Heidi was born and educated in Hartford, CT until her family moved to Wethersfield, CT in the summer of 1987.  She graduated from The Loomis Chaffee School, in Windsor, Connecticut in 1993, where she had served as President of the Student Council, editor of the yearbook, co-caption of the varsity tennis team, and member of the varsity soccer team.  Heidi attended SEA, Sea Education Association, semester in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in the fall of 1994, before entering Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont.  Heidi and Curtis, having met in the summer of 1990, began to date seriously in the fall of 1995, while Heidi was a junior in college, and Curt worked at IBM in Burlington, Vermont.  Heidi graduated from Middlebury in the spring of 1997 as an English honors major.  She was also captain of varsity tennis, and co-captain of varsity squash.  Heidi was coaching the Middlebury College's varsity men's tennis team in the fall of 1998 when Curtis got sick.  In late January of 1999, a month and a half after Curt's diagnosis, Heidi left her job, and she and Curtis moved to Danville, Vermont, Curt's hometown, to be closer to his family.  Heidi cared for Curt 24 hours a day until his death in December, 1999, only leaving Curtis one or two nights a week in order to earn money waiting tables.  Heidi treasures the time that she and Curtis had together, and is proud of how they embraced the disease, how they invited the community to travel with them along the journey of learning to live while preparing to die; but her year of living with ALS is unforgettable.  After Curt's death, Heidi returned to Midd to coach the varsity women's tennis team for the 2000 spring season, and continued to live in Danville, where she waited tables when she wasn't commuting to Midd.  Heidi spent her summer waiting tables, as well as teaching a tennis camp and private lessons in Danville.  In October of 2000, Heidi decided move in with her parents in Wethersfield, CT in order to dedicate herself full-time to The Curtis R. Vance Foundation, and a book that she is in the process of writing.  Most recently, Heidi and her fiance, Paul, purchased a home in Simsbury, CT.  She is currently working at The Loomis Chaffee School as Director of Reunion Giving and tutoring children in Hartford, CT and other surrounding towns.  In her free time, she enjoys walking and running with her dog, Woo Woo, reading, attending fitness classes and playing tennis.  Back to Board Members.