ROWELL FUND ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
John Ackerly was the President of ICT for 10 years and a founding staff member of ICT. He left his position as President in 2009 and has worked in the renewable energy sector since then, heading up the Alliance for Green Heat. John first went to Tibet in 1987 as a mountaineer and met Galen in 1988. John helped Galen with some of his Tibet publications and climbed with him numerous times in Yosemite Valley. John continues to serve as a board member of ICT and ICT Germany.
Grace and Mariah Cushman are both nieces of Barbara and Galen. Their parents, Beth and Bob Cushman served as founding members on the Rowell Fund Board. Bob accompanied Barbara and Galen on a National Geographic sponsored trip to Nepal in 1987 to the Annapurna sanctuary and on their flying adventure to South America that resulted in Barbara’s book “Flying South: A Pilot’s Inner Journey.” Having grown up in the Sierra Nevadas of California, Grace and Mariah then moved with their parents to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2006. Following in their aunt’s footsteps, they are both fluent in Spanish and hold a deep love for exploring the world – especially South America.
John Jancik is President of ECHO Geophysical Corporation in Denver, Colorado and a long time supporter of environmental causes. He was a teammate of Galen and Bob Palais on the 1996 Top Of The World Expedition to the northernmost point of land on Earth off of the north coast of Greenland. In addition, John co-authored the book “Under The Midnight Sun” which featured numerous photographs of Galen’s work.
Bob Palais is an Associate Professor of Math at the University of Utah and a long-time mountaineer and Tibet activist. He met Galen in the early 1980s in Yosemite and then became good friends during the Endangered Tibet Conference in 1990 and they undertook several expeditions together including a trip to the northernmost point of Greenland in 1994.
Terri Baker met Galen Rowell when she joined him, Bob Palais, and John Jancik on the 1996 Expedition to Northern Greenland as the team physician. She became more aware of the situation in Tibet through Galen’s advocacy, and on his passing became involved in fundraising for the Rowell Fund and has been with the Rowell fund Board for over 20 years.
IN MEMORY
Galen and Barbara’s adult children, Tony Rowell and Nicole Rowell Ryan joined as founding members of the Rowell Fund Board of Advisors. They played a vital role after their father’s passing in preserving his legacy and photography through his Mountain Light photo studio. Nicole passed away in 2018, and Tony in early 2019. Today, Nicole’s son, Forrest Ryan, continues the family’s involvement by serving on the Rowell Fund Board.
David Breashears was also a founding member of the Rowell Fund for Tibet and helped organize multiple fundraising trips up the Grand Teton. David was an American mountaineer, filmmaker, author and motivational speaker, who climbed Everest five times, and was the first to live broadcast from the summit. David helped ICT in many ways, until his tragic passing from a heart attack, at home in Massachusetts in 2024.
ICT remembers them all fondly and with great respect for all they did to help the Tibetan people.
ICT’s remembrance of Tony is below.
In Memoriam: Remembering Tony Rowell
By John Jancik & Terri Baker, Rowell Fund for Tibet
Potala Palace at sunrise captured by Tony Rowell in 2004
It is with deepest sorror that ICT and the Rowell Fund for Tibet announce the passing of Tony (Edward Anthony) Rowell on February 16, 2019, at the age of 50.
Tony was part of the ICT family since 2003 when he, along with former ICT President and active Board Member John Ackerly, helped develop the Rowell Fund in honor of his late father Galen Rowell, a famed photographer and mountaineer, and his wife Barbara, who were avid supporters of the Tibetan cause. Tony became very instrumental in the success of the Rowell Fund over the years. Following in his father’s footsteps, Tony traveled to Tibet in August 2004 with National Geographic Expeditions, and has donated his photos from the trip to ICT. He was a passionate photographer of natural landscapes and the night sky.
John Ackerly shares, “Tony was a great advocate for Tibet and the Rowell Fund for Tibet, which he helped to co-found. Galen shot his photos quickly during the mountain light, in the early morning and late afternoon, while Tony had the patience to leave the shutter open for minutes or hours, captureing the distant stars and pondering the universe. Like meteors, they both came and went far too quickly.”