Dear Norwood-Fontbonne Academy Community,

We want to provide you with an update on our president search. Recently, the search committee reviewed applicant files, reached a consensus, and invited semi-finalists to interview with them. Each offered broad skills, talents, and experiences. After thoughtful deliberation, the search committee reached a consensus to invite back three candidates for additional meetings and interviews and to meet with various members of our community. 

Each candidate will be on campus for separate three-day visits beginning Wednesday, November 6th. During this time, candidates will meet with faculty, administration, staff, parent representatives, students, board members, and alumni representatives. This is an opportunity for our community to learn more about each candidate and for each candidate to learn more about us. Please note that each candidate will be announced just prior to their respective visit. 

For those who will be meeting with the candidates, a schedule will be provided shortly. Also, individuals who meet with the candidates will have the opportunity to share their thoughts with the search committee via an online feedback form.

We would like to briefly remind you of the overall process for determining our next president. After the search committee has completed its evaluation of all of the necessary data gathered, including the evaluation of candidate materials, interviews, reference checks, observations, analyses, etc., to find the right person to lead Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, it will be presenting its recommendation to Dr. Killeen as Executive Director of Sponsorship for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia. He will then make a recommendation to the Council for its review and approval. Once this is complete, an announcement regarding the new president will be made as soon as possible.

Please note that the search committee will be thoroughly investigating references for each candidate. Due to the serious nature of this process and professional courtesies we must provide to the candidates, we ask that you allow the search committee, and the search committee only, to conduct these reference checks. In keeping with the respectful and professional protocol we have agreed to with the candidates, if you know someone who would be appropriate for the committee to speak with, please contact us so we may reach out to the person directly.

This is an exciting time for our community and we look forward to this phase of our search for the next president of Norwood-Fontbonne Academy. As stated above, we will provide you more details just prior to the finalists’ respective visits. 

Sincerely,
 

Audrey Schwenger
Search Chair
Board Vice Chair

Shannon Craige
Search Co-Chair
Director of Curriculum & Innovation

Dear Members of the Norwood-Fontbonne Academy Community, 

We hope that you had a wonderful summer. On behalf of the President Search Committee, we would like to provide you with a brief update on the search process.

Our search professionals from Educational Directions, Mathew Heersche and Risa Oganesoff Heersche, have been recruiting candidates throughout the summer. Their work has involved reaching out to Catholic educational leaders throughout the country, utilizing Educational Directions’ comprehensive database, contacting national and regional associations and professional organizations as well as leadership programs at various Catholic universities, and advertising in appropriate websites such as The Blue Sheet, an executive search report published by Educational Directions. 

At this point, Mathew and Risa are working with a number of individuals throughout the United States who have expressed interest in the position. Their work with candidates involves multiple conversations, comprehensive interviews and initial reference checks to determine who would be the best fit for the president’s position. They will ultimately develop a group of top candidates for consideration by the search committee. The candidates’ files, which include the candidate’s cover letter, resume, statement of educational philosophy and a list of references, as well as other information provided by Educational Directions, will be presented to the search committee for their review and consideration in September.

As a reminder, it is from this group of top candidates that the search committee will select those individuals to be interviewed as semi-finalists. This group will be interviewed by the committee only because candidates are promised confidentiality through the end of the semi-finalist stage. This is consistent with best practices and important for the candidates because of the potential repercussions for them if their present school community knew at this stage of the search while both the school and the candidates are still in discernment.

After the semi-finalist interviews, the search committee will select finalists. Their names will be announced in an appropriate way to the entire school community. Each finalist will spend time on campus to help them get a sense of our community. After the search committee has completed its evaluation of all the data gathered (including deep reference checking) and deliberates, it will be presenting its recommendation to Dr. Killeen as Executive Administrator of Sponsorship for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia. He will then make a recommendation to the Council for its review and approval. Once this is complete, an announcement regarding the new president will be made as soon as possible.  

We hope to bring the process to a conclusion by late fall. The chosen individual would begin work in July 2025. There will be a variety of opportunities for the new president to meet with members of our community as part of the overall process as we transition to our new leader.

We will continue to provide regular updates as we move through the next stages of the search process. On behalf of the board, we thank you in advance for your support of Norwood. 

Sincerely,

Audrey Schwenger
Search Chair
Board Vice Chair

Dear Members of the Norwood-Fontbonne Academy Community:

We wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that our search professionals, Risa Oganesoff Heersche and Mathew Heersche from Educational Directions, in collaboration with the Norwood-Fontbonne Academy President Search Committee, have developed a position profile based upon what they learned about the school, including key areas of focus and the qualities sought in the new President. This profile will be used as part of their overall outreach and recruitment efforts. 

The position profile is available at the following link  — Norwood-Fontbonne Academy Position Profile (PDF) — as well as on the President Search Section on Norwood’s Website. In our continuing efforts to keep our entire Norwood community apprised and engaged in our search process, please feel free to share the profile with others, especially those you think might be interested in this outstanding opportunity. If you have any recommendations for the position, you can provide our search professionals with contact information at the following link: Norwood-Fontbonne Academy Candidate Recommendation.

Over the coming months, Risa and Mathew will be identifying and evaluating prospects for the role. Our goal is to identify a group of top-level candidates, then narrow that number down to select individuals with whom the search committee will conduct interviews. Finalists chosen from among that group will visit campus in the new academic year. 

We will continue to keep our school community informed as to our progress through regular communications and with updates on the website. 

Sincerely,

Audrey Schwenger 
Search Chair 
Board Vice Chair

Shannon Craige
Search Vice Chair

Dear Norwood-Fontbonne Academy community,

Our president search professionals from Educational Directions, Risa Oganesoff Heersche and Mathew Heersche, were on campus recently to learn about the Norwood-Fontbonne community, our culture, the key areas of focus and opportunities for the next president as well as the qualities sought in this individual. Risa and Mathew shared that they truly enjoyed the opportunity to engage with all the various constituents and appreciated everyone’s kindness and warm welcome. They saw Norwood-Fontbonne as a school that is clearly grounded in the mission and vision of the Sisters of St. Joseph and appreciated the strong commitment and care we have for all of the children entrusted to us.

If you did not have the chance to meet with them or would like to share additional thoughts, there is still an opportunity to complete our online survey. The survey is available at Norwood-Fontbonne President Search and will remain open until Wednesday, April 10. Please note that there is space to provide a recommendation for potential candidates in the survey. Information gathered from the campus visit and the survey will be considered in the writing of the position profile, a document that will be created in collaboration with the search committee, to market this wonderful opportunity.

We will keep all members of our school community informed regarding the President search via regular updates. Information regarding the search can always be found at the President Search section on the website.

Sincerely,

Audrey Schwenger
Search Committee Chair

Dear Members of the Norwood-Fontbonne Academy Community:

With the recent announcement that Dr. Ryan Killeen will step down as President at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy to begin his new role as the Director of Sponsorship for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia, the Advisory Board and the Sisters of St. Joseph have initiated the process of the search for the next President of NFA.

We have selected Educational Directions of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, as our partner in this search. Educational Directions was founded in 1987 and is a highly respected national firm. The search will be led by Mathew Heersche and Risa Oganesoff Heersche. Mathew and Risa bring deep experience both as educational leaders in Catholic education and as search professionals.   

Over the last few weeks we have formed a search committee which includes representatives of the Sisters of St. Joseph, NFA staff, members of the NFA Advisory Board, current and former NFA parents and an NFA alumnus.  The NFA President Search Committee members are:

• Audrey Schwenger, Search Chair, Alum Parent, Vice-Chair, Advisory Board
   
• Beth Bailey, Alum Parent, Advisory Board
   
• Shannon Craige, Director of Curriculum and Innovation
   
• Lynda Dennis, Alum Parent, Advisory Board
   
• Chris Dezzi, Alum Parent, Advisory Board  
   
• S. Deborah Hughes, SSJ, former Advisory Board  
   
• Claudia Huot, Alum Parent, Advisory Board
   
• S. Marjorie Lawless, SSJ, former Faculty, Advisory Board
   
• Bill Murphy, Alum, former Vice-Chair Advisory Board, Current Parent
   
• Nancy Nadler, Director of Business Operations 

The search process for our next NFA President will be open and inclusive. Risa and Mathew will visit NFA on Tuesday, March 12 and Wednesday, March 13. The purpose of their first visit is to learn about our community,  identify the opportunities for the new president and the qualities sought in this individual. From the information gathered through this process, Risa and Mathew, along with the search committee, will develop a position profile which will be used as a marketing tool for promoting this role. Once it is completed, the position profile will be shared with school community through the President Search section on the school’s website where information and updates regarding the search process will be posted. 

Risa and Mathew will be reaching out nationally and locally to Catholic educational leaders as well as Catholic and educational organizations to notify them of our opening. Over the next months, they will be identifying and evaluating top prospects. Our goal is to identify a group of top-level candidates for the search committee to interview. From that group will come the finalists. Members of the NFA community will meet each of the finalists. After the search committee has completed its evaluation of the finalists, checked references, and deliberated, it will present its recommendation to Dr. Killeen, as Director of Sponsorship for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia. Dr. Killeen will make a recommendation to the SSJ Council for review and approval. Once this is complete, an announcement regarding the new president will be made.  

We expect the search for the next President of NFA to be completed in the fall of 2024 and that the new President will begin work by July 2025.  As we begin this search process we ask for your prayerful support of all who are engaged in this work.  We are so grateful to Dr. Ryan Killeen for his continued leadership of NFA.   

Sincerely,

Audrey Schwenger
Search Chair, Advisory Board Vice Chair

Dear Norwood-Fontbonne Academy Community,

Happy New Year! I hope that you had a blessed and peaceful celebration of Christmas.

As the Sisters of Saint Joseph look to the future, they remain deeply committed to the vibrant expression of their mission through Sponsored Ministries. In addition to Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, these works include Chestnut Hill College, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, affordable housing projects for senior citizens in Flourtown and McSherrystown, retreat centers in Ocean Grove and Sea Isle, NJ, the Villa retirement home and social justice initiatives, including the Welcome Center, the Neighborhood Center, and the Newcomer Housing Alliance. The Congregation relies on lay partners in mission to collaborate in carrying this mission forward alongside them so that all people may be united with God and One Another. After a multi-year process of consultation with two national firms (Plante Moran and KEB), the elected leadership Council of the Sisters of Saint Joseph has created a multifaceted reorganization of its administrative structure to support the long-term sustainability of the congregational administration and its sponsored ministries. Part of that process is the creation of an expanded Sponsorship Office to be led by the Director of Sponsorship. The Director will provide strategic direction and facilitate capital and strategic planning with each ministry. The Director will provide guidance to elevate and integrate the mission, vision and priorities of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in all ministries and support the long-term growth and sustainability of mission and ministries. 

I am honored and humbled to share that the Council of the Sisters of Saint Joseph has asked me to accept the role of Director of Sponsorship. After careful, prayerful discernment with my family, I have accepted this position. I will gradually transition to this role and continue as President of Norwood-Fontbonne Academy through June of 2025. I am so grateful to have been able to partner with all of you these past six years and I am heartened to be able to continue to partner with you in new and exciting ways. 

“We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Ryan Killeen has accepted this newly created position. Dr. Killeen currently serves as President of Norwood-Fontbonne Academy. In this role, Dr. Killeen has been an outstanding leader, demonstrating not only professional and relational skills, but also commitment to the charism, vision, and values of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.”

- Council of the Sisters of Saint Joseph

In February, we will begin our search process for a new President of Norwood-Fontbonne Academy. We have partnered with Educational Directions, a national firm, in the retained search for President. The search committee will be established and announced later this month and recruitment will begin. It is our goal to engage all stakeholders in this process. From amongst the pool of semifinalists interviewed by the search committee, finalists will be selected to visit campus in the fall of 2024. It is our hope that a candidate will be selected and recommended for appointment in the winter of 2024 or earlier, with an anticipated start date of summer 2025. Please look for a more detailed communication regarding the search in the next few weeks.

As a Senior Leadership team, we feel it is important that we are intentional and collaborative in this process. I am excited for all that we will continue to accomplish together, supporting, enhancing and growing the vibrant community of Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, as we head into the final phases of our five-year Strategic Plan, Directed Toward Tomorrow, and build upon these achievements and plan for our future.

In Christ’s Peace,

Ryan Killeen, Ed.D.
President