How five La Salle alumni became leaders in Philadelphia’s Catholic education sector.

John A. Prendergast, M.A. ’12, ’13, didn’t see himself going into education—much less leading a Catholic high school.

“I kind of fell into it,” said Prendergast, who has served as President of Roman Catholic High School in Center City since January 2024.

Nor did Joseph Sanginiti, MBA ’85, ’79, who got his accounting degree and MBA in Finance at La Salle University and now leads Archbishop Ryan High School, his alma mater.

AmyLynn Flood, ’95, also went back to her roots when she became president of her alma mater, Nazareth Academy High School, in 2025. As a certified public accountant who spent decades in corporate and leadership consulting, education wasn’t in her background, either.

“I had a really fulfilling career, but it got to a point where I wanted to have a more direct and lasting impact,” Flood, who is also a member of La Salle’s Board of Trustees, said. “Being at Nazareth shaped who I am, so I wanted to give back to that community.”

It’s a common theme among these La Salle alumni, now presidents of Catholic high schools across Philadelphia. While not part of their original career path, each felt called to serve the places that shaped them into the people they are today.

Every day, Flood walks into Nazareth leading with transparency, open dialogue, and respect – facilitating the kind of environment she flourished in at La Salle University.

“If I think about the values of the Christian Brothers, from quality education to treating people with dignity, those lessons stuck with me
after I left La Salle University. They influenced the way I try to lead and support others,” she said. “Regardless of being in the consulting space or serving as Nazareth’s president, those values helped shape who I am as a leader.”

Part of Who I Am

While working at Andersen Consulting and serving as the young trustee on the La Salle University board of trustees in his early 20s, Gregory Geruson, ’83, realized he was not someone whose career would be based solely on making money.

“My meaning had little to do with making money and everything to do with delivering on mission,” Geruson said. As someone who “grew up with La Salle University in my veins”—Geruson’s dad was an economics professor at the school for 40 years—he received his economics degree from La Salle. There, he was inspired by his professors and board experience to pursue a 35-year career in advancing Catholic education.

He’d learned fundamental life lessons within economics, religion, English, and other courses at La Salle and Holy Ghost Prep, where he now serves as President. One of the lessons that stayed with him came from an Arthurian legend seminar in the Honors Program at La Salle. It was this idea that everyone always has potential – that there is always an opportunity to learn, to become something, and to make a difference in the world.

“I didn’t even realize how it was shaping who I was and who I was going to become,” Geruson said of his education. Then, after getting his graduate degree from Wharton, “it clicked for me: What matters is I want to affect change, and I want to impact the future. There’s no better way to do that than through Catholic education.”

Sanginiti’s path to Catholic school president was less linear. When he was first asked to join Archbishop Ryan’s Board of Directors, his initial reaction was no.

He’d worked in the pharmacy benefit management industry for three decades and had been trying to retire for a second time when he got the call – “I’m an active guy, so retirement was a struggle for me,” he said.

But when he woke up the next day, his wife looked at him and said, “You’re going to do this, aren’t you?” He said yes. A few months later he was elected Chairman of the Board after joining the board. And then a year later, he stepped up as the school’s next president.

“I base my success on my values, and I learned many of them through my Catholic education at La Salle and Archbishop Ryan,” he said. “Those schools really molded me. I felt this was my opportunity to give back to something that was very meaningful to my own life.”

Prendergast thought he was going to law school, but he decided to push it back. While he watched his law-destined friends prepare for their bar exams, Prendergast was working for the Phillies.

His path eventually led him to education, starting with Drexel University’s marketing and communications team, then development director at La Salle University before shifting to his alma mater, Roman Catholic High School. He’d been working in advancement there for a year when he was asked to fill the role of president.

Now, with his background in fundraising, he gets to ensure students have the resources and space they need to truly thrive.

Roman Catholic was founded in 1890 as the first free Diocesan Catholic high school for boys in the nation. One hundred and thirty five years on, it represents students from 90 zip codes across 200 elementary schools.

“Our urban campus is incredibly appealing to prospective students. We have young men coming in from a variety of backgrounds, including different faiths as families deeply value our rigorous, morals-based Catholic environment,” he said. “They arrive as strangers and shortly after become brothers for life.”

That sense of community, coupled with the teachers there, had a major impact on Prendergast’s life and career. So too did his La Salle academic advisors, who he said showed him the values and qualities of a good teacher.

“Teaching was always part of who I am,” said Prendergast, who was a coach on the school’s mock trial team for over a decade.

Don’t Forget Your Roots

Br. James Butler, ’82, still remembers every one of his teachers at La Salle University, then known as La Salle College, when he was an Explorer. And the details: how they wrote on the board, the papers they corrected, the style of clothing they wore.

“I wanted to be the kind of teacher I had at La Salle,” he said. “They were so much more vivid, like real people rather than at the podium.”

So, Butler, now the President of La Salle College High School, taught. He taught in Australia, Baltimore, Bethlehem University in the Holy Land, New Jersey. His whirlwind service in the education sector ultimately brought him back to Philadelphia.

His experience at La Salle University led him to view teaching in a significantly different way, particularly Lasallian charism and how
teachers relate to their students.

“The classroom itself is a community that’s inspired by God and gospel values. That was compelling to me,” Butler said. “Teachers inspire young people to become more than what they could be at a given moment.”

His students get into good colleges and land impressive internships – all things worth celebrating, but he’s most proud of them becoming decent human beings and good men who take care of each other.

“They’ve learned the lesson of presence, a fundamental Lasallian value,” he said.

Geruson wants his students to walk away as intellectually curious, critical thinkers who serve God by serving others.

“Their ability to affect change in what they do is most critical,” Geruson said. “It’s not about the education, the degree, or the job, but learning: how can I make a difference and what can I do with it?”

Both Geruson and Sanginiti credit their success in ensuring the future of their respective schools–and the future of Catholic education–with the talented teams and staff they lead.

For Sanginiti, serving as president of Archbishop Ryan for the last four years has led to more money raised and growing enrollment numbers. And while he doesn’t teach students directly, he hopes to serve as an example of where Catholic values and teachings can lead them.

“I want to show the kids what it means to be a graduate of Ryan. That if you live the values you were taught, there’s a lot of success and happiness that comes from it,” he said.

He still needs to figure out retirement, he (semi) joked, but for now, he welcomes new and returning students the same way every year.

“I tell the kids: ’Don’t forget where you came from and the friendships you’ve made. These are the four years of your life you don’t get to repeat,” Sanginiti said. “You can remake your career, you can remake your life, but you can’t go back to high school. These are the four years you want to remember forever!!!’”

-Taylor Goebel