Michael J. Guerra

Michael Guerra served as director of education at Nativity Mission Center on New York’s lower east side from 1958-1968. He taught at Loyola School on the upper east side from 1960-1968 and served as Loyola’s headmaster from 1968-1982. In 1982, he joined the National Catholic Educational Association as executive director of Secondary Schools, a position he held until 2001, when he was invited to serve as the Association’s president. He retired in July 2005, after leading NCEA through the national celebration of its centennial in 2004. He has led and published five major research studies, written more than 100 articles on educational issues for both national and international journals, and has been a strong and consistent advocate for school choice throughout his professional career.

Guerra was appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board during the Clinton Administration and served from 1993- 2000. His most recent publication, A Tale of Tribulations without Trials, is a review and analysis of the Clinton Administration’s unsuccessful initiative to provide voluntary national tests in reading and math. He has served on a wide variety of non-profit boards, including the Council for American Private Education, the Foundation for Teaching Economics, and the Office International de L’Enseignement Catholique. Michael Guerra is a founding director of the American Center for School Choice, and currently serves as the Center’s first executive director. He also served as the U.N. delegate in the International Office of Catholic Education and was the 2005 Ruggiero Lecturer at DeSales University.

During his tenure as president, he presided over NCEA's centennial observation that included a meeting for 250 Catholic educators with President George Bush. He also presided over the presentation of an historical overview of U.S. Catholic education to Pope John Paul II and the foundation for a strategic plan to strengthen Catholic education. Guerra earned a master's degree in educational administration from Columbia University. Among his publications is Lighting New Fires: American Catholic Schooling 25 Years After Vatican II.