The Office of Catholic Schools announced last week that Bishop Earl Fernandes has named three new assistant superintendents in the diocese who will begin their new duties on July 1.
Holly Peterson has been appointed to serve as the assistant superintendent for academics, Sister John Paul Maher, OP as assistant superintendent for administration and Seth Burkholder as assistant superintendent for operations.
“I am grateful to Bishop Fernandes for his prioritization of Catholic education and for his clear vision for the ministry of education in our diocese,” said Dr. Adam Dufault, superintendent. “Our strong team looks forward to continuing to enact our strategic plan, Real Presence Real Future: Our Catholic Schools and our evangelization plan to bring our students to know and love Jesus.”
Dr. Peterson has been the interim assistant principal at Columbus Immaculate Conception School since moving to the diocese in January. She previously served as the principal of Nativity: Faith and Reason Catholic School in the Archdiocese of Denver.
Peterson has an extensive background in teacher education and preparation and more than 30 years of experience teaching in Catholic school classrooms in California and Italy. She is a parishioner at Powell St. Joan of Arc Church.
Sister John Paul, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist religious order, has been the principal of Worthington St. Michael School for the past eight years. Her experience includes teaching at the elementary and secondary school levels and administrative roles in education, nonprofit management, mission advancement, technology and strategic planning.
Burkholder, a certified public accountant, is currently associate director of data analysis and finance for the Office of Catholic Schools. Since joining the office in 2020 after working in public accounting and in professional athletics, he has developed tuition, tuition assistance and management structures for the schools. He and his family are parishioners at Gahanna St. Matthew Church.
The Office of Catholic Schools provides leadership, support, guidance and vision to the 50 Catholic schools within the diocese that serve more than 17,000 students and constitute the 27th largest Catholic school system in the United States.
