Karen Ristau named to head National Catholic Educational Association

Published: 2005-02-09

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Karen Ristau has been named president of the National Catholic Educational Association in Washington effective July 1, succeeding Michael Guerra. The announcement was made Feb. 8 by Bishop Gregory M. Aymond of Austin, Texas, NCEA board chairman, who said that Ristau has "served Catholic education at many levels and has the understanding and vision that is so vital" to its future. In announcing the new president, Bishop Aymond applauded Guerra's accomplishments at the helm of the NCEA for the past four years and as executive director of NCEA's secondary schools department for 19 years prior to becoming the organization's president. Guerra announced last April that he planned to retire in 2005. Ristau is currently president of the Immaculate Heart of Mary High School in Westchester, Ill., a position she has held for the past three years. Before that position, she was vice president and dean of faculty at St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind. At St. Mary's, she helped established the college's Center for Women's InterCultural Leadership with a $12 million grant from the Lilly Foundation. "I am honored to be asked to join NCEA as it begins a new century of leadership in support of Catholic education," Ristau said in a statement. "Our diverse membership -- teachers, catechists, administrators, directors of religious education, diocesan leaders and higher education and seminary leaders -- provides an opportunity for the association to be a vital voice at all levels of Catholic education."

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