We are Catholic Education Partners.
We advocate for school choice and access to Catholic education.
Team

Shawn Peterson
President
Shawn M. Peterson is President of Catholic Education Partners, a national Catholic nonprofit whose mission is to serve the Catholic community by advancing policy that empowers families and children to enjoy the benefits of a Catholic education. Before joining the staff at Catholic Education Partners, Shawn served as Associate Director for Public Policy with the Minnesota Catholic Conference. Prior to that he spent two decades working on numerous legislative and policy issues, including parental choice in education. During that time he was president of his own government relations firm and worked in state government serving in the administrations of two governors, and as senior staff in the Minnesota state legislature.
Shawn is a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Education, a member of board of directors for the Institute of Catholic Liberal Education, and is an advisory board member of the Institute for the Transformation of Catholic Education at the Catholic University of America. Shawn is also a Third Degree Member of the Knights of Columbus. In addition, he is an American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network member, on the board of the St. Croix Preparatory Academy Foundation, and serves on the board of St. Croix Preparatory Academy Foundation. He previously served two terms on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Federal Assistance Advisory Commission.
Shawn holds a degree from Hamline University in International Relations and Russian Area Studies, and is a graduate of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute. He has a wife and three children, resides in Lake Elmo, Minnesota and is a member of Transfiguration Catholic Church.

Julia R. Wojtkun
Communications Intern
Julia R. Wojtkun is the Communications Intern at Catholic Education Partners. She graduated from of Seton Home Study in 2020. Julia is now a rising senior at Christendom College in Front Royal, VA majoring in English. She serves as the president of the Inkspots and Inkwells Creative Writing Club, and is the publishing editor of their annual Anthology. Julia also participates in the Shield of Roses at Christendom praying for the safety of the unborn. She is a member of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Purcellville, Virginia.
Board of Directors

Archbishop George Joseph Lucas of Omaha
Chairman of the Board

John Schoenig,
University of Notre Dame ACE
Board Member

Michael Ortner,
Ortner Family Foundation
Board Member

Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, WA
Board Member
Have questions? Let’s chat
Speak with a CEP representative to learn more about us and to get involved in the effort to expand parental choice in education and the Catholic mission.