Reading is Fundamental Welcomes New Board Members

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2004 - Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF®) today named John Polstein of Kaplan, Inc. and Juanita T. James of Pitney Bowes, Inc. to its Board of Directors.

Polstein is president of Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, a division of Kaplan, Inc., where he has overseen the division's successful expansion beyond its core test preparation leadership into areas such as admissions consulting and K-12 educational services for school districts. Polstein has played an integral role in expanding Kaplan's book and software publishing division as well as the division's growth overseas. Under Polstein's leadership, Kaplan also established its website, Kaptest.com, as the premier destination for test preparation and admissions services and secured its place as the leading provider of licensing test preparation to medical professionals. Prior to his current role, Polstein held a variety of leadership positions within the company, overseeing core businesses and center operations and helping to standardize and streamline operations around the country since joining Kaplan in 1992.

James is currently vice president and project leader for human resources transformation at Pitney Bowes, Inc. Prior to her current position she was general manager of Pitney Bowes Professional Services, Inc., Before joining Pitney Bowes, James spent more than 20 years in the publishing industry, working for Doubleday Direct, Inc., a subsidiary of the German-owned media and entertainment giant Bertelsmann, Inc., as well as Time Warner. In addition to her new role with RIF, James is a trustee emerita at Princeton University and serves as a director of The Rouse Company.

"John and Juanita will bring immeasurable experience and insight to the RIF Board of Directors, from their unique corporate perspectives that are grounded in both education and literacy," said Bruce A. Quinnell, RIF chairman of the board. "Given John's career with Kaplan, he knows first-hand the vital need to reach children at a young age and prepare them for higher education. With her many years of experience in the publishing industry, Juanita has long demonstrated her commitment to the importance of reading."

Polstein holds a bachelor of arts degree from Amherst College and a master of business administration degree from Harvard Business School.

James holds a bachelor's degree in romance languages from Princeton University and a master's degree in business policy from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business, where she received the Distinguished Service Award.

With the appointments of Polstein and James, the RIF board stands at 28 members.

Reading Is Fundamental, Inc., founded in 1966, works to build a literate nation by helping young people discover the joy of reading. RIF's highest priority is to serve the nation's underserved children and families through the development and delivery of literacy programs and campaigns that motivate youth to read regularly. Through a national, grassroots network of 450,000 community volunteers at 25,000 RIF program sites, 5.1 million children are provided with 16.5 million new, free books and other essential literacy resources each year. For more information and to access reading resources, visit RIF's website at www.rif.org.

Press Contacts:

Sarah Dahlberg
RIF
202-673-1616
sdahlberg@rif.org

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