Smart Love Preschool is named in honor of the late Natalie G. Heineman, a pioneering champion for improving children’s lives in Chicago and nationally. She is the mother of Martha Heineman Pieper, Ph.D., the co-author and co-developer of Smart Love™ and Intrapsychic Humanism™.

Mrs. Heineman is known for her social work and served many organizations throughout the city. She was a respected community and national leader and was instrumental in changing the lives of thousands of children through her conviction that programs and institutions should be adapted to fit the unique needs of the children they serve.

A life-long Chicagoan, Mrs. Heineman was born in 1913. After graduating from the University of Chicago, she went on to pursue a career as a social worker and later lead many local and national civic and charitable organizations. She was the first female president of the Chicago Child Care Society and was also the president of the Child Welfare League of America, which honored her legacy by naming a national award for outstanding service to children after her. She was also one of the first women to serve on the national board of the United Way of America and was a founding member of the board of the newly created Chapin Hall Center for Child Welfare Policy at the University of Chicago.

She died in Chicago on February 28, 2010. On October 16, 2010, the new Natalie G. Heineman Smart Love Preschool was dedicated to the memory of her life and her love and understanding of children. She considered every child a precious being who deserved every opportunity to fully realize his or her potential. 

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