The Owensboro Catholic School System announced last week that Keith Osborne has been named the Chief Administrative Officer and Natalie Hayden has been named the system’s Director of Advancement.
Osborne has been with the system for 21 years and served in various leadership capacities. He is a 1981 graduate of Owensboro Catholic High School.
Osborne’s last role with the system was as the Director of Advancement, which Hayden, a 1988 OCHS graduate, will assume.
Osborne is the fifth of seven children, but the first to attend OCHS.
“I really wanted to stay in the system after the eighth grade and I asked Fr. Richard Clements to talk my parents into sending me to Catholic High,” he said.
Education became a second career after he went back to school in his late 20s to get a degree in teaching. He started his career at St Pius X teaching 4th graders. He has worked with five different directors of the local Owensboro Catholic School System.
“I think this is a great time for Catholic Schools in the community,” Osborne said. “We stabilized enrollment, have several curriculum initiatives in place and we are planning out our future over the next 10 years.”
Osborne said the key to the success of Catholic Schools are the elements of faith and spirituality, which he said should permeate every subject. “It doesn’t mean we have perfect people or perfect processes. But acknowledging the role of God and the Church in our life gives students their best potential to maximize their gifts and abilities.” Osborne said there were significant administrative changes in the school culture and administration last year, as they try to become more efficient and effective managing the system. He considers managing the day to day decisions a blessing.
“We get opportunities to impact lives more powerfully in a Catholic School environment and guiding the decisions we make as a community is a serious responsibility, he said.”
Hayden also has a strong, lifetime relationship with the Catholic School System. Her father, PJ, served as a principal in the grade school system at various sites for 30 years. She helped grow the annual school auction and is responsible for system marketing and development. The school has two annual appeals and she is currently working with staff to form an alumni association and publish some renovation goals over the next few years.
“Catholic Schools are part of my earliest memories,” she said.
In addition to her father’s service, her mother-in-law, Ethel Hayden Watrous, taught at Blessed Mother for 23 years.
“We develop such outstanding citizens, but much of the sacrifice comes from our teachers and from the pastors who support us,” Hayden said. “I’m trying to harness all of the goodwill we’ve developed, to grow our endowments and the investments in our organization.”
Tom Lilly, the President of Owensboro Catholic Schools, also serves as the Chancellor/Chief Administrative Officer for the Catholic Diocese of Owensboro. He said his role in operations has diminished since June.
“Keith picked up the day to day decision making on July 1 and hasn’t missed a beat. He was instrumental in helping me put together an outstanding leadership team and with the strategic planning process.” Lilly said his role is down to a few hours a week, but he still meets with the Education Council, pastors, principals, and once a year with all the faculty.
“I enjoy working with Catholic School leadership,” Lilly said. ” They are committed, vocation minded professionals who are stewarding our future. I enjoy being part of the strategic planning process.”
