Pleasant T. Rowland
Founder
Rowland Reading Foundation
American Girl
2009

Bio | Induction Speech | Acceptance Speech

Pleasant Rowland is a noted educator and business leader whose career began as a primary grade teacher. Her lifelong interest in teaching children to read grew from her classroom experience and ultimately led to her authorship of reading and language arts programs used widely for over 35 years in schools throughout the country. She is the author of Beginning to Read, Write, and Listen, published by McGraw-Hill, and The Addison-Wesley Reading Program, published by Addison-Wesley.

In 1985, Ms. Rowland combined her love of American history and her commitment to high-quality educational products to create The American Girls Collection®, a line of historically accurate books, dolls, and accessories, lauded for its ability to make American history come alive for millions of children.

Ms. Rowland served as president and chairman of American Girl for 15 years and has been honored for her business achievements. American Girl was selected from a field of 3,000 corporations for its exceptional vision and outstanding management. Ms. Rowland was chosen as one of the 12 outstanding entrepreneurs in the nation and was a national finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year award. She has been cited as one of the “100 Best and Brightest Marketers” in America and as one of America’s Top 50 Women Business Owners.  She was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement and has been a member of the International Women’s Forum and the Committee of 200, prestigious organizations that honor women of achievement in business. 

Ms. Rowland retired from American Girl in 2000 to form the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation and since then has focused her energies on her philanthropic interests in arts, education, and historic preservation.  She founded the Rowland Reading Foundation in 2004 dedicated to improve reading instruction in the primary grades and leads this enterprise today.

Ms. Rowland has been widely recognized for her personal generosity and philanthropic activities and has received the Wisconsin Governor’s Award for her contributions to arts and cultural causes.  She was honored as an outstanding alumna of Wells College and holds honorary degrees from the University of Hartford and the University of Wisconsin.

Pleasant Rowland lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband.