Heroes’ Path Foundation Launches to Teach Leadership on the Ground Where History Was Made, and in Homes Across America

New online learning platform, free to join, and immersive leadership experiences open to all ages, from students to senior leaders

ANNAPOLIS, MD, UNITED STATES, November 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Heroes’ Path Foundation, a Maryland 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to developing character-driven leaders through the study of history, today announced its formal public launch. After more than a year of development, the Foundation opens its free, membership-based learning platform and its immersive leadership experiences at Gettysburg, Arlington National Cemetery, Yorktown, and Normandy to individuals, families, schools, and organizations nationwide.

Heroes’ Path puts people inside the hardest decisions real leaders ever faced. They stand on the ground where those decisions were made, guided by the words of the people who carried their cost.

“The stories we tell about courage and sacrifice are not nostalgia. They are instructions,” said John Fenzel, the Foundation’s founder and CEO. “Judgment is built by standing where a real leader stood, facing what he or she faced, and deciding before you know how it ends. We built Heroes’ Path for anyone willing to walk it.”

A Membership for Every Generation

Heroes’ Path is open to every age and stage of life, from middle and high school students to senior leaders ready to mentor others. Membership starts free. Individual members advance through four levels: Seeker, Pathfinder, Wayfinder and Vanguard. Schools and organizations join as School Partners and Enterprise Partners.

The curriculum is built on the Foundation’s four pillars: Learn, Serve, Lead, and Remember. Members work through story-driven modules based on real historical cases, join live webinars with witnesses to history, take on daily 15- to 20-minute challenges, and track their progress on a personal dashboard. Members earn verifiable digital badges and certificates, and custom-forged Heroes’ Path coins mark their milestones.

On the Ground

Heroes’ Path Leadership Experiences take these lessons to the ground where they were learned. Small cohorts gather at Gettysburg, Arlington National Cemetery, Yorktown, and the D-Day beaches of Normandy. There, leaders and teams step inside the decisions that shaped the nation and must choose before they learn how it turned out.

Why Now

The Foundation launches as America marks its 250th anniversary. Artificial intelligence can now produce an essay, a lecture, or a course in seconds. It cannot put you on the ground where history happened, and it cannot make you decide without knowing how it ends.

A student can ask a chatbot what happened at Gettysburg. It will say that Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 20th Maine held Little Round Top on July 2, 1863. Heroes’ Path stands that student where Chamberlain stood, nearly out of ammunition, with the enemy regrouping below, and asks: What do you do? A chatbot can tell you what happened. On the ground, we ask the harder questions: So what? Now what?

Who Is Behind It

Heroes’ Path is led by founder and CEO Colonel John Fenzel III (USA, Ret.), a 30-year U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, former White House Fellow and Staff Director of the Homeland Security Council, and by Ciri Fenzel, founder of The Marketing Concierge, who serves as President and Chief Operating Officer. Michael Shriver, a nonprofit chief executive who managed the MBNA and Bank of America charitable foundations, chairs the Board of Directors. Board members are Paul E. Clifford, Glen Jackson, George Luz Jr., Gary Strauss, Jodi Jones, Todd Barry and Willem (Sean) van der Vlies.

“Character cannot be downloaded. It is formed by standing where hard choices were made and hearing from the people who made them,” said Shriver. “Heroes’ Path is where that happens on purpose, on historic ground, at the moment the country needs it most.”

Learn More

Membership is free. To join, explore the curriculum or bring a Heroes’ Path Leadership Experience to a school, company or team, visit HeroesPathFoundation.org.

About the Heroes’ Path Foundation

The Heroes’ Path Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Annapolis, Maryland. Its mission is to develop character-driven leaders by making the lessons of history and the tools of innovation accessible and relevant to all. It offers a membership-based learning platform, leadership experiences on historic ground, the Heroes’ Path Podcast, and the Heroes’ Path Brief on Substack. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. EIN 33-4188986.

Claire Fenzel
The Marketing Concierge
+1 336-324-1190
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