Dr. Stephen W. Hefner,
Superintendent of School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties
 
Stephen W. Hefner's career in public education spans four decades. After having served as a high school English teacher, counselor, and principal, Dr. Hefner is now in his seventeenth year as a school superintendent. Since January of this year, he has been serving as the superintendent of School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties in Irmo, South Carolina. Dr. Hefner's initiatives with magnet schools, choice programs, educational technology, and service learning and civic engagement have earned him numerous awards including S.C. Superintendent of the Year (2002), the William B. Harley Award for Lifetime Achievement in Public Education (2010), and "the Order of the Palmetto," South Carolina's highest award for service to the state (2009).