Dear Catholic Education Arizona Community,

In July of 2019 I joined CEA and have since then enjoyed a spectacular journey of learning and growth with a true Dream Team.  Enduring the pandemic with a group of people so versatile, creative, and hard-working made my experience at Catholic Education Arizona one of tremendous enjoyment, even though the uncertainty of the world around us was a daily challenge.  The supportive environment fostered by this team of people is what made all our accomplishments come to life, and we did it because we cared about our work, our mission, and each other. Together we joyfully served our schools, parishes, donors, and corporate partners.

It has been my distinct pleasure and honor to work alongside Deb Preach, Colleen Will, Sandee Pusac, Beth English, Caitlin Wooten, Bonnie Gates, and Chris Lorello under the direction of our leader, Nancy Padberg. It is a rare experience to work for a leader that insists that the only way to become the most effective team and turn out the best quality of work is by creating a work environment based on trust, support, faith, kindness, communication, and self-care.  We are living proof of this philosophy because our little team, working remotely and learning on the fly, raised more money than in our non-pandemic years.  Together we exceeded our own expectations.

All this being said, it is bittersweet to bid farewell to my team and announce that I have been welcomed to the team at the National Catholic Education Association as the Director of Professional Learning.  At NCEA, I will join a group of extraordinary leaders in Catholic education stationed throughout the country in providing professional development, policy and marketing support, resources, and a number of other opportunities for all of the Catholic schools in the U.S.

I am grateful for my time with CEA but also look forward to the next chapter with NCEA.  Regardless of where I go, I will continue the pursuit of fullness and excellence for the mission of Catholic education and offer my gifts to bring Christ into the lives of children and glory to the kingdom of God.

Thank you and God Bless!
Colleen