The Rev. Daniel R. Heischman, D.D., Executive Director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES), began his tenure on July 1, 2007. Prior to his work with NAES, Mr. Heischman was College Chaplain at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut for four years. He was Head of the 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 Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE). He served as Chaplain and then Assistant Headmaster of Trinity School, New York, New York from 1979 until 1987. He began his ordained ministry in 1976 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Englewood, New Jersey.
A noted speaker, workshop leader, and author, Mr. Heischman is an Instructor in Doctor of Ministry Studies 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 published books include Good Influence: Teaching the Wisdom of Adulthood (now in its second printing from Morehouse Publishing), which focuses on the role that adults—be they parents or educators—play in the development of young people. Subsequently he authored the book, What Schools Teach Us About Religious Life (Peter Lang Publishing, now in its second edition), a study of twelve private schools throughout the country and what their life and culture tells us about the contemporary American religious landscape. He has also contributed articles to the Journal of Religion and Health, The Christian Century, and numerous school bulletins and publications.
The 2006 recipient of NAES’ John D. Verdery Award for outstanding service to Episcopal schools and the association, Mr. Heischman served as a member (1995-2001) and treasurer (1996-2001) of the NAES Governing Board. He has also served on the boards of the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS); the Religious Education Association; Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and a number of independent and Episcopal schools. He was recently president of the board of the Council for American Private Education, an association of private school organizations of which NAES is a founding member.
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 in 1987 he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. He has received Doctor of Divinity degrees, honoris causa, from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut in 2011, Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria VA in 2018, and the University of the South in 2020, in recognition of his many years of distinguished service to Episcopal schools and universities.