Lucas Ashby Appointed NYSCC Director for Education

New York State Catholic Conference Executive Director Dennis Poust has appointed Lucas Ashby as Director for Education. Ashby will share the title and duties with James Cultrara until Cultrara’s retirement in 2027. Ashby also will succeed Cultrara as executive secretary of the New York State Council of Catholic School Superintendents.

Ashby, a former public school special education teacher, served for the last three years as deputy executive director and director of government relations for the New York State Sheriffs Association.

“I am thrilled to join the team at the New York State Catholic Conference and contribute to the great work they are doing,” Ashby said. “I am most thankful to Dennis for trusting me in this critical role and to Jim for helping me prepare. It is a tremendous blessing to have this opportunity, and I look forward to hitting the ground running advocating for Catholic education in our state.”

As director for education, Ashby will serve as the principal lobbyist for the New York State Bishops on issues related to elementary and secondary Catholic schools and Catholic school families. New York State is home to close to 400 Catholic schools, attended by nearly 180,000 children. Together with the Catholic Conference’s partners in the New York State Coalition for Independent and Religious Schools, the Conference advocates on the state and federal level on issues such as fair funding, religious liberty, and the freedom of parents to direct their children’s education, regardless of financial means.

“We feel very blessed to have Luke join our team,” said Dennis Poust. “We are doubly blessed that for the next year, he will be working side by side with Jim Cultrara, who brings more than 30 years of service to the Conference and more than 40 years in education policy experience. Luke’s passion for education —and for Catholic education in particular — is evident. We know he will be a strong advocate and worthy successor to Jim.”

Ashby holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from the College of St. Rose. He and his wife, Katherine, live in Castleton with their five school-aged children. They are parishioners of Sacred Heart Church in Castleton.