HEA Staff

Sarah’s educational journey has led to diverse experiences and perspectives on child development. As an 8-year old, she was immersed in a public elementary school in Paraguay, where she later returned to volunteer for a year in a children’s shelter.

After graduating from Goshen College with degrees in art and conflict resolution, Sarah served as an Americorps volunteer with the Juvenile Justice Department and Victim Offender Reconciliation Program in Boulder, Colorado. She has also instructed young adult English language learners in Chile and taught at the high school and middle school levels in Colorado before returning to Elkhart County, where she served as a TAP Master Teacher and Instructional Guide in Goshen Public School System.

Sarah has been an integral part of three systemic school and district-level reform programs: Standards Based Education in Colorado and TAP and EL Education (Formerly Expeditionary Learning) in Goshen Public Schools. She holds a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and is a National Board Certified Teacher.

Jason received his Ph.D. in Leadership from Andrews University. His dissertation focused on leadership development in collaborative learning environments.

Jason has facilitated team-building and leadership development experiences for numerous schools, universities, and organizations. He has worked at Camp Friedenswald as Program Director, Goshen College as Assistant Campus Minister, and Cornerstone Christian Montessori as Interim Executive Director. His passion for experiential learning grew out of leading cross-cultural learning experiences in Ivory Coast, Liberia, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Jason received a B.A. in Business Administration from Goshen College and an M.A. in Christian Formation/Youth Ministry from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary.

In the community, he is involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters and LaCasa Help-A-House, and is a board member at Cornerstone Christian Montessori and serves on multiple committees at Walnut Hill Mennonite Church.

Cindi worked for 12 years in the Dean’s office at the College of Arts and Letters at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She then spent nine years at Learning Generation Initiative and then with HEA following the merger with HEA, where she handled the office management, purchasing, and bookkeeping and oversaw the data entry for the Adult Education state-wide database.

Currently, Cindi oversees all of the organization’s financials as well as Human Resources, office management, and IT. She manages HEA’s receivables and payables, budget and audit, as well as the grant accounting and reporting.

She has her associates degree from Hesston College in Hesston, Kansas.

Born and raised in Terre Haute, Ind., Breanna made her way up to the South Bend-Elkhart region in 2012 as a Higher Education Administrator. Over the past six years, Breanna has worked for Harrison College and Ivy Tech Community College in various roles such as Manager of Student Services and Director of Career Development.

Breanna’s experience working in higher education includes assisting college students in preparation for the workforce, along with logistical coordination for students, faculty, staff, and external partners.

Originally from Atlanta, Ga., Kathleen Jones is an educator with over 15 years of project based learning (PBL) experience. After moving to Elkhart County in 2017, Kathleen connected with HEA and is excited to be applying her PBL expertise to HEA’s Business/Education Roundtables program.

In her role, Kathleen leads teacher professional development, facilitates planning and exchange sessions, and ensures teachers are supported as they implement project-based units.

Hillary Harder grew up in Wichita, Kan. where she attended a dual-language school and began making music at an early age. Whether playing bluegrass with her family band, singing in community and school choirs, or playing in the youth symphony orchestra, there was never a shortage of challenging and rewarding experiences making music in an ensemble.

Hillary received her Bachelor of Arts from Goshen College in Music and Spanish, spending significant time performing but also working with youth through the Music Together program and the Youth Honors Orchestras through the Community School of the Arts.

Michelle received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and completed post-doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin. She is a social scientist with 20 years of experience doing research on stress and emotion, including study design, data analysis, and communicating the findings to a variety of audiences – telling stories about the science that can reach people at any level of expertise.

Michelle taught college-level psychology and neuroscience at the University of Michigan as a graduate student and at the University of Notre Dame as an Assistant Professor and Visiting Professor. She also mentored undergraduate and graduate students in science. Michelle won a research grant from the National Institute on Aging to study resilience, stress, and stress hormone biology over the lifespan.

In the community, Michelle taught brain science to middle- and high-schoolers through the Riverbend Community Math Center, and co-taught a zine-making course to middle-schoolers through Goshen Youth Arts.

Carol Hemund is HEA’s volunteer coordinator, recruiting and supporting tutors in reading, writing, and math to support literacy and HSE students. She matches volunteers with students, manages their work, and provides support and encouragement to both students and volunteers. She currenly oversees 60 community volunteers.

Sherry is a coach and career counselor for adult students, preparing them for life and career exploration. She also manages the state data management system.

Cindy began her college career at Bethel College in Mishawaka and finished her master’s degree in Mild Disabilities at Indiana University. She taught in the Elkhart Community Schools prior to joining HEA as coordinator of the adult literacy program. She enjoys seeing how important reading is to adults and how hard they work to reach their goals.

Lena obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Baylor University and has 15 years of experience working in government, law, and medical sectors.