HEA Staff

Kathy has worked as an educator and a social worker throughout her career, with most of her professional life working in non-traditional educational settings with children and adults.

Beginning in 2006, she was employed by Learning Generation Initiative, becoming the executive director in 2009. Previously, she worked for 13 years at Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns as the Director of Community Partnerships and Service Learning.

Prior to that, Kathy taught high school in Kenya and managed three United Nations High Commission for Refugees programs serving South African Political Refugees in Lesotho in southern Africa. In Indiana, she served as President of the Dismas House Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of Veritas Academy, a grades K – 8 charter school.

She was recognized with a Presidential Award from the University of Notre Dame for her work to build the relationship between the University and the community of South Bend.

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.

John has worked as an educator for over 40 years. He spent the first five years of his distinguished career as a special education teacher. John then moved from the classroom into a leadership position taking the job of Supervisor of Special Education with Elkhart Community Schools, where he remained for six years. He stayed with Elkhart Community Schools providing leadership as Director of Student Services for the remainder of his career.

From the time he was a teenager, John never doubted that he would devote his life to the field of education. His work with Horizon Education Alliance is another milestone in his professional journey.

Jim worked for over 22 years as an English classroom teacher. During this time, he served as department chair, advised for newspaper and yearbook, served as a play director, and was awarded runner-up for Indiana Teacher of the Year.

Jim also served as head football coach for 17 years. Jim has over 18 years as a school administrator at New Haven High School, Heritage Jr.-Sr. High, Churubusco Middle School, and Goshen High School. Jim has presented at conferences regionally and statewide.

He is the co-author of the book Building a School of One: One School’s Journey, which chronicles raising student performance by personalizing the school experience and raising the academic expectation.

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.

Shabbir coordinates the IT Sector Partnership for the South Bend/Elkhart region.