Leadership
Associates
![]() President & CEO+ Read Bio | npadberg@ceaz.org |
![]() Chief Operating Officer+ Read Bio | dpreach@ceaz.org |
![]() Parish Liaison – Events Manager+ Read Bio | cwill@ceaz.org |
![]() Director of Finance & Compliance+ Read Bio | cwooten@ceaz.org |
![]() Office Manager+ Read Bio | spusac@ceaz.org |
![]() Marketing and Development Specialist+ Read Bio | eenglish@ceaz.org |
![]() Controller & HR Manager+ Read Bio | bgates@ceaz.org |
![]() Director of Development+ Read Bio | jpogge@ceaz.org |
![]() Director of Corporate Acquisition+ Read Bio | jgossett@ceaz.org |
![]() Marketing Coordinator+ Read Bio | ldamkhoeler@ceaz.org |
![]() | akolden@ceaz.org |
Nancy Padberg
Deb Preach
Deb Preach is the Chief Operating Officer for Catholic Education Arizona. The last twenty-nine years of Deb’s professional life has been working for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Phoenix in some capacity, including fifteen years as the Catholic Youth Athletics Association Athletic Director. Deb’s areas of specialization and expertise include school tuition organizations, school operations, scholarship administration, and individual and corporate tax credit donor acquisition. As the liaison for our schools, Deb works to inform, inspire and ignite the community on the benefit of Catholic education in our state and promotes Catholic education as a right for all children, and not a privilege! A native Arizonian, Deb has been married to her husband Brett for 33 years, and their four grown daughters attended Catholic schools in the Diocese of Phoenix.
Colleen Will
Colleen Will is the Advancement and Parish Relations Liaison at Catholic Education Arizona. Colleen’s previous professional experience has been in customer service and client relations. As Advancement and Parish Relations Liaison, Colleen establishes strong relationships with pastors and provides education to the community surrounding CEA’s mission. For Colleen, it is so gratifying to work for an organization that is trying to ease the financial burden of Catholic education for families. . She is passionate about our local Catholic schools and the educational and spiritual foundation that they provide to children. Colleen was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and attended Catholic schools throughout her life. She and her husband Jeffrey have been married for four decades and share two daughters and two grandchildren
Caitlin Wooten
Caitlin Wooten, MBA, MSL is Catholic Education Arizona’s Director of Finance & Compliance. Prior to CEA Caitlin spent five years with the Arizona Department of Revenue where she honed her specialized skills in Accounting, School Tuition Organization compliance, and individual and corporate tax credit law and processes. Caitlin developed her belief in “Men and Women in Service of Others” and the importance of developing students as a whole person to build a better society while completing her BS in Accounting and Finance at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Caitlin enjoys spending quality time with her four children ranging from nine months to twelve years old and three dogs as well as the occasional paint-and-sip class when she gets a moment to herself.
Sandra Pusac
Sandra Pusac is the Office Manager for Catholic Education Arizona. Her work experience in data management and customer service prior to CEA has been at Catholic schools in the Diocese of Phoenix. She has five children with her husband Charles, and all have attended Catholic schools in the Phoenix diocese. Sandee believes in the mission of Catholic Education Arizona, where she believes we change lives one scholarship at a time. She is genuinely filled with joy through her service to families that partner with CEA and is so grateful to be able to impact lives every single day.
Elizabeth English
Bonnie Gates
Bonnie Gates is Catholic Education Arizona’s Controller. Bonnie brings over 35 years of accounting and financial management experience to the organization. She is a native of Arizona and grew up on the Navajo Indian Reservation. She earned her BS in Accounting from Arizona State University and her MS in Accounting from Grand Canyon University. She has worked in various business sectors including retail & wholesale sales, construction, public relations & advertising and nonprofit. She also serves on her church council as Treasurer and is very passionate about community outreach ministries. Bonnie enjoys spending time with her husband of 34 years, Kelly, her five furry children, cooking, hiking, traveling the world and spending time with her friends.
Jim Pogge
Jim Pogge joins CEA as the Director of Development, focusing on Corporate Relations and Corporate Tax Credits. Jim joins us after 3 ½ years as the Director of Advancement at Seton Catholic Preparatory in Chandler, Arizona. At Seton, Jim’s Advancement Team directed the annual fund, resurrected fundraising events, spearheaded corporate tax credit initiatives, and led capital improvement projects, including athletic field lights and the recent renovation of its “Historic Campus.” Jim will focus primarily on building relationships with business leaders, educating them about how easy it is to participate, and asking them to redirect their Arizona tax liability to directly support student scholarships.
In 2018, Jim moved to Arizona from Omaha, Nebraska. He is very familiar with Catholic education both in K-12 formation as well as from an administrative standpoint. Jim attended Catholic elementary school, graduated from Creighton Prep in Omaha, and earned his bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University in Minnesota. Jim also holds a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He married his college sweetheart, and they have two adult children who also attended Pre-K thru 12 Catholic schools.
Jill Gossett
Jill Gossett joins CEA as Director of Corporate Acquisition, focusing on growing Corporate Partnerships. She will work on building relationships with S-Corp and C-Corp business leaders, educating them about how easy it is to participate, and asking them to redirect their Arizona tax liability to support student scholarships.
Jill grew up in Burr Ridge, Illinois (a southwest suburb of Chicago), and spent summers in Scotland at her ancestral home (5 miles south of St. Andrews, the Home of Golf). Her family occasionally escaped to Phoenix for a break from the harsh Chicago winters. Later, Jill attended and graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A. in Political Science and studied Broadcast Journalism.
Before joining CEA, Jill’s career was in broadcast media sales management, advertising, and marketing, working in major media markets including Chicago, Washington DC, Jacksonville, Grand Rapids, and Phoenix for the past 18 years. She’s worked at CBS Radio, Clear Channel Radio & Outdoor, Univision Radio & TV, NBC 12NEWS, and others.
Jill is an adult converted Catholic, as is her husband, Kevin Gossett. Both entered the Catholic faith on the same day and year, but in separate states, before they met! They learned this while working together at WGRD AM/FM in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Kevin was the Program Director / Morning Show Host and Jill was in Radio Sales & Management. Together, their broadcast careers blossomed, taking them to larger and larger markets until they finally returned to Arizona, as both are ASU grads, having attended the University several years apart from each other. The Gossett family resides in Ahwatukee and attends St. Benedict’s Catholic Church. Son, James, is in his third year at the University of Arizona.
Leslie Damkhoeler
Before working for CEA, Leslie was Director of Content Marketing for Timothy Christian Schools in Elmhurst, Illinois. While writing blogs and articles for their website, she discovered her passion for marketing and supporting faith-based education as she remembered the positive impact of Christ-centered education her own life.
In her free time, Leslie loves to adventure out to Flagstaff and explore new places in Arizona with her husband, Clay, and their little curly dog, Russell. On Sundays after church, she volunteers in the preschool ministry at North Phoenix Baptist Church.
Amanda Kolden
Amanda is a native of Arizona and has been happily married to her husband for 16 years. They share two beautiful children together, who also attend one of our Diocese of Phoenix Catholic schools. She not only has the knowledge of how School Tuition Organizations can serve the school from an administrative side, but she also values and appreciates the opportunities the School Tuition Organization create as a parent. In her free time, you can find Amanda cooking delicious meals, baking pies (her favorite being lemon pie), enjoying quality time with her family and friends, and all things photography (especially, taking shots of the moon).
Board of Directors
Todd Bankofier Chairman | Scottsdale, AZ |
Carlos A. Sugich Vice Chairman | Phoenix, AZ |
Donald (D.J.) Cole Treasurer | Phoenix, AZ |
Robert (Bob) Venberg Secretary | Phoenix, AZ |
Domonic Salce Superintendent of Schools | Gilbert, AZ |
Most Rev. Eduardo A. Nevares Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix | Phoenix, AZ |
Rodrigo Vela Member | Scottsdale, AZ |
Victor Serna Member | Chandler, AZ |
Nancy Dougherty Member | Scottsdale, AZ |
Carol Trueg Member | Glendale, AZ |
Father Paul Ybarra Member | Avondale, AZ |
Erin Monnin Member | Phoenix, AZ |
Bryan Brady Member | Paradise Valley, AZ |
Kelley Tucker Member | Phoenix, AZ |