Tony Hileman, Senior Leader
An accomplished writer and energizing speaker, Tony Hileman was the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association (AHA), the oldest and largest Humanist organization in the nation. Tony coordinated the AHA's move to Washington, DC, and works to ensure an active voice for those with an outlook based on reason and experience by providing regular responses to events of the day from a uniquely Humanistic perspective. Tony has also laid the groundwork to stimulate the AHA's growth and rejuvenate the Humanist Movement by regularly promoting the Humanist outlook at conferences, forums, and chapter events across the country. As Tony often expresses to Humanist and non-Humanist audiences alike, "the need for a strong Humanist voice in the national dialogue has never been greater than it is today."
Tony began his first career in business renovating large homes into multiple-unit residences in his native Indianapolis, and then developed a chain of small retail shops in central Indiana. He and his wife, Betty, spent a number of years living in Europe where Tony began his second career in wire service journalism working in Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa for United Press International. It was during this period, when he was able to take advantage of ready access to rich academic and cultural resources in history, literature, and philosophy, that Tony laid the foundation for an active role in the development of Humanism.
His thriving journalism career led Tony and Betty back to the United States and eventually to Washington, DC, where he continued to travel extensively around the globe as an executive for Agence France Presse (AFP). Disenchanted with corporate life, Tony left AFP and began his next career as an independent consultant, first in the field of journalism and then more broadly. He eventually specialized as an executive coach helping individuals achieve personal as well as professional success while simultaneously discovering the vast numbers of people who support a Humanist lifestance similar to his own. These years saw the full development of Tony's lifelong views on Humanism and eventually led to his position as executive director of the American Humanist Association in 1999.
