The Office of Catholic Education (OCE) and the Faith in the Future Foundation are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Paul Colistra as the new President of West Catholic Preparatory High School (WCPHS) effective July 1st. He succeeds Brother Richard Kestler, F.S.C., who announced in January that he would retire at the conclusion of the academic year after thirty years of service to the WCPHS community.
Mr. Colistra has served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at WCPHS since 2012. While in that role, he has worked with the President and Board of Trustees to advance the strategic goals of the school and raised a school record amount of almost $2,000,000 during the 2014-2015 school year. He also overhauled the school’s admissions and recruitment plan, which resulted in a 51% increase in enrollment over three years.
Prior to his service at WCPHS, Mr. Colistra was Director of the Annual Fund and Alumni Relations and later served as Major Gifts Officer at La Salle College High School. Mr. Colistra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Psychology from Ithaca College and is currently working towards a dual Master’s Degree in Education and Educational Leadership from Saint Joseph’s University.
Mr. Colistra said, “I’m honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to succeed Brother Richard Kestler who has given this school new life and new vision. I have been prepared for this role through many personal and professional experiences, but none more important than the last four years that I have spent with the West Catholic Prep community. This school has the strongest and most committed board members, alums, teachers, students, and families that I have ever been around and together we are poised to set the standard for urban, Catholic education.”
Mr. Christopher Mominey, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary for Catholic Education said, “After an extensive search conducted by the Office of Catholic Education and the Faith in the Future Foundation, we are thrilled to announce that Paul will assume this new role after years of proven success working to advance the mission of West Catholic. Paul brings with him a deep knowledge of the school landscape and we are confident that he possesses the right leadership qualities to continue West Catholic’s growth and development in the years to come.”
In addition to his professional work, Mr. Colistra is married to Colleen and has two children, Ryan, 4, and Luca, 2. They currently reside in Oreland (Montgomery County) and are members of Holy Martyrs Parish.
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Editor’s Note: For information about Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit http://www.aopcatholicschools.org/. For information about the Faith in the Future Foundation, please visit www.faithinthefuture.com. To learn more about West Catholic Preparatory High School please visit www.westcatholic.org.