Executive Director Search
The Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS)
is reviewing applications for the role of Executive Director to begin July 1, 2026, when the current ED retires.
Submissions for Executive Director of ISACS are now closed.
Information for Candidates (PDF)*
*Updated 02-23-25 to include Leadership Profile from Educator's Collaborative.
Update: March 2025
With the successful launch for the next Executive Director of ISACS behind us, March provides us the opportunity to give the membership an update on the work and a preview of what’s to come.
We thank everyone who weighed in via the membership and staff surveys, sat with us during focus group sessions and met with us during the Zoom session or the nearly 30 individual interviews. The input we received helped us immensely to clarify the aspirations of the community for the next Executive Director and made clear the very positive impact engagement with ISACS has on school leaders and member schools. Those insights in turn shaped the Information For Candidates (IFC) and the Leadership Profile. These documents guide us as we work with the Search Committee to evaluate potential candidates for the EC.
With the closing of the submission window, we are delighted to see that the pool of candidates is both broad and deep. The EC team is busy conducting in depth interviews and reference calls. By the end of this week, the Search Committee will have the opportunity to review materials for the strongest candidates and determine whom to include in the Semi Finalist interviews at the end of the month. Finalist interviews will take place in April during the scheduled Board Meeting, and an announcement is expected in May. That will be our next communication.
The ISACS website has the latest information including the IFC, updated recently to include the Leadership Profile, and other content such as our contact information, which you may find helpful.
We are deeply grateful to the ISACS staff and the Search Committee for their partnership, as we work through the coming months to bring the search to a successful close.
Sincerely,
Joan Beauregard, Partner
Lisa Lyle, Partner
André Withers, Partner
Timeline
Resources
Resources
Executive Director Search Insight Survey for ISACS Membership
Educators Collaborative slides (Heads Conference)
Letter from Mary Menacho | January 17, 2025
Dear ISACS Members,
Do you remember the challenging days of early 2020? That is when many of you first welcomed me as Acting Executive Director and, in July, as Executive Director of ISACS as we together faced the pandemic as well as the sad loss of my predecessor, Claudia Daggett. Over these past five years I have been deeply humbled and honored to work directly with many of you and tangentially through accreditation with each school. I am grateful for the amazing opportunities that working with you, the ISACS staff, and the Board of Trustees has afforded me. Indeed, serving as your ISACS Executive Director is the capstone of my long career in education. I am profoundly grateful.
It is therefore with great pause and consideration that I, in conjunction with the ISACS’ Board of Trustees, write to let you know that I will step away from my role with ISACS as of June 30, 2026.
Working alongside you, your schools, and your boards of trustees, I celebrate the diversity of our ISACS schools and the sincere and dedicated work each of you are committed to on behalf of students. From urban to rural settings, witnessing how the worthy work of preparing children to be students and future leaders is a privilege few people have the benefit of experiencing. I am one of those fortunate few. I continue to have such respect for each of our ISACS schools and am committed to learning and engaging with you over the next eighteen months.
Customary in our industry, this early transition announcement serves to allow plenty of time for a thorough leadership search and a productive transition process.
My hope is that you will have seen and experienced the professionalism and expertise of the ISACS staff and I strive to provide and improve at ISACS and that this will inspire you to help the Board consider who will next lead this outstanding association.
—Mary
Letter from Andy Abbott | January 17, 2025
Dear ISACS School Heads and Community Members,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am reaching out today to share the news that Mary Menacho, our Executive Director, has informed the Board and her staff of her decision to retire at the end of her current contract, which concludes in June 2026. I have been asked by the ISACS board to chair the Search Committee for our new ED, and it is in that capacity that I write to you now.
We are deeply grateful to Mary for her exceptional leadership of ISACS over the past five years, and we look forward to her continued guidance for the next year and a half. Many of us recall the deep sadness we all felt upon hearing the news of our former director Claudia Daggett's illness. Mary began her tenure at ISACS early to help us during that trying time, and she was instrumental in guiding and supporting our community through Claudia's passing. We are fortunate to have an outstanding staff at ISACS, and Mary's leadership in those days uplifted them and helped them through an incredibly difficult period into an era of admirable and enviable collegiality and productivity.
While we were all focused on our own schools, Mary guided ISACS through the challenges posed by the pandemic to continue to ensure the enhanced on-line services and support we needed and then worked with the staff to re-ignite the excitement, energy and interaction that we have all come to expect and enjoy in our in-person conferences and programs.
ISACS oversees the accreditation of more than 240 schools, and Mary made it a commitment to visit as many of them as she possibly could, sharing her warmth with heads, teachers, administrators, parents and boards throughout the region. That hands-on approach has helped her to improve and streamline the accreditation process, to further develop our professional development offerings, and to lead us through the efforts, which culminated in the 2023 endorsement of the strategic plan, "Leading for Change," a plan that will continue to guide our efforts in the coming years. With the guidance of the plan, she has developed a trustee series that is now available nationally, strengthened the support for new heads of school, and provided governance training to dozens of ISACS schools.
We are grateful to Mary for sharing this news in advance and allowing us to initiate a comprehensive search for her successor. One of the primary responsibilities of any Board is to select, hire, and evaluate their Executive Director, and member schools can rest assured that we recognize the importance of this responsibility. The ISACS board has approved a search committee (see full list below) made up of current board members and engaged the search firm Educators Collaborative to work with us to prepare for a search that will yield an excellent Executive Director to succeed Mary in July 2026. I am honored to be asked to chair the search committee and you will be hearing from me and from Educators Collaborative in the coming weeks as we reach out to you for your input in refining the job description, the search timeline and the information for candidates.
In large part because of Mary's leadership, ISACS is in a strong position to attract another outstanding leader, and over the next eighteen months we will have ample time to thank Mary for her wonderful service to the organization.
Sincerely,
Andy Abbott
Vice-chair, ISACS Board
Chair, Search Committee
Search Committee
Search Committee
Andy Abbott
Head of School, John Burroughs School, St. Louis, MO
Brian Gross
Chief Financial Officer, City Academy, St. Louis, MO
Leslie Hosey
Head of School, St. Richard’s Episcopal School, Detroit, MI
Claire Leheny
Former Executive Director, Association of Independent Schools of New England
Lisa Riker
Head of Middle School, Louisville Collegiate School, Louisville, KY
Melissa Soderberg
Head of School, Columbus Academy, Columbus, OH
Jeff Suzik
Director of Schools, Cranbrook Schools, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Kasey Taylor
Spanish Teacher and Interim Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, The Latin School of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Search Consultants
Joan Beauregard | 206-851-6616
Lisa Lyle | 518-310-8601
André Withers | 202-528-1705
FAQ
FAQ
- How can I be involved in the Executive Director search process?
- What is the general timeline for the Executive Director search?
- What is the role of the Search Committee?
- What is the role of Educators' Collaborative, the search firm, and how were they selected?
- What is the scope of the search?
- From where will the candidates come?
- How will candidates be evaluated?
- When will the new Executive Director begin?
How can I be involved in the Executive Director search process?
What is the general timeline for the Executive Director search?
The primary purpose of the initial phase is for the Educators' Collaborative consultants to “get the word out” about the search to prospective candidates and to learn more about the opportunity. This will be done through the aforementioned listening sessions and online survey.
The next phase is conducted almost exclusively behind the scenes, as the Educators' Collaborative consultants recruit and do the initial vetting of candidates through interviews and reference checks. While any qualified candidate will be considered up until the completion of the search, interested candidates are asked to contact the search consultants so that timely vetting can take place.
What is the role of the Search Committee?
What is the role of Educators' Collaborative, the search firm, and how were they selected?
A Steering Committee of the Board of Trustees conducted broad research on national search firms. They reviewed proposals and conducted initial and follow-up interviews. Following reference checks, the group unanimously recommended to the Board of Trustees the selection of Educators’ Collaborative.
Educators’ Collaborative is a nationally-known search consulting firm, specializing in leadership placements for independent schools. André Withers, Lisa Lyle and Joan Beauregard have been engaged to assist with the search. Each has headed and/or been senior leaders in independent schools, and together they have assisted dozens of schools with Head of School and Senior Admin and Association searches.
The search consultants will provide guidance to the Search Committee on format, logistics, procedures, and best practices in the search process. In addition, they will interview candidates, check references, and support the Search Committee throughout the interview process. Educators’ Collaborative will also provide transition support to the new Executive Director after they have been hired.