The National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES) is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rev. Daniel R. Heischman, D.Min., currently College Chaplain at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, as
its next Executive Director, effective July 1, 2007. The Governing Board’s unanimous decision to select Mr. Heischman followed the enthusiastic and unanimous recommendation of the Search Committee, which cited
a nearly perfect match of the criteria established by the Search Committee and Governing Board with his experience, skills and leadership style.
David H. Charlton, Ed.D., NAES Governing Board President, said after Mr. Heischman’s selection that “Dan is the ideal choice for NAES. His entire career
has been preparation for taking this responsibility.
Dan’s work and accomplishments with associations, schools and the Episcopal Church combine to offer
Episcopal schools a supremely qualified and prepared leader. We are most fortunate, proud and grateful to be able to bring Dan Heischman to the position of Executive Director of NAES and to offer his leadership and service to the membership.”
On accepting his appointment, Mr. Heischman said, “I am simply thrilled to have the chance to lead NAES. It is a wonderful thing to be offered the opportunity that is ahead of me; it is even more wonderful to be offered it by people for whom I have the highest respect and admiration as educators and leaders of this organization.”
Mr. Heischman succeeds the Rev. Peter G. Cheney, Executive Director since 1998, who announced last June his decision to leave NAES to return to school leadership. “I am excited and grateful about Dan’s appointment. First and foremost, Dan is a wonderful, faith-filled and grounded human being who I trust and admire. The icing on the cake is that he is incredibly capable and broadly experienced in Episcopal school ministry and leadership, and already nationally known and respected. I couldn’t be happier about the next chapter in the Association’s life,” said Mr. Cheney upon learning of the appointment.
NAES, an independently incorporated, voluntary membership organization, supports, serves and advocates for the vital work and ministry of those who serve nearly over 1,000 Episcopal schools, Early Childhood education programs and school establishment efforts throughout The Episcopal Church. Chartered in 1965, with historic roots dating to the 1930s, it is the only pre-collegiate educational association that is both national in scope and Episcopal in character.
At Trinity College, a historically Episcopal institution, Mr. Heischman has been responsible for all facets of the College’s religious life. His ministry has included the foundation and cultivation of the Friends of Trinity College Chapel, an organization dedicated to the on-going financial support of the College Chapel; the establishment of ministries to and with minority and non-Episcopal students; ambassadorial work on behalf of the College; and teaching, counseling and administrative work.
A noted speaker, workshop leader and author, Mr. Heischman is an Adjunct Instructor for the Doctor of Ministry in Educational Leadership degree program of the Center for Lifetime Theological Education at Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia. He preaches and leads faculty and parent workshops and retreats at Episcopal and independent schools and serves as a facilitator for faculty development programs related to ethics and the moral development of students. His book The Grounds on Which We Dwell features twelve essays on the establishment of the school as a moral community and the challenges involved in moving from blueprint to actuality in realizing moral community with students and faculty. He has also contributed articles to the Journal of Religion and Health, The Christian Century and numerous school bulletins and publications.
Mr. Heischman was Head of Upper School and Assistant Headmaster of St. Albans School, Washington, DC, from 1994 through 2003. From 1987 to 1994 he was Executive Director of the Council for Religion in Independent Schools (CRIS), now the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE). He served as Chaplain and then Assistant Headmaster of Trinity School, New York City, New York, from 1979-1987. He began his ordained ministry in 1976 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Englewood, New Jersey. Since 2001 he has served as Summer Minister at St. John’s Church, Prouts Neck, Maine.
The 2006 recipient of NAES’ John D. Verdery Award for outstanding service to Episcopal schools and NAES, Mr. Heischman has served with distinction as a member and Treasurer of the Association’s Governing Board. He has also served on the boards of the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS); the Religious Education Association; and a number of independent schools in the greater Washington, DC area and California. He is currently Vice President of the Graduate Society of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut.
Mr. Heischman was educated at The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1973. He attended Jesus College, University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology in 1975 and a Master of Arts degree in 1978. He earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree from Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1976, and was ordained that year to the diaconate and priesthood. In 1987 he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey.
NAES, with four staff members, one consultant and its office in New York, offers services, publications, resources and professional development opportunities in support of school leaders, consonant with the Association’s mission and focused principally on Episcopal Identity and School Leadership & Governance.
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Please click on the below-listed links to download a PDF copy of this release or web and print photos. To request an interview with Mr. Heischman, please contact David Schnabel, Conferences & Communications Coordinator.