CTO News

Reed Assumes New Role as CTO Executive Director

Join us in welcoming Mark Reed as the new executive director of the Catholic Tuition Organization (CTO). The board of directors announced the selection of Reed in April, and he began his new duties on June 1.

In this role, Mark will secure funding of $4.5 million annually which provides tuition assistance to more than 2000 students in the 16 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Des Moines. The tuition assistance provided by CTO allows two-thirds of the student population to attend Catholic schools; without which, tuition is out of reach for their families.

Prior to CTO, Reed served as director of advancement for St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison, Kansas. His name is familiar to many as he returns to the Diocese of Des Moines where he had been the founding executive director of the Catholic Foundation of Southwest Iowa.

“Returning to my roots, where I grew up and attended Catholic school, is a ‘coming home’ for me and my family. Giving back to a community that has given so much to me is an opportunity to pay it forward for generations to come.”

Reed graduated from Drake University with his MPA in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Reed succeeds Jeanne Wells Thill, who will retire as of June 30, 2022. Thill served 14 years as executive director of CTO.

CTO was established in 2006 with the passage of the Educational Opportunities Act and provides 75% Iowa tax credits to donors who contribute to the organization.