Operations
Michael Van Hecke, M.Ed.
President
Elisabeth Sullivan
Executive Director
Colleen Richards
Director of School Services
Dr. Andrew Seeley
Director of Advanced Formation
Board of Directors
Bishop Robert Barron
Auxiliary Bishop,
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Marie de Lorimier
The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education
Mary Pat Donoghue
Secretariat of Catholic Education,
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Kathy Gschwind
DiNicola Center for Ethics & Culture,
University of Notre Dame
Dr. Arthur Hippler
Providence Academy
Luke Macik, J.D.
The Lyceum
Mary Rice Hasson
The Ethics & Public Policy Center
Catholic Women’s Forum
Dr. Andrew Seeley
Thomas Aquinas College
David Stiennon
St. Ambrose Academy
Elisabeth Sullivan
The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education
Michael Van Hecke, M.Ed.
St. Augustine Academy
The Catholic Textbook Project
Advisory Board
Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, C.S.B.
Archbishop of Vancouver
Patron – Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Bishop of Lincoln
University of St. Thomas, Houston
Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit
Sr. Mary Anne Zuberbueler, O.P.
Dean, School of Education, Aquinas College
Operations
Michael Van Hecke, M.Ed.
President
Chris Weir
Vice President
Elizabeth Sullivan
Executive Director
Dr. Andrew Seeley
Director of Advanced Formation
Board of Directors
Michael Van Hecke, M.Ed.
President
Dr. Andrew Seeley
Thomas Aquinas College
Luke Macik, J.D.
The Lyceum
Elisabeth Sullivan
The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education
William Huckestein
Ozeri, Inc.
Mary Pat Donoghue
St. Jerome Academy
Arthur Hippler
Province Academy
Bishop Robert Barron
Auxiliary Bishop – Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Advisory Board
Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, C.S.B.
Archbishop of Vancouver
Patron – Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Bishop of Lincoln
Dr. Dominic A. Aquila
University of St. Thomas, Houston
Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit
Sr. Mary Anne Zuberbueler, O.P.
Dean, School of Education, Aquinas College
Michael J. Van Hecke, M.Ed.
President
Michael is the President and Founder of The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education. He has been a Catholic educator for 30 years, most recently he served as Headmaster of St. Augustine Academy in Ventura for 20 years. He received a B.A. in classical Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College and an M.Ed. in Educational Administration from the University of North Texas. He is President and Publisher of the Catholic Textbook Project, a company producing the first history textbooks specifically for Catholic Schools in nearly 50 years. As a consultant and speaker, Michael loves to share his passion for Catholic liberal education across the country. When not doing that, he enjoys life with his wife doting on grandchildren and tending on their avocado ranch in bucolic Santa Paula, California.
Elisabeth Sullivan
Executive Director
A former journalist, Elisabeth developed her passion for Catholic liberal education while exploring authentic formation in faith and reason for her own children. She joined the Institute in 2010 to advance this vision and train educators in its philosophy and practice. As Executive Director, she develops ICLE’s program content and publications, designs our annual conference, and promotes our mission through speaking engagements across the country. Elisabeth is a CiRCE-Certified Classical Teacher who has taught middle school writing and literature, served on Catholic school boards, and served as director of communications for a liberal arts school in the Catholic tradition. She holds a B.S. in Humanities from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She and her husband live in North Carolina and have three sons.
Colleen Richards
Director of School Services
Colleen Richards is ICLE’s Director of School Services, leading our teacher training and school advising efforts around the country. After 17 years of classroom teaching in a variety of Catholic elementary and high schools, she spent eight years as the second headmaster of St. John Bosco Schools in East Rochester, New York. Colleen led the school’s adoption of the St. Jerome Academy Educational Plan, training teachers and growing the school to double its size. In 2014, she led the opening of Chesterton Academy of Rochester as part of the new Chesterton Schools Network, making the institution an option for a complete Catholic education for students from Pre-K through twelfth grade. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Canisius College, a Master’s Degree from the University of Phoenix in Curriculum and Instruction, and holds New York State Teacher Certification.
Dr. Andrew Seeley
Director of Advanced Formation
For more than two decades, Dr. Andrew Seeley has been a Tutor at Thomas Aquinas College in California. Dr. Seeley received a Licentiate from the Pontifical Institute in Medieval Studies (Toronto) and a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto (1995). He has taught joyfully and extensively in all the areas of a Great Books curriculum. Desiring to share his love of Catholic learning, Dr. Seeley joined the Institute in 2005. He and his wife, Lisa, have six children and seven grandchildren.