Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville are one of the church’s greatest ministries and an expression of the church’s unity, said Amy Nall, the archdiocese’s new superintendent of schools.
She succeeded Dr. Mary Beth Bowling as superintendent on July 1, having served for four years as the assistant superintendent. Bowling has been appointed to serve as vice chancellor for administration for the archdiocese.
As superintendent, Nall leads the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Schools, whose mission is to provide support and guidance to the 48 Catholic schools in the archdiocese.
“We get to walk along with our schools, we guide them, we help them understand and apply policy. We provide professional learning and support.
“But we aren’t the governing body,” she said. “We are accompanying the schools on the journey.”
The new school year opens this month with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope — Journeying Together in Faith, Service and Learning.”
“What is more hopeful than educating our youth? There is nothing more hopeful,” said Nall. “Our Catholic identity is at the heart of everything. We can’t see teaching just as academic excellence. We see it as a ministry.”
“My vision is to continue to grow more unified, to continue to grow the ministry, to continue to empower our leaders, to build the capacity of our teachers and to educate each and all of our students. Holding it in the sacred place it deserves to be held.”
— Amy Nall, superintendent of schools
Nall noted that most school districts are structured as a school system and pointed out the archdiocese approaches that differently.
“We are a system of schools,” she said. “The governance of our schools is unique. In parochial schools, the pastor is the leader,” she said as an example.
At the archdiocesan level, “we get to accompany the ‘each and the all,’ ” she said.
“Each of our 48 schools has a unique culture and climate, opportunity and experience to offer,” she explained. “The ‘all’ is the ministry we offer in Catholic education, a ministry we share as a community. We are communion and we are in community.”
Nall said, “My vision is to continue to grow more unified, to continue to grow the ministry, to continue to empower our leaders, to build the capacity of our teachers and to educate each and all of our students. Holding it in the sacred place it deserves to be held.”
Nall said she hopes to build on the work of her predecessors, Bowling and Leisa Schulz, who retired in 2021. “I stand on the shoulders of … these amazing, devoted and dedicated Catholic leaders.”
Nall has served in Catholic education for 37 years and has served in the Office of Catholic Schools since 2021 as assistant superintendent. Previously, she served in administrative roles at Sacred Heart Academy and as an English teacher at Sacred Heart, Assumption High School, Mercy Academy and Holy Rosary Academy.
She holds an undergraduate degree in English education and journalism from Ball State University, a Master’s in English and teaching from the University of Louisville and an educational specialist degree from the University of Louisville.
She and her husband of 38 years have three children and two grandchildren.
Nall is assisted in her work in the Office of Catholic Schools by the office’s small staff, including the newly named assistant superintendent, Dr. Trevor Timmerberg.
The staff members “are mission-driven and they don’t see it as a job or as the next task to complete,” said Nall.
Timmerberg, who served for the last three years as principal of St. Mary Academy, said, “That mission is rooted in our Catholic faith.”
“I got to experience that from the principal’s side, which is what enticed me to be part of the team,” he said. “Amy and the Office of Catholic Schools told us, ‘We are here to support you.’ That can be lip service, but it’s not. It can really make you feel empowered in your work and vision to support the whole child.”
Timmerberg noted that coming straight from a school, “I am the freshest to know what takes place in the schools at the elementary level, to really lean on that experience to inform some of our decision making. I feel empowered to bring that to the table.
“I have public school experience, high school experience, elementary experience and military experience. I think there’s a diversity of experience that hopefully can add value to our team,” he said.
Timmerberg has served in Catholic education for the last seven years, including four years at Trinity High School, where he taught English and served as an assistant principal.
Previously, he served for five years in public education at high-need schools. He also has served in the Indiana Army National Guard.
Under his leadership at St. Mary Academy, the school earned a national distinction in 2025 as a “Model Professional Learning Community.” St. Martha School also earned this distinction, which recognizes excellence in collaboration.
“One of the priorities this year is to build on efforts for collaboration,” noted Timmerberg. “St. Mary just earned that distinction. I got to see this amazing work our teachers did that demonstrated success. My hope would be that I could bring some of those insights” to the Office of Catholic Schools.
Nall added that collaboration is crucial to the success of Catholic schools.
“We’re better together,” she said.
