TOLEDO – After a national search during which the school interviewed a number of outstanding candidates, St. John’s Jesuit High School & Academy(SJJ) is pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees approved Rev. Jeffrey Putthoff, SJ, a Jesuit from the Central and Southern Province, as the school’s 11th president.

“We are delighted to welcome Fr. Jeff as the 11th president of St. John’s Jesuit High School & Academy. We are impressed with his track record and look forward to his leadership as we move ahead in our effort to educate and develop young men into strong Christian leaders,” said Dan Anderson, Board chairman.

Father Putthoff brings to SJJ a breadth of leadership expertise including strategic planning and execution, staff training and development, mission and vision planning, fundraising, budget planning and management, strategic and tactical operations, organizational development, cultural competencies, and mentoring.

Father Putthoff spent 16 years building Hopeworks ‘N Camden in Camden, N.J., an organization that uses trauma informed care to train youth, ages 14-23, in website design, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Salesforce technology. As the founder and executive director of the organization, Fr. Putthoff cultivated the relationships and created the framework for the organization that included three social enterprises. Hopeworks has worked with over 3,000 youth in one of the poorest and most underserved communities in America to transform their lives. Hopeworks youth have gained real-world work experience through using their technical training and skills with over 450 business clients. Many of the youth have gone on to earn their GED, attain internships and attend and complete college, and find rewarding jobs.

	Fr. Jeffrey Putthoff, SJ, with a young man at Hopeworks 'N Camden

In addition to building an innovative and effective non-profit organization for youth, Fr. Putthoff has also served as an Ignatian Retreat Director in Philadelphia, Pa., an associate pastor at Holy Name Parish in Camden, N.J., and a high school teacher at St. Louis University High School in St. Louis, Mo.

He has a Bachelor of Philosophy from St. Louis University and four master’s degrees: a Master in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania; a Master of Theology from Weston School of Theology; a Master of Divinity, also from Weston School of Theology; and a Master of English from Loyola University Chicago.

“Father Putthoff is a ‘son of St. Ignatius’ who knows the transformative power of a Jesuit education. His track record as a successful leader of a high impact mission-driven non-profit demonstrates his ability to inspire and support and effect positive change in the lives of people seeking hope. The Midwest Jesuits welcome Fr. Putthoff to Toledo,” said Very Rev. Brian Paulson, SJ, provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province.

“I am pleased to learn that a Jesuit priest will serve as the next president of St. John’s Jesuit High School & Academy and continue the rich tradition of Catholic, Jesuit education in the Diocese of Toledo. I warmly welcome Fr. Jeff Putthoff, SJ, to our diocese and am confident that he will foster and promote the Catholic identity, academic excellence, and Jesuit ideals of the school. I wish him well and offer my prayerful support as he takes on this important role of forming young men in faith, knowledge, and virtue,” said Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo.

“I am looking forward to returning to my Midwestern roots and to begin leading St. John’s Jesuit as the school enters its next 50 years. I have experienced a God of surprise and joy during my years as a Jesuit, and that experience is firmly rooted in my own Jesuit education, the same education that is particular to St. John’s Jesuit. It is an education focused on meeting God and knowing that God created me and the world around me. Whether it is in its strong academic curriculum or in its strong co-curricular focus, St. John’s is clearly a community seeking to respond with abundant abandon to God, just as St. Ignatius did. It is a community that I am excited to join. I am looking forward to the surprise and joy that God has for the St. John’s Jesuit community in the coming years!” said Fr. Putthoff.

Special Note: Mike Truesdell, current SJJ president, will become the first lay president of Holy Cross High School in New York.

Founded in 1898 and re-established in 1965, St. John's Jesuit High School & Academy develops Christian leaders. As a Catholic school in the Jesuit tradition, it inspires each student to achieve his greatest potential in a diverse, Christ-centered atmosphere distinguished by academic success and service as a man for others.

For more information about St. John's Jesuit, please visit https://www.sjjtitans.org.