UMHEF Names New President & CEO
Following an extensive national search, the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation’s Board of Trustees has unanimously selected the Rev. Cara Stultz Costello as its next President and CEO, effective January 1, 2026. She will be tenth—and first female—leader in the foundation’s sixty years.
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the East Ohio Conference, through which Stultz Costello is an ordained Elder, will conclude her appointment as Conference Superintendent serving the Central Valley District at the end of the 2025 calendar year. The Bishop has graciously agreed to appoint her to serve with UMHEF in full-time extension ministry—a status of ministry service outside of the local church.
Stultz Costello will begin the role immediately following her interim tenure that began in September. “We received interest from a host of gifted leaders from across the United Methodist connection, but ultimately the best candidate was one we already knew well,” said UMHEF Board Chair, Jadd Masso. “Cara stood out for her strategic insight, her proven leadership within the church, and her passion for expanding educational opportunities. We look forward to the bold future she will help shape.”
In addition to nearly two decades pastoring local churches within the East Ohio Conference, Stultz Costello has served the wider connection in several leadership positions, including chairperson of the Board of Ministry, chairperson of the Annual Conference Worship Committee, as a member of both the Firelands District Committee on Ministry and the Pastoral Care and Counseling Committee. She has been an alternate and delegate to several Jurisdictional and General Conferences. Additionally, Stultz Costello has been a faithful member of the UMHEF Board of Trustees since 2021, most recently serving as Vice Chair.
Stultz Costello earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a double major in sociology and music with a concentration in vocal performance from Albion College, and a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary. Both schools are among United Methodist-related institutions whose students UMHEF supports.
“It is a profound joy to assume the presidency of UMHEF, a ministry whose sixty years shine with God’s faithfulness and the Spirit’s sustaining presence,” Rev. Stultz Costello shared. “Inspired by Philippians 1:6, I am confident that God, who began this good work in us, will carry it forward. With our United Methodist institutions of higher learning, Annual Conference foundations, connectional collaborators, and generous partners, we will continue to equip and empower students to follow God’s call and participate in building a world marked by love, hope, and transformation.”
UMHEF is a private non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Nashville, TN with the grand vision to make it financially possible for qualified Methodist students to attend United Methodist-related institutions of higher education. Annually, the private non-profit foundation awards upwards of $2 million in scholarships. Learn more.