Q: Tell us a little bit about who you are. Where are you originally from?

I was born in Cleveland and moved around often. My father was a football coach, and we lived in northern Kentucky for three years while he coached at the University of Cincinnati.

After attending Ohio State University for International Studies and Italian, I coached college football at Marietta College, then at the University of Toledo as a graduate student. However, I realized I was called to teach.

I taught English at St. John’s Jesuit High School and Academy in Toledo before accepting a principal position at Holy Trinity, a parish school west of Toledo. While a principal, I graduated from the University of Notre Dame in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, which is designed to form leaders of Catholic schools. I also worked in the Diocese of Cleveland for a brief stint at St. Rocco School then became the Senior Director for Catholic Education in Toledo.

Q: Tell us about your faith story.

Raised in a Baptist church, I converted to Catholicism in college. Many moments of grace helped me see the truth and beauty of the faith, but one moment was in Rome. My father had just had a massive heart attack, and I did the only thing I thought I could do to be helpful: pray.

As I entered one of the many churches in Rome, I noticed a group of Italians in a side chapel all praying the same thing, at the same time,
without any notes or books. I understood that they were praying a series of “Hail Marys” and then an “Our Father”—I later learned that I participated in my first Rosary that evening. I have had a particular devotion to Our Lady and the Rosary since my conversion.

Q: Can you tell us about your sports history?

My father was a football coach for both college and the NFL. His resume included: Boston College, University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University, Akron University, University of Cincinnati (UC), Ohio State University, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets.

While at Ohio State, I was a walk-on for the football team. In fact, Coach Luke Fickell, UC’s former head coach, was my position coach for a season. It was a great experience where I really learned the value of a team and so many virtues like perseverance, humility and even faith.

Q: What inspired you to work in education?

I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps of coaching and went to the University of Toledo as a graduate assistant for the football program. After a few months, I discerned that college football coaching was not for me, and I got a job teaching and coaching at an all-boys high school in Toledo. It has been a great fit for my faith and my vocation. There are many similarities between coaching and serving as a principal or superintendent; so many of the skills I grew up observing through my dad and other great coaches are relevant to me now.

Q: Can you share some of your favorite moments thus far working in education?

As a teacher, principal and superintendent, I love serving our students, teachers, principals and parents in this work of Catholic education. The world has not seen another educational network of its kind: it is the oldest, produced some of the world’s greatest thinkers and is at the heart of the Church.

My favorite moments are when young people have life-changing experiences because of our schools. For example, I remember a third grader struggling to read, but who volunteered daily to proclaim a small passage of Sacred Scripture for our school assemblies. She practiced hard, and by May she was a reader and proclaimed the passage beautifully. She was thrilled to serve her school in this way. Another example was when a second grader, because of what he was learning, asked his parents for the Sacrament of Baptism. We arranged it with his family to occur at a school Mass. This was a great witness of his faith that had blossomed in his classroom.

Q: What do you look forward to in your new role as Superintendent for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati?

Blessed Basil Moreau wrote that zeal is the great desire to make God known, loved and served, and I am most excited about serving our pastors, principals, teachers and staff to bring this zeal to our students.

One of my root beliefs is that we glorify God when we help form new members of the body of Christ into a life of faith. What and how we teach changes the way our young people see themselves and the world, and I am thrilled to work with our leaders in the archdiocese.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share?

My wife, Jennifer, is originally from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, having grown up in the Greenville, OH, area, and we are the parents of seven children: Joseph, Maria, James, Luke, John, Samuel and Henry.

This article appeared in the August 2024 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.