Why Cesa?
CESA Leadership
CESA Team
Dr. Katie Wiens
Executive Director
Dr. Katie Wiens
Executive Director
Katie played a role in CESA’s founding and served as its original Director of Academic Advancement. In that position, Katie co-wrote the original CESA standards and helped develop the initial institutional review process. She also played a major role in organizing the early CESA symposia and heads retreats.
She has served on the faculties of Wheaton College, Boston University, Gordon College, and Kennesaw State University, and currently teaches in graduate programs at Baylor University and Taylor University. She also serves as Fellow with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, is a Research Fellow with Cardus, and is a research scholar at Baylor’s Center for School Leadership.
Katie also has extensive experience in K-12 Christian schooling, having served as an administrator and faculty at several private Christian schools. She has her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of St. Thomas, and her doctorate from Boston University.
Katie can be reached at kwiens@cesaschools.org or you can use the button below to schedule a virtual appointment with her.
Tawanna Rusk
Associate Director
Tawanna Rusk
Associate Director
Tawanna has served in various leadership roles in public and Christian schools as a teacher, principal, and most recently as Assistant Head of School at Mount Paran Christian School (GA). She has rich experience in every aspect of Christian school leadership, from academics and advancement to athletics and arts. Her work has consistently been characterized by her desire to foster strong relationships and maintain a distinctive Christian mission at the center of her decision-making. Rusk’s extensive experience in these areas makes her uniquely equipped to support CESA’s growing network of schools.
Tawanna can be reached at trusk@cesaschools.org.
James C. Marsh Jr.
Director of Reviews
James C. Marsh Jr.
Director of Reviews
James C. Marsh, Jr. served as Head of School at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, Missouri for twenty-eight years before stepping down in July 2013. Jim currently serves as the Director of Reviews and Recruitment for the Council of Educational Standards and Accountability. He is a product of Christian elementary and secondary schools in northeastern New Jersey, and graduated in 1969 with a B.A. in Education from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1979. Jim has served as Board President of Christian Schools International (Grand Rapids, Michigan), member of the Board of Directors of the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (Chicago, Illinois), Board member and president of the Independent Schools of St. Louis, and member of the faculty of the Van Lunen Center. He is a contributing author of the book Schools as Communities (James L. Drexler, Editor).
Jim can be reached at jim@cesaschools.org.
Ashley Ferguson
Director of Member Support
Ashley Ferguson
Director of Member Support
A graduate of Baylor University, Ashley spent 14 years raising her three daughters while also running the family business, Marburger Farm Antique Show in Round Top, Texas. There, she had the opportunity to work with over 350 dealers from around the world and help grow the show into one of the most respected in its field. Ashley is grateful for the chance to utilize her creative mind, knack for organization, and long-standing love for Christian education to the work of CESA—an organization she has quietly supported and volunteered with for many years. Ashley has been invested in CESA from the very beginning, through her marriage to Jay Ferguson, Head of School at Grace Community School in Texas and a founding board member.
Ashley can be reached at aferguson@cesaschools.org.
Lisa Giller
Director of Spousal Care
Lisa Giller
Director of Spousal Care
This resource is available to all Heads’ Spouses from CESA Member of Council and Candidate Schools. Lisa Giller has been connected to Christian education for a large majority of her life. Raised by faithful Christian parents in the Midwest, she came to love Jesus at an early age. She was brought up in Christian schooling and graduated in 1993 from Wheaton College after studying music and Christian Formation. Lisa’s experience as Head of School spouse began when her husband Barry was named head of school at Christian Heritage School in Trumbull, CT in 2004. Currently the Giller’s serve at Charlotte Christian School in North Carolina.
Contact her at lisa@cesaschools.org.
CESA exists as a Council, and therefore, after schools pass the Institutional Review, they become Member of Council and a member of the Board of Directors (the Council) of CESA (the Council). The Executive Committee of the Board is nominated by the Council and elected by the sitting Executive Committee.
Executive Committee
Julie Ambler
President
Julie Ambler
President
Head of School, The Woodlands Christian Academy
The Woodlands, TX
Chris Harmon
Vice President
Chris Harmon
Vice President
Head of School, Mount Pisgah Christian School
John’s Creek, GA
Cade Lambert
Treasurer
Cade Lambert
Treasurer
Headmaster, Des Moines Christian School
Urbandale, IA
Steve Bult
Secretary
Steve Bult
Secretary
Head of School, Wheaton Academy
West Chicago, IL
Brian Bell
At Large Member
Brian Bell
At Large Member
Head of Schools, Redlands Christian Schools
Chris Cleveland
At Large Member
Chris Cleveland
At Large Member
Head of School, Wesleyan School
Peachtree Corners, GA
Tony Fajardo
At Large Member
Tony Fajardo
At Large Member
Head of School, King’s Ridge Christian School
Alpharetta, GA
Barry Giller
At Large Member
Barry Giller
At Large Member
Head of School, Charlotte Christian School
Charlotte, NC
Dan Peterson
At Large Member
Dan Peterson
At Large Member
Head of School, Regents School of Austin
Austin, TX