Friend named Director of Communications and Planning for Archdiocese of St. Louis

His Excellency the Most Reverend Robert Carlson has appointed Kathleen Pescha, a good friend of mine from Quincy, Director of Communications and Planning for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
The press release follows, with my emphases:

St. Louis, MO—Today Archbishop Robert J. Carlson announced that Kathleen (Katie) Pesha has been hired as the Executive Director of Communications and Planning for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Ms. Pesha’s first day with the archdiocese will be August 29, 2011.

"We are excited to add Katie's unique blend of professional and ministry experience to the Archdiocese of St. Louis," said Archbishop Carlson. "Her understanding of the transformation of the media industry, mixed with her deep-rooted passion for Jesus Christ, will help move our communication initiatives to a new level.”

In this newly established position, Ms. Pesha will be responsible for implementing the recently-released communications strategy across the archdiocese, which includes oversight of marketing and mission awareness, community relations, publications including the St. Louis Review, and pastoral planning.

Ms. Pesha comes to the Archdiocese from USA TODAY where she has served as the National Director, Higher Education Programs since 2009 and has held various other roles since 2003. While at USA TODAY, Ms. Pesha managed the business development efforts for her department to ensure a successful transition to a multi-media news and information company.

Ms. Pesha is an active member of St. Joseph Parish in Cottleville, MO, where she has previously served on the Life Teen core team and currently serves on the core team for Crossroads St. Charles, a young adult ministry in the St. Charles Deanery of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Prior to moving to St. Louis, Ms. Pesha resided in Quincy, IL and was an active member of Great River Teens Encounter Christ. She holds her BS in Business Management from Quincy University and MBA from Webster University.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis is the Roman Catholic archdiocese that serves the City of St. Louis and 11 Missouri counties. The Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson was installed as Archbishop of St. Louis on June 10, 2009. Because of its strong Catholic identity and having been the mother diocese of many dioceses in the Midwest, the Archdiocese of St. Louis is often referred to as "the Rome of the west". The Archdiocese of St. Louis is dedicated to Saint Louis IX, King of France and has as its co-patrons Saints Vincent de Paul and Rose Philippine Duchesne. The Archdiocese of St. Louis is the home diocese of over 500,000 Catholics in the area.

Congratulations, Katie!