The board of directors of the In Trust Center for Theological Schools has named Amy L. Kardash as the organization’s new president.
In her new role, Kardash will oversee and direct all the In Trust Center’s work in resourcing seminaries and theological colleges. These programs include Resource Consulting, a service that connects the leaders of theological schools to resources that enable them to make transformative changes within their institutions; In Trust magazine, a periodical for seminary trustees, administrators, and faculty members published since 1988; and the In Trust Center’s webinars and other educational programs.
Kardash joined the In Trust Center staff in 2009 as director of the Governance Mentor service. She created the In Trust Center’s popular webinar series, which has over the past five years served 190 seminaries, theological colleges, and related organizations in the United States and Canada. In 2012 and 2013, she helped to launch the In Trust Center’s Resource Consulting program and was named its first director. Since then, she and her team have consulted with more than 120 institutions and helped them identify the resources they need to thrive.
“In eight years of service, Amy has demonstrated time and again that she is passionate about strengthening theological education, connecting with seminary leaders from every part of North America, and building new areas for the In Trust Center to serve its members,” said Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy, chair of the In Trust Center’s board. “We are thrilled that she has agreed to become the In Trust Center’s new president.”
Search committee chair Patricia A. Maloney, a member of the In Trust Center’s board of directors, noted that executive search firm CarterBaldwin helped the committee to structure an efficient and inclusive search process, and as a result they were able to interview numerous candidates from both the United States and Canada. “After an extensive search, we identified an impressive number of experienced finalists with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise,” she said. “In the end, the committee unanimously recommended Amy Kardash to the entire board of directors, and the board unanimously elected Amy to lead the In Trust Center into its next quarter century of service.”
Msgr. McCarthy is enthusiastic about the search committee’s choice. “We eagerly look forward to working with Amy as she leads the In Trust Center in its expanding mission to build the capacity of theological schools through Resource Consulting, publications, and educational programs,” he said.
Kardash will begin her leadership on January 1, 2017.
About the new president
Before joining the In Trust Center, Amy Kardash enjoyed a ten-year career in corporate banking and marketing at PNC Bank and Wilmington Trust Company, where she held multiple management and executive positions overseeing diverse staffs from ten to more than a hundred employees. While at the bank, she led marketing campaigns, worked on special projects, and strategized about future opportunities, developing a collaborative, direct, and inclusive leadership style.
Kardash joined the In Trust Center with a mandate to build the Governance Mentor program, and she did so by introducing new assessment tools and cultivating a large and diverse team of Governance Mentors to serve the In Trust Center’s member schools.
In 2012, with the support of Lilly Endowment Inc., the In Trust Center expanded its mission to focus more broadly on resourcing theological schools. Services like webinars and the quarterly In Trust magazine continued, but the Center also unveiled a significant new program, Resource Consulting, which helps theological schools to identify their needs, points them to external resources that complement and enhance their existing assets, and advises leaders as they transform their schools in the ways that they have identified. Working collaboratively with the In Trust Center’s board, staff, and peers at other organizations, Kardash developed the program, launched it, created a database of resources, and built a team of Resource Consultants.
The daughter and granddaughter of Presbyterian elders, Kardash was raised in the Presbyterian church, and sixteen years ago, after a period of discernment, she joined the Catholic church. With her husband, Eric, and their two teenage children, Kardash is a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Wilmington, Delaware, where she serves as the executive officer of the pastoral council. She has also served as executive officer of her parish’s Home and School Association and was a member of the board of the Lutheran school that her children attended.
Kardash holds both a bachelor of science in marketing and management and a master’s in business administration from the University of Delaware.
About the In Trust Center for Theological Schools
The In Trust Center for Theological Schools is the common name for the Association of Boards in Theological Education, a membership association incorporated and based in Delaware. Its members include more than 200 Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Christian seminaries, divinity schools, and theological colleges in the United States and Canada.
The In Trust Center is governed by a board of directors that includes ordained and lay members from a wide variety of church traditions. The board is chaired by Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy, vicar general and moderator of the curia of the Catholic Diocese of Tucson, Arizona. More information about the board of directors of the In Trust Center.
Media inquiries
Amy Kardash is available for interviews. For additional information, or to schedule an interview, contact Jay Blossom, vice president for communication, at 302-654-7770 or jblossom@intrust.org.
Photographs suitable for print or the web are available.