CPS executive director awarded $100K for dedication to betterment

Jameka Walker, executive director of Catholic Partnership Schools, was awarded $100,000 on Nov. 9 as a finalist for the 2023 Opus Prize.

Celebrated during the award ceremony at Pennsylvania’s Villanova University, Walker was joined by Kristin Schroeder, MD, MPH, co-founder of the International Cancer Care and Research Excellence Foundation (iCCare), and grand prize winner and 2023 Opus Prize Laureate, the late Bishop Paride Taban, founder of Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron in South Sudan. 

The prize recognizes social entrepreneurship that champions faith-filled change in the finalists’ communities.

Walker said the recognition was an honor. “This process, from beginning to end, has been an opportunity for Catholic Partnership School administration, faculty and students to shine. Last week, I had the opportunity to speak in several classes, sit on panels, and meet with faculty, staff and alumni in the Villanova community. They were genuinely impressed by the small, faith-focused, academically rigorous, student-centered and family-oriented environment present at Catholic Partnership Schools. They saw firsthand each CPS school’s safe, loving and achieving atmosphere.”

Walker said the prize monies will provide much-needed support to the CPS community. “Being recognized by this prestigious foundation will give other foundations and donors the confidence to also consider the impact their support could make for CPS and its mission.”