Wishing all our Heathwood families a wonderful winter break! May your holidays be merry and bright. A friendly reminder: we have a noon dismissal on Thursday, December 19. We look forward to welcoming you back on January 6th!
Brian Benator joined the Heathwood Hall community in May of 2023. Brian will serve as the Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach and Program Director. In addition, Brian will assist in various areas within the athletic department.
From 2015-23, Brian was an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach and recruiting coordinator with The University of West Florida, where in 2018 the Argos won the Gulf South Conference Tournament and participated in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament.
In July of 2021, Benator earned the 2021 Anthony Stewart Memorial Coach of the Year Award from the embRACEus organization. embRACEus is an organization that is aimed to transform, empower, and promote coaches and administrators in professional, college, and high school athletics. In June of 2019, Benator was selected as 1 of 11 participants in the Jay Bilas Skills Academy: Coaches Leadership Program. The program is designed to prepare NCAA Division I college assistant coaches for an opportunity to become a head college basketball coach in the future. Benator was one of two NCAA Division II assistant coaches selected in the inaugural program.
Before West Florida, Brian had coaching stints at Young Harris College, Fishburne Military School, Tennessee-Chattanooga, and the University of North Georgia and served in various roles. Throughout his career as a college coach, he has coached numerous professional basketball players and school record holders.
Benator graduated from The University of Georgia in 2008 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, where he served as a student manager for the men's basketball team. He completed his Master's in Business Administration at Tennessee-Chattanooga in August 2011.
An Atlanta native, Brian and his wife Melissa, a 1st grade teacher at Heathwood, have been married since 2015. They are parents to Jake ('36) and Emma Rose.
Sarah taught middle school physical education at Heathwood from 1979-1989. During that time, she coached boys and girls varsity tennis, varsity volleyball and junior varsity basketball. She returned to Heathwood in 1999 to become the athletic department administrative assistant when Jeff Whalen became athletic director. She graduated from Coker University in Hartsville with a degree in Health and Physical Education.
Drew Rowley joined Heathwood in the fall of 2024, serving in the Athletic Department as the Sports Information Director.
A graduate of Lehigh University with a BS in Economics, Drew was also a member of the Lehigh Lacrosse team. This blend of academic and athletic experience provides him with a well-rounded perspective on the challenges and rewards of student-athlete life. His leadership extends beyond the field, as he also leverages his professional background, having worked as a Public Finance Banker, a Bond Trader and Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch in New York and South Carolina.
Additionally, Drew served in the United States Marine Corps as a Corporal in the infantry from 1999 to 2003. His time in the military instilled a deep sense of discipline, teamwork, and resilience, values he brings to his coaching and leadership at Heathwood Hall.
With a deep commitment to fostering a positive, competitive, and inclusive environment, Drew is dedicated to helping students grow both as athletes and individuals, and to contributing to the continued success of Heathwood Hall's athletic program.
Drew grew up in the northeast and is married to his highschool sweetheart, Meredith. They have 3 children, James, Reagan and Eamon.
JuLayne Shiflett graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Physical Education in 1990. During college, she worked as a camp counselor for the Richland County Recreation Commission and after a couple of years took over as the director of Camp Sunshine, a program for special needs children and young adults. She remained the director of this camp until 2006. Her teaching career began in Anderson District Five in 1991, and she soon returned to the Columbia area to teach in Richland School District One. While there, she was a Physical Education/Health teacher and a middle school volleyball and basketball coach. After teaching and coaching in the public school system, she went back to the University of South Carolina to continue her education in the field of Athletic Training. In 1997, she became a Nationally Certified Athletic Trainer and began her career at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School. She is currently the Head Athletic Trainer and a Middle School Physical Education teacher. She is married to George Shiflett, and their daughter is a member of the Heathwood Class of 2025.
Eric Toedtman began playing lacrosse in the fourth grade when he lived in Baltimore, Maryland and continued playing through college at Greensboro College, where he was a midfielder and two-time captain.
Eric's path in coaching began with volunteering at the 1997 NCAA Championships Youth Education Through Sports (YES) Lacrosse Clinic. He volunteered as an Assistant Coach with the Triad Youth Lacrosse program in Greensboro, NC and was also an Assistant Coach for lacrosse at Grimsely High School. In 2000 he pursued a Master’s Degree in the Arts of Education at Western Carolina University. As a graduate assistant in the Sports Medicine Department, Eric worked with an outreach program that placed him as a Sports Medicine Supervisor at Smoky Mountain High School. There he began coaching his other passion in sports: Basketball. He was an Assistant Coach for the Women’s basketball program and spent one year with the Men’s basketball program. During his time as an Assistant Coach with the Women’s program, they won multiple Conference Championships, Sectional Championships, and a Regional and State Championship. In 2013, he was named the Head Coach of the Women’s basketball program. During his time as the Head coach, the team won back-to-back Conference Championships, a Sectional Championship, and was a Regional Runner-up. He was recognized twice as Western North Carolina Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. During his time in Western North Carolina, Eric played club lacrosse for the Asheville Lacrosse Club.
Returning to Baltimore, Maryland in 2016, he resumed his involvement with lacrosse as an Assistant 8th and 9th grade Lacrosse Coach with the Breakers Lacrosse Club. He also was an Assistant Junior Varsity Lacrosse Coach at Friends School of Baltimore. He was appointed Athletic Director at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in 2017 where he continued to stay involved in the Men’s Lacrosse program as a mentor to athletes. He also helped establish and oversee the first Women’s Lacrosse program at the school.
Brionna Dickerson Zimmerman '05 joined Heathwood Hall in August of 2018. As Alumni Relations Coordinator, Brionna works closely with the Development and Advancement teams to increase alumni engagement with the school through events like Homecoming, Mingle & Jingle, the Alumni Giving Challenge, and the Alumni Spring Reunion. Prior to her role in Alumni Relations, Brionna spent three years as the Special Events Coordinator, overseeing large-scale events like the Annual Auction, Grandparents and Special Friends Day, and Homecoming.
Brionna is also the Head Coach for the Varsity Girls Basketball team at Heathwood. Brionna ended her basketball career at Heathwood as the all-time leading scorer and third all-time scorer in the state with just under 3400 career points. She later became a Division I student-athlete at the University of South Carolina under Coach Dawn Staley. She graduated with a Masters in International Business with an emphasis in Marketing and Spanish. Brionna enjoys watching Gamecock basketball and spending weekends staying active playing kickball with her family. She and her husband, Tymere, have 3 children – Jordyn, Kobe ('33) and Skylar ('37).
