The U.S. Province of the Society of the Sacred Heart has a new leadership team. Barbara Dawson, RSCJ, was named provincial in September 2011 by Superior General Kathleen Conan, RSCJ. Following a consultation with the province, she named her provincial council. Sisters Margaret Causey, Sheila Hammond, and Diana Wall have agreed to serve with Sister Dawson for a three-year term. They began their term August 1.
The Province held a leadership blessing ceremony at the Shrine on Saturday, July 21. In addition to welcoming and blessing the new team, members of the province thanked and blessed the outgoing leadership team made up of Provincial Paula Toner, RSCJ and Sisters Anne Byrne, Margaret Causey, Mary Charlotte Chandler, Melanie Guste, Mary Kay Hunyady and Susan Maxwell.
Barbara Dawson, RSCJ, is a lawyer and educator. She has already served two terms as head of the U.S. Province, 1993-99. A native of San Francisco, Sister Dawson has most recently ministered in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she was consulting with the Society of the Sacred Heart Indonesia as it develops its plan for mission and ministry. Prior to her service in Indonesia, she was head of school at St. Martin de Porres School in West Oakland and as a consultant to the Urban Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Oakland, Cal. Sister Dawson earned her bachelor of arts from Lone Mountain College (now the University of San Francisco), and a law degree from the University of San Francisco. She earned a master of arts in international comparative education from Stanford University. She is a member of the bar in both California and Missouri and serves on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, the Network of Sacred Heart Schools and the School of Applied Theology, Berkeley.
Margaret (Meg) Causey, RSCJ, has served in provincial leadership for the past three years. Prior to this service, she worked in administration and curriculum at the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She founded the Duchesne Center at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, and has taught ethics and theology. Sister Causey has extensive experience with the Network of Sacred Heart Schools and was head of Oak Hill School in St. Louis for several years prior to entering the Society. Sister Causey holds a PhD in theology from Marquette University; an MTS in theology from the Weston School of Theology; an MS in educational administration from Washington University; and a BS in English education from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
Sheila Hammond, RSCJ, joins the provincial leadership team after seven years as the director of pastoral care at Saint Louis University Hospital. Previously she served as a member of the provincial team with Provincial Kathleen Hughes, RSCJ, 1999-2005. She has also served as director of chaplaincy services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, director of formation for the U.S. Province and as chaplain for hospitals in Detroit and Lansing, Mich. Her graduate degree in theology is from St. Louis University and her bachelor’s degree is from Manhattanville College.
Diana Wall, RSCJ, has most recently served as director of institutional advancement at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Seattle. Sister Wall also ministered in development for the Uganda/Kenya province of the Society of the Sacred Heart and at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans. She used her knowledge of administration and healthcare in eldercare administration for the U.S. province. Sister Wall is a graduate of Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco. She received her BS in nursing from the University of San Francisco, and also holds an MBA in management.
There are 340 members in the United States Province and more than 2,500 professed members in 41 countries. Members of the Society are committed to discover, live and announce God’s love through the service of education for transformation, in diverse ministries, particularly addressing the needs of children, young people, women and those in society who are marginalized.
