Former Borders President to Head Christian Leadership Alliance
The board of directors of Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA) announced Tami Heim, former president of Borders Inc., as its new president and CEO on Monday.
"Tami Heim is a visionary with a deep understanding of the trends and opportunities facing Christian nonprofit ministries today,” said CLA board chairman, John C. Reynolds.” She brings a wealth of proven experience to this role, and has the ideal skill-set and knowledge to lead CLA wisely into the future. We're thrilled to have her serve as CLAs new president and CEO starting in January 2012."
Heim's previous service in both the business and nonprofit sectors have provided her with considerable experience and qualify her to serve as a leader among leaders.
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The CLA is a nonprofit organization which seeks "to exhort, equip and empower Christian leaders to think biblically and lead effectively as faithful stewards in the service of Jesus Christ." CLA's leaders think that Heim's experience serving on the board of multiple nonprofit organizations – including Lead Like Jesus, Christian Women in Media Association, Growing Leaders, EQUIP, and others – will be valuable as she prepares to enter her new role.
In addition, Heim served as the president of Borders between the year 2000 and 2004 and gives credit to God for helping her to be successful in that role.
“God gave me the strength, grace, and courage to step into the task,” Heim wrote in a short autobiography on her website, stickyjesus.com. “Then He gave me the wisdom to understand the values of vision, initiative, focus, responsibility, and attitude. It was there I learned how to see the God-given gifts in others and my role in unwrapping them for His glory. There are no words for the inside-out work God did in me during those blessed years.”
After taking a year off to focus exclusively on her family – her husband, Dale, and daughter, Zoe – Heim became the executive vice president and chief publishing officer of Thomas Nelson Inc., a Nashville, Tennessee-based Christian book publisher. She currently serves as a brand strategist and partner with The A Group Brand Development in Brentwood, Tenn.
In addition to being a busy executive, Heim is also involved in her local church and has a heart for leading mission's trips to Haiti. When visiting the island nation, she helps by ministering to orphans and by training them to be Christ-centered leaders, and, according to a Twitter message Heim posted to her account on Monday morning, she was on her way to do just that.
“We've arrived in Jeremie, Haiti. Unpacking then off to the orphanage. #JOY,” she wrote.
Though she has an impressive resume, Reynolds says CLA leaders were most impressed with Heim's commitment to helping others.
"Tami Heim's professional background is noteworthy,” he said, “but to the CLA board her most important asset is her deep commitment to Christ and her vision for advancing CLA's goal of training, developing, and investing in individuals, teams and organizations that are furthering God's kingdom purposes in our world.”
The board of directors for CLA also extended its thanks to current president and CEO, Mark L. Vincent, for his service and for stepping down from the board initially to fill the position. Vincent will re-join the board of the CLA in 2012.
