Saint Viator returns to layperson leadership in hiring of president from suburban Seattle

Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights will return to layperson leadership through the selection of its 12th president in school history: a high school principal from suburban Seattle.

Ryan Aiello, principal at the grades 6-12 Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish, Washington, was the choice of the Clerics of Saint Viator board of governors, the school’s board of trustees and an ad hoc committee that launched a nationwide search last fall.

Aiello will take the helm at the private coed Catholic school in July.

The presidential search was prompted by then-President the Rev. Dan Lydon’s announcement last October that he planned to step down at the end of the school year and take a sabbatical. His appointment in 2021 marked a brief return to clerical leadership, after Brian Liedlich became the first layperson to serve as school president in 2016.

Lydon left campus in February for the Viatorian house in Bourbonnais, after the board of governors granted his request to begin his retirement early and leave before the end of the academic year. Von Behren — the school’s president from 1999 to 2005 — has been filling in for the past month.

Aiello was one of three finalists who visited the Saint Viator campus late last month for interviews with board members, administrators, faculty, staff, parents, students and alumni. The search committee enlisted Portsmouth, Rhode Island-based consulting firm Educational Directions to collect applications, conduct initial interviews and check references.

“The presidential search process was rigorous and thorough. We are blessed to have had so many qualified candidates,” Art Gasey, chairman of the school board, said in an announcement of the hire. “Everything points to Mr. Aiello being the ideal leader for this pivotal moment in the history of our school.”

Aiello, a California native, has been a teacher, coach and administrator over the last two decades across various levels of academia, including middle school, high school and college. He has been principal at Eastside Catholic since 2020, after he joined the school as director of curriculum and instruction in 2018. Prior to that he was an English teacher and track and field and football coach at Athens Academy in Georgia.

He has masters and bachelors degrees in English from California State University, Chico.

Saint Viator officials said in his most recent role as principal, Aiello worked with the school president in admissions, development, marketing, finance, planning and governance.

“I feel so blessed to be joining the outstanding, faith-filled Catholic community at Saint Viator High School as the next president,” Aiello said in the announcement. “From the moment I first stepped foot on campus, I could feel the school’s deep commitment to developing students in mind, character and spirit.”

Aiello will be formally introduced to the school community during its largest annual fundraiser, Night of the Lion, on Saturday, April 13.