Meet our Instructors!

DR. LESLIE SMITH

   Course 1: Leading a Successful School in the 21st Century

• Consultant & Former Head of School at Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, CA)
• National Leadership Forum, Growing Leaders Award, 2016
• Lutheran School Administrator of the Year, Pacific Southwest District, 2013

MICHAEL WELCH, J.D.

   Course 2: Recruitment, Retention, and Marketing

• President of CLEF’s Board
• Former Director of Executive MBA Program at Loyola University (LU) Chicago
• Former Senior Instructor at LU Chicago
• Former VP of Legal Services at The Quaker Oats Co.

DR. DON HENDRICKS

   Course 3: School Finance & Financial Planning

• Principal of Grace Lutheran School (Chicago, IL)
• Former Associate Professor, Leadership Department, Concordia University Chicago
• Former Superintendent in public school system for almost three decades

JOSH SWARTZ, MAT, M.S.Ed

   Course 4: Leading Academic Excellence

• Principal at St. Lorenz School (Frankenmuth, MI)
• Launched nationally recognized “Blended Learning” school, 2014  (Huntsville, AL) 
• Principal of the Year,  Southern District, 2011

MYCHAL THOM, M.S.

   Course 5: Innovation in the Lutheran School (Co-Instructor)

• Chief Diversity Officer, Associate Dean for Academic Innovation at Concordia University (St. Paul, MN)
• Former Head of School at Concordia Lutheran High School (Ft. Wayne, IN)

DAVID HAHN

   Course 5: Innovation in the Lutheran School (Co-Instructor)

• Executive Director at Association of Lutheran Secondary Schools (Saratoga Springs, New York)
• LCMS Called Teaching Minister
• PhD in Educational Administration and Honorary Doctorate from Concordia University Nebraska
• Served in Lutheran Schools for over four decades