Our Catholic School Leadership Specialists
Mathew Heersche, Ed.D.
Matt has 30 years of experience working with independent Catholic schools (i.e. sponsored schools) and has his doctorate from the Institute of Catholic Educational Leadership at the University of San Francisco. Prior to joining Educational Directions, he served as Head of School at San Domenico School in San Anselmo, CA, an independent Catholic PK-grade 12 school sponsored by the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Rafael. Matthew has held a variety of other leadership positions in Catholic schools in Southern and Northern California. Currently, he serves on the board of the Academy of Notre Dame, a PreK-12 Catholic school sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. His understanding of Catholic education, governance and its unique challenges is unmatched.
Risa Oganesoff Heersche
Risa has extensive teaching and admissions experience in independent and religiously sponsored Catholic schools. The skills she honed to become an effective director of admissions are directly relevant to her work as a search consultant, making her deeply effective at understanding the nuances that impact each school’s leadership needs.
Matt and Risa have joined together on a number of chief executive (Head of School/President) searches, including a large number of Catholic school searches. The relationships that they have developed over many years of working in independent and Catholic schools offer our clients an invaluable resource for finding and engaging the highest quality candidates. Their networks span a broad range of resources in independent schools, Catholic schools (diocesan, religiously sponsored and independent), higher education (particularly those universities with Catholic Educational Leadership Programs), international schools, and more.