Passionate Leaders with a Vision
THE 2025-2026 BOARD
Dr. Mary Scott currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director at Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, California. Previously she served as the Head of School at Concordia International School Shanghai, China. She held that position from July, 2016 – June, 2020. Prior to serving at Concordia Shanghai, Mary served in numerous roles at Concordia University Irvine. She completed her years of service there as the Executive Vice President of the University and Provost.
Dr. Scott has a heart and a passion for various cultures. Mary has an earned doctorate from Pepperdine University. She has received a number of awards for her service, including the prestigious Spiritus Christi award from her Alma Mater, Concordia University, Chicago.
Mary is married to Dan. They have three daughters. Their youngest daughter is a student at Orange Lutheran High School. When they get a moment, Mary and her family love the outdoors, hikes and travel.
Psalm 37:5 - Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
Brent Johnson serves as the Headmaster at Concordia Preparatory School in Towson, MD. Prior to this Call he served as the Activities Director and Assistant Principal at Lincoln Lutheran High School in Lincoln, NE. His first Call was to Baltimore Lutheran Middle and Upper School where he served as a history teacher, coach and athletic director. Brent earned both his undergrad and graduate degrees from Concordia University Nebraska. Brent’s wife Joy is an English instructor and also leads the theater department at Concordia Prep. Their daughters Emma and Grace both attend Lutheran Schools in the Towson area.
ASHLEY ASHCRAFT
ALSS Board Member
E-Mail
Prince of Peace Christian School and Early Learning Center
Carrolton, TX
Ashley Ashcraft is the Middle and Upper School Principal at Prince of Peace Christian School and Early Learning Center in Carrolton Texas.
Ashley is a proud graduate of the very first FACT (Future Administrator Candidate Training) cohort. She is passionate about developing students to become lifelong learners, well-rounded young adults, and the next generation of Christian leaders.
Tia Esser’s first encounter with Lutheran schools was as a young student—first, at Ascension Lutheran School in Torrance, CA; and later, at Prince of Peace Lutheran School in Fremont, CA. She later moved to her parents’ home state of South Dakota where she earned a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of South Dakota and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University – Nebraska. Full circle occurred in 2010, when after a 28-year career in business management and law, she was called to serve Sioux Falls Lutheran School as its Administrator and K-8 Principal. In 2020, after expanding the school to include high school grades, she became Executive Director of one of the few Lutheran schools in the country that serves infants through 12th grade.
Tia shares that it’s an honor to serve the Lord in this way, and she has “unequivocally learned that He is able to do immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine, according to His power at work within me and all those surrounding me; to Him be the Glory, throughout all generations, forever and ever!” Ephesians 3:20, 21
Tia and her husband, Paul (a retired commercial banker), are grateful for a wonderful family: sons, Tim (Kim) and Jacob (Supriya); daughter, Liz; and six beautiful grandchildren.
Joel Landskroener currently serves as the Executive Director at Mayer Lutheran High School in Mayer, MN. He has a B.S. in Secondary Education with majors in Social Studies and Physical Education from Concordia College, Seward, NE, an MA in American History from the University of Maryland, and a MS in School Administration from Johns Hopkins University. He has served schools in Florida, Maryland, Indiana, and Minnesota. Mr. Landskroener works on many accreditation teams, presented at numerous educational and fundraising conferences, and provides leadership as a Board member of MINNDEPENDENT and the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
Joel and his bride, Shirlee, are blessed with four children and four grandchildren.
Julie Kangas serves as the Principal at Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas. She is proud to have served in Lutheran Education for 30 year - 25 of those years were at Zion Lutheran Church and Schools in Anaheim, CA before being Called to Concordia in 2018. Julie received her bachelor’s degree from Concordia University Irvine and her master’s degree from Pepperdine University. Julie’s husband, Sean is a teacher at Trinity Klein Lutheran School in Spring, Texas and they have two children. Their son will be attending Concordia University Texas in the fall, and their daughter will continue as a sophomore at Concordia Lutheran High School.
Pennekamp came to Concordia as the Head of School in the summer of 2021. He is a 1992 graduate of Concordia and previously served as the Principal of Emmanuel-St. Michael Lutheran School in Fort Wayne. Prior to that position, he served for four years as the Principal and Director of Student Ministry at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Aurora, Ill. He also was a Teacher and Athletics Director for Trinity Lutheran School in Davenport, Iowa, from 1996 to 2003.
He serves alongside his wife, Sarah, as the High School Youth Director for Emmanuel Lutheran Church.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education in 1996 and a Master of Arts degree in School Leadership in 2006 from Concordia University-Chicago.
Along with being an alum of the high school, Jacob has three Concordia graduates (Classes of 2020 and 2021), a current sophomore, and one future Cadet. His wife, Sarah, is also a 1992 Concordia graduate.
Staff
DR. COLE BRAUN DR. JAMES PINGEL MRS. RENEE WESTPHAL
DR. Cole Braun . Executive Director
Dr. Cole Braun has served as the CEO of The Lutheran High School Association of Greater Milwaukee (LHSAGM) since 2013. He serves on the Wisconsin School Choice Action Board. Dr. Braun was named in January as the next Executive Director of the Association of Lutheran Secondary Schools (ALSS).
Cole has previously served on the Board of Directors for LUMIN, for Van Lunen Executive Leadership for Christian Schools, and as the President of ALSS (The Association of Lutheran Secondary Schools). He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting from UW Whitewater and a master’s degree in Executive Leadership and Strategic Planning from Michigan State University. Cole earned his doctorate in Leadership, Innovation and Continuous Improvement at Concordia University – Wisconsin in May of 2024.
His passion is to develop business plans and strategies to attain goals in accordance with the brand, mission, vision, and core values of seven different school campuses in the Association. He has served on the LHSAGM’s Board of Directors, coached cross country, basketball and track at Lake Country Lutheran High School, and has been a strong supporter of Lutheran schools for over two decades. Before joining the LHSAGM Cole spent 25 years buying, selling, and turning around businesses in many different industries. Cole and his wife Jennifer have three adult sons Ross, Andrew, and Craig. They also enjoy their grandchildren, Duke, Ella, Leo, Ryder, and Scottie.
Dr. James Pingel . Assistant Director
Dr. Jim Pingel currently serves as the School of Education Dean for Concordia University (Mequon and Ann Arbor). Pingel’s two most recent publications are The Lincoln Way, the Truth, and the Life: Reflections on Leadership and Faith (2020) and Imagine the Possibilities: Conversations on the Future of Christian Education (2018)—a book he co-authored by Dr. Bernard Bull. Pingel previously served as Executive Director at Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School (Sheboygan, WI, 2004-2013) and Executive Director at Mayer Lutheran High School (Mayer, MN, 1994-2004). He and his wife, Michelle, are blessed with two children, Joshua and Josie. In his leisure time, Pingel enjoys reading, traveling, and cheering on the Green Bay Packers.
Mrs. Renee Westphal . Assistant Director
Renee has spent her entire school career going to Lutheran schools from Lutheran grade schools, Lutheran high school, and Lutheran college. She has a heart for God and a passion for education, giving ALL kids the opportunity for a Lutheran education. Renee currently serves as the Executive Assistant to Cole Braun for ALSS and We Teach Truth Milwaukee High School Association. Prior to her new role, Renee has worked as an elementary educator and coach for different schools in the Milwaukee area.
Renee is married to Jon and enjoys being a mom to their twin daughters who are going into 8th grade and enjoy club volleyball. As a family they love adventure and traveling as they visit all 50 states and hike National Parks. Matthew 19:26-With God ALL things are possible!
Vision . Values. Targets
Vision
ALSS is a professional organization through which the synchronized efforts of exemplary school leaders crystallize in missional, relevant, and healthy Lutheran high schools worldwide.
Leading
ALSS defines and interprets dynamic models of effective leadership for Lutheran secondary schools and identifies, nurtures, trains, and challenges potential leaders to apply such models to their work.
Resourceful
ALSS promotes and models mutually beneficial networks and partnerships that enable the identification, review, and recommendation of quality and innovative resources of all types [people, electronic, print, and program].
Visionary
ALSS has developed and aligned its operations with an innovative, empowering vision for excellence in leadership.
Christ Centered
Grounded in the grace of God in Jesus Christ, ALSS nurtures the spiritual welfare of its members and upholds servanthood in Christ as a ministry model for leaders in Lutheran secondary schools.
Advocating
ALSS is known and appreciated for its advocacy of the needs of Lutheran high school leaders and their schools.
Critical Targets
Outcomes of this mission and vision
New Leaders
Future Lutheran High School administrators are identified and supported to become leaders of significance and Christian influence.
Heads of Schools
Emerging and beginning heads of schools are identified and equipped in the essential elements of executive leadership appropriate to the needs of Lutheran secondary schools.
Professional Development
Current and future Lutheran high school administrators have access to resources and models and collegial conferencing in current/emerging educational trends to enhance professional development.
Professional Dialog
Our members engage in a range of collegial to collaborative to consultative conversations to identify, inform, and develop strategies to advance the missions of their schools.
Increasing (Expanding, Growing) Membership
A higher percentage of eligible schools are members of ALSS and an increasing number of school leaders are engaging in ALSS activities.
Funding
ALSS membership dues, endowment and other sources fund all current ministries and enable exploration of future ministries.
Values
above all, a relationship with Jesus Christ that permeates all aspects of the organization.
the variety of individuals and school settings that contribute to the diversity of Lutheran secondary education.
distinctively Lutheran secondary education that strives for high academic achievement and spiritual growth for God’s young people.
the process that enables school leaders to grow professionally in their service to Christ and others.
creative and visionary thinking that propels the ministry of our schools toward God-directed, clearly established goals.
the collegial spirit demonstrated through supporting and nurturing its members while mentoring present and future leaders.