Dear Friends, 

I trust you are enjoying your summer with family and friends, making new memories and

staying cool! We kicked off our FY24 on July 1, 2023, and are pleased with our strong start. 

As you may know, we now have four ways to contribute to underserved students: 



1. AZ Individual Tax Credits
2. AZ Corporate Low Income Tax Credits
3. AZ Disabled Displaced Tax Credits
4. Changing Lives (non-tax credit) Division for Donations and Planned Gifts 

Learn more at www.ceaz.org

Over 25 years, with your help we have provided over 153,000 scholarships for students

to have access to education that shapes the whole child, academically, spiritually and morally. 

Welcome to our FY24 Board of Directors Officers, we are grateful for your commitment to our mission and Catholic education:

• Bryan Brady, Chairman
• Carol Trueg, Vice Chairwoman
• Kelley Tucker, Treasurer
• Nancy Dougherty, Secretary 

Thank you to our committed school leaders, faculty, administration and staff for providing our students

with strong foundations for their future success! 

God bless, 



Nancy

Alumni Showcase and CEA's 2023 Intern:

Shea Nowicki

Xavier College Preparatory, Class of 2020



Saint John XXIII Catholic School, Class of 2016

Much of my extended family has lived in the Diocese of Phoenix since the 1970s. My grandparents faithfully raised six children in the Church – my dad, aunt and uncles – who continue to participate in parishes, schools and ministries around the Valley today. 

I spent my young years in various places throughout the Southwest. When my parents decided to permanently move home to the Phoenix area in late summer before the start my seventh grade year, divine providence was at work – despite a mid-August move, I could start the academic year exactly on-time with my St. John XXIII peers and at the same time attend the school that several of my cousins had already graduated from! My parents faithfully responded to the call and their decision to place me in a Catholic school completely changed my life. It was there through the guidance of teachers and friends that I encountered the Gospel message.

Shea when she was a student at St. John XXIII Catholic School

Education is the Greatest gift!

Become a Corporate

Partner with us. There is $48 million left in Low Income Corporate Tax Credits to claim! Learn more about how you can change lives below.

Have You Watched

Our Vodcast?

Listen or watch "Creating Future Leaders" with hosts Nancy Padberg, MBA, President & CEO and Deb Preach, COO of Catholic Education Arizona

Organizational Updates

Deb Preach, COO

There’s No “I” in “Team”

Our CEA team comes to work each day knowing the importance of our work and partnerships with taxpayers, schools, parishes, corporations, and families. Our work is not just during “tax season” but a constant and united effort to retain individual and corporate tax credit contributors, acquire new ones, appreciate the loyalty of our supporters, and continuously market to the community through a variety of channels about the “best kept secret in Arizona!”. Our goals of reaching more individuals and corporations and launching a non-tax credit division have resulted in another record-breaking year for contributions in FY23! Our small team has built a healthy culture where trust, value, respect and collaboration make us excited and thankful to come to work each day in support of the CEA Mission: 



We provide scholarships for underserved children to change lives, serve society,

and transform culture.

Thanks to YOU, thousands of students will have access to the educational option that best meets their needs. Our families were notified of their scholarship awards in June, with calls, emails and notes of appreciation pouring in for the early notification that helps them breathe a little easier as they plan for the upcoming school year with enthusiasm and excitement!

Catholic Education Arizona Receives $750,000 Grant from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust to Support the New Changing Lives Division!

Catholic Education Arizona is honored to announce it has been awarded a generous grant from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. The grant is dedicated to enhancing fundraising capacity for Catholic Education Arizona’s Changing Lives Division, focused on facilitating non-tax credit donations to increase scholarship assistance to underserved children for generations to come.

Nancy Padberg, President and CEO of Catholic Education Arizona shared, “We have been accepting Arizona Individual and Corporate tax credit funds for 25 years. Now we can add a structured framework of non-tax credit donations to our core business for the next 25 years! We must safeguard our underserved children to ensure they have access to faith forming education.”

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is known for its commitment to enhancing quality of life in Maricopa County. Supporting Catholic Education Arizona’s mission to provide underserved children with access to quality education continues the legacy of Virginia Galvin Piper, the Trust’s founder who was a devout Catholic woman. The grant will play a pivotal role in capacity building for the Changing Lives Division.

Msgr. Moyer, Former Vicar General, passes away ,‘His first love was being a Pastor’

Story by Joyce Coronel

for The Catholic Sun

A priest whose ministry has been deeply impactful to untold thousands in the Diocese of Phoenix has passed away.  

Msgr. Richard Moyer, former vicar general, died June 27. He was 91. 

Following his death, his closest friends described him as a “huge inspiration,” a “man of vision” and a priest with a heart for the poor and for justice.  

From instrumental roles in Catholic Charities, Foundation for Senior Living, the Life Teen youth ministry program, Catholic Cemeteries and Funeral Homes, plus organizing the 1987 papal visit, Msgr. Moyer’s influence stretched across nearly six decades of priesthood.  

Just over a year prior to his death, Msgr. Moyer sat down with Nathan Blanchard, a seminarian for the Diocese of Phoenix, to discuss his ministry and his many years of service to the Church.  

Small town roots 

Growing up in a small town in Ohio, Msgr. Moyer told Blanchard he received a call from the parish organist who was being summoned for military service during the height of World War II. Msgr. Moyer knew how to play the organ, so he took on that role for two years. 



Thank You from an Xavier College Preparatory Graduate Who Also Earned Her Associate's Degree!

Attending Xavier College Preparatory has been the greatest opportunity to not only further my education, but I was also able to meet and make lifelong friends. A Catholic education to me is the best education! I know I am receiving a quality education that is geared towards more than just learning from a textbook. My education is also focused on educating my spirit and my mind. I am thankful to be able to share in worshiping God’s glory along with my studies.

I have had the amazing opportunity to graduate with an Associate’s degree along with my High School Diploma at Xavier College Preparatory! This is a head start for me that I am blessed to have and will help me further my education for a successful future. It assists my family and I being able to financially afford pursuing higher education after graduation from XCP!

Question for parent: How has CEA helped make Catholic education attainable and affordable for your family? 

As a single mother, I would never have been able to send my daughter to Xavier without the help of the scholarships from Catholic Education Arizona.