CEO Announcement

The Board of Directors of the Christian School Foundation is pleased to announce Tony Kamphuis as our Foundation’s new Chief Executive Officer.

Kamphuis was the unanimous choice of the CEO Search Committee, which employed the services of a professional consultant to assist with the exhaustive, four-month search.

With 31 years in Christian education as a teacher and administrator, most recently as Executive Director of the Niagara Association for Christian Education for 14 years, Kamphuis brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion to the position.

“I am delighted with this announcement,” said Michael Van Pelt, founding CEO. “I am confident Tony will be a top-notch CEO who will build the organization. His enthusiasm and relational gifts will animate the Christian School Foundation into the future.”

Sandy Brunsting, Chair of the Search Committee, said the search considered dozens of candidates and nine final applicants. The process was marked by “prayer, integrity, confidentiality and kindness,” Brunsting said, while Board Chair John Kikkert said it was “a joy to participate in the process.”

Kamphuis said he’s “excited to be joining the Foundation at this important juncture in its history. Our Foundation is an excellent way to leverage the power of philanthropy to strengthen its members.”

Henry Koornneef, Executive Vice-President, who also served as a member of the Search Committee, welcomed Kamphuis to the team. “Tony has the vision and passion to help member schools and their supporters build on the strength of our province-wide movement,” Koornneef said. “The Christian School Foundation has momentum and we have results: Tony is the right person to lead us forward.”

The Christian School Foundation was established in July 2014 through the amalgamation of three regional foundations and began with a combined membership of 23 schools. It now has full-time staff and offices in downtown Hamilton, and, before its two-year anniversary in 2016, will grow its membership to 36 schools. The growth comes as a result of more schools joining and the amalgamation with the London District Christian Education Foundation.

Kamphuis, who has a BA in History from Calvin College and an MA in Canadian History from Wilfrid Laurier University, said he has “a lifelong, natural curiosity about how change in society takes place” and has been active in politics, government and the charitable and non-profit sectors. He will assume his new role August 1.

Tony Kamphuis’ Bio

When it comes to Christian education, Tony Kamphuis has the passion of the new convert. Growing up on the east coast of Canada he didn’t have the opportunity to attend a Christian school until his last years of high school. His experiences at Hamilton and Smithville Christian High Schools and then at Calvin College convinced him of the powerful influence and potential of Christian education – both in the lives of individuals and their families, but also as an agent of social change that can benefit an entire society.

Tony graduated from Calvin College with his B.A. in History (1985) and went on to complete his M.A. in Canadian History at Wilfrid Laurier University (1992), taking courses at Brock University, McMaster University, the University of Toronto and the Institute for Christian Studies (Toronto) along the way. His area of study revolved especially around the Social Gospel and how Christians undertook to influence their society in an earlier age. He has a natural curiosity about how things work and especially about how change in society takes place. Working out of that mindset, Tony has been very active in the charitable and non-profit sectors as well as in the world of politics, municipally, provincially and federally. He has been engaged in work – as a volunteer or under contract – with the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools, Cardus, The Township of West Lincoln, The Association for Community Living, Mountainview Christian Reformed Church (Grimsby), and other organizations. He has training in media relations.

With 31 years of work and leadership within Christian education, Tony is well-connected in this sector and has an ‘on-the-ground’ sense of the hopes and dreams that motivate the key players in Christian education. He has served as a high school teacher and now for the past 14 years as the Executive Director of The Niagara Association for Christian Education.

Tony and his wife Ruth Ann have three children: Calvin, John and Alexandra, and they live in Smithville Ontario.