Heather M. Eckert, M.S. Ed.

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Heather has over 25 years of experience in independent school education and has worked with thousands of students on their journey to independent school and college. Most recently, Heather served as Assistant Head of School for Enrollment Management and Director of Admissions at Indian Mountain School (IMS), a Pre-K to 9th grade junior boarding and day school located in Lakeville, CT where she increased the enrollment 48% over her six years heading admission efforts and expanded community diversity from 6 to 18 countries during her tenure. She also helped lead the boarding expansion and campus renovations, and was a member of the Finance Committee, the Buildings and Ground Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and served as a student advisor. Prior to IMS, Heather was the Director of Admission Operations and Senior Associate Director of Admission at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville where her responsibilities also included implementing the higher education platform SLATE, managing the 6 support staff in the admission office and the hiring of new admission counselors, running a dorm of 75 girls, coaching the track hurdlers and being a faculty advisor in addition to her work in admissions with applicants and their families. She began her teaching career working internationally at the American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) in Rome, Italy and also spent several years as the Director of Financial Aid and Senior Associate Dean of Admission at Blair Academy in New Jersey where she received the James M. Howard Fellowship in 2007 for “uncommon energy, leadership, significant involvement in the life of the School” & a commitment to the field of education. Beyond the admission office at Blair, Heather was a class academic dean, dorm head and the head girls’ track coach. Her other past professional experience includes various strategic marketing, investor relation and finance positions in Boston and NYC. A graduate of Williams College and The Loomis Chaffee School, Heather continues to serve as Treasurer of the Williams Class of ‘00 and an alumni agent. While at Williams, Heather was a four year Varsity hurdler/steeplechaser and a Junior Advisor (JA). She holds a Masters of Science in Educational Leadership from The University of Pennsylvania and a B.A in History from Williams. For thirteen years, Heather served on the Enrollment Management Association’s (formerly SSATB) national Admission Leadership Council (ALC) with admission leaders across the U.S. and Canada, and was co-chair for seven years until June 2021. She is currently a member of the Boston Advisory Board for Harlem Lacrosse. Heather has presented at national conferences including EMA, SSATB, SBSA and IECA and has traveled broadly speaking about her belief in the transformative power of independent and boarding schools. She is excited to share her deep knowledge with families and admission offices, and help them through every step of the process.

Mike Eckert, M.A.

Co-Founder, Director of the Collaborative Teaching Symposium

Mike brings over 25 years of experience in independent school education to the Eckert Education Group. Mike currently serves as the first director of The Hotchkiss School’s Class of 1964 Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), and is head of the Humanities & Social Sciences department. Appointed in 2013, Mike has also taught history for the past ten years in the Humanities Program, as well as AP U.S. History. Previously, he served as the Dean of Academic Life and Associate Dean of Academic Life before transitioning to focus on working with faculty to enhance professional development, best teaching practices, and pedagogy with all departments on campus. In one of his responsibilities as Director of the TLC, Mike has run a faculty teaching symposium for several summers, which he launched for the faculty at Keystone Academy in Beijing in August of 2018 and was his inspiration in 2019 to bring similar training to other schools across the U.S. and around the globe. Before Hotchkiss, Mike was chair of the history department at Blair Academy, and recipient of the Dr. Brooks Hoffman '36 United States History Chair awarded for excellence in teaching, where he also served as a class dean. Mike also taught AP U.S. History and English literature at the American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) in Italy, and began his teaching career at Avon Old Farms following a year of playing professional lacrosse in Australia. In the summer of 2006, Mike served as an Academic Dean in Shanghai for the Glimpses of China summer program at East China Normal University and he also spent four summers working at Camp Dudley in Westport, NY. Mike earned his A.B. at Harvard, and his master's in education leadership from The Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. At Harvard, Mike served as the co-captain of the 1996 men's lacrosse team and led the team to the quarter-finals of the NCAA tournament. He was named Ivy League Co-Player of the Year, First Team All-Ivy, New England Player of the Year, and USILA Second Team All-America. He is the program's all-time leader in assists and points and was inducted into the Harvard Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. At Hotchkiss, Mike coaches Varsity lacrosse and serves as a faculty advisor.

Heather & Mike live on the Hotchkiss campus with their 3 sons, ages 12, 12 and 7, and their very friendly golden retrievers, Monte and Carlo. They share a love of travel, cooking, reading, the outdoors, Lake Wononscopomoc (Lakeville lake) and all things related to their boys and family.