess, I believe that networks are a necessary ingredient to both protecting and strengthening public education for the future. Public education is big and complex and so work to improve it needs entities like networks that are set up to respond to this complexity. Networks open up pathways for shared learning, for coordinating strategies across places, for growing resources and funding for the field as a whole, and for telling a larger story that goes beyond one community. RSC is doing all of these things incredibly well for rural education and educators. Given RSC's strength and the cohesion that the staff and the Board have built so skillfully, I also believe RSC can be an essential partner with other similar groups like the network I have led - the Partnership for the Future of Learning - in assuring that public schools nationally remain strong and vibrant institutions in their communities.
Do you have any hopes for the future of RSC?
I see growth of the network itself, in multiple ways, including size of the network, expanded strategies, and funding. I also see connection with other networks and coalitions, and RSC increasingly on the map as a go-to place to advance rural education. This is all pretty general, because at the end of the day for networks to work well, the specifics need to be shaped by RSC members!
We’re so happy you’re here! Anything else you’d like to add?
Rural schools are such pivotal institutions in their communities and so many of these schools offer a model of public education that families and educators want everywhere- whether in small towns, big cities or suburbs. It is a vision of education that's grounded in place and honors community, that's relevant and meaningful and connected to place, and that's undergirded by strong, trusting relationships among adults and young people. I’m truly grateful to have this opportunity, towards the end of my career, to learn more deeply about and advance such a vision with a network that's trying to make it the reality across all of rural America.
Join us in welcoming Cyrus to Rural Schools Collaborative’s Board of Directors! Learn more about our leadership here.