Leadership

William D. Hansen
President and Chief Executive Officer
William D. “Bill” Hansen has more than 30 years of experience in education at the kindergarten-12th grade and postsecondary levels

David B. Boodt
Executive Vice President and General Counsel

David B. Boodt is responsible for overseeing and directing all legal activities of USA Funds®, providing legal guidance to the company’s officers and trustees, overseeing internal audits, and maintaining effective corporate governance.

Carol D’Amico
Executive Vice President, National Engagement and Philanthropy

Carol D’Amico is a nationally recognized expert in designing and leading strategies related to higher education, workforce development, and business-led involvement in education reform.

Stephen C. Ham
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Stephen C. Ham has more than 30 years of experience in the financing of programs that help families prepare for, pay for and succeed in higher education.

Mark L. Pelesh
Executive Vice President, Corporate and Business Development

Mark L. Pelesh joined USA Funds in August 2013 and is responsible for exploring new strategic directions and additional opportunities for USA Funds to serve students in higher education.

​David N. Shane
Chief Operating Officer

David N. Shane is a longtime corporate executive and education policy thought leader. He began his role as USA Funds’ chief operating officer in March 2015.

Craig P. Anderson
Senior Vice President, Business Development

As USA Funds’ senior vice president, business development, Craig P. Anderson is responsible for overseeing and enhancing USA Funds’ services to colleges and universities nationwide.

Thomas C. Dawson
Senior Vice President, Partnerships and Operations

As USA Funds’ senior vice president, partnerships and operations, Thomas C. Dawson is responsible for managing relationships with entities in which USA Funds has made significant financial investments.

A. Scott Fleming
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development

As USA Funds’ senior vice president, strategy and corporate development, A. Scott Fleming focuses on the organization’s work with private equity firms that invest in education.

Alison R. Griffin
Senior Vice President, External and Government Relations

Alison R. Griffin has more than 15 years of experience in higher education policy. As USA Funds’ senior vice president, external and government relations, she manages thought-leadership activities and opportunities for USA Funds.

Larry A. Lutz
Senior Vice President, Corporate Development

Larry A. Lutz is responsible for directing business investment, acquisition and partnering initiatives for USA Funds.

Shital R. Patel
Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Operational Support

Shital R. Patel is responsible for all aspects of USA Funds’ information technology and services.


Board of Trustees

Ike G. Batalis is President and CEO of Batalis & Associates, LLC, a company specializing in financial and public relations consulting. He was elected to the USA Funds Board in 2000 and became Chairman of the Board in 2014. Mr. Batalis is a member of USA Funds’ Governance Committee. He is the former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MetroBank and former President and Chief Executive Officer of MetroBanCorp. He is also the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Wainwright Bank & Trust and Pacesetter National Bank. He graduated from Indiana University and also attended the Senior Bank Symposium at Harvard University, the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin and the National School of Commercial Lending at the University of Oklahoma. Mr. Batalis serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Riverview Hospital, and on the board of the Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center, Inc.

Reverend E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C. is President Emeritus of the University of Portland and a member of its Board of Regents. He was elected to the USA Funds and USA Group Boards in 1998. Fr. Beauchamp is a member of USA Funds’ Audit and Investment and Finance Committees. He served on the board of the Lumina Foundation for Education from 2000-2008. He previously served as Senior Vice President of the University of Portland, and as Executive Vice President of the University of Notre Dame, Assistant Professor of Business and Associate Director of Admissions at Alma College, and has worked as an attorney in private practice and as a financial analyst.

Fr. Beauchamp received his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Detroit, and his J.D. and M. Div. degrees from the University of Notre Dame. Fr. Beauchamp serves on numerous boards including the University of Notre Dame, LaSalle High School in Portland, NCAA Division I Board of Directors and the NCAA Executive Committee. He also serves as a member of the Provincial Council for his religious order, the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Marlene V. Coulis is a Marketing Strategy Consultant with Coulis Consulting, which provides strategic and actionable marketing solutions to drive brand growth within the consumer and retail environment. She brings to the USA Funds board over 25 years of experience in marketing, advertising, marketing research and strategic planning. Previously, Marlene was a marketing executive with Anheuser-Busch, Inc. for 18 years and most recently served as Vice President of Consumer Strategy, Insights and Innovation. In addition, she led the integration of the total marketing approach into the combined Anheuser-Busch InBev global company. She had also served on the corporation’s strategy committee, a group of the most senior executives responsible for setting the company’s strategic course. During her tenure, she helped the company become a leading beverage innovator by expanding its brand portfolio to include a full-line of American and craft-style beers, select imports, and premium specialty beverages. Coulis was recognized as the 2006 Woman of the Year by the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation of Los Angeles and among the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine in 2005. She is a graduate of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Ms. Coulis was elected to USA Funds board in 2011. She is a member of USA Funds’ Compensation and Mission Advancement and Philanthropy Committees. Marlene is also on the board of trustees for Embarc, a Chicago based three-year program that provides community-driven, experienced-based learning opportunities to low-income High School students to inspire and prepare them for college and career success.

Blake E. Devitt is a retired CPA and senior audit partner from Ernst & Young (E&Y), an international public accounting and auditing firm. He was elected to the USA Funds Board in 2006. He is a member of the USA Funds’ Investment and Finance Committee and serves as Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Devitt was employed with E&Y for 33 years in a variety of roles, including, most recently, National Director of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry practice for the firm. Earlier in his career, he was named to a term as an Accounting Fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board where he researched and helped resolve emerging financial reporting issues while on leave from E&Y. During the late 80’s and early 90’s, Mr. Devitt served as the partner in charge of E&Y’s annual financial audits of USA Funds and USA Group. Mr. Devitt received his undergraduate degree from Bradley University and his MBA from the University of Wisconsin (Madison).

Mr. Devitt serves on the Board of Directors of Baxter International, Inc., a global health sciences company listed on the NYSE.

Marshall C. Grigsby is President and Chief Executive Officer of Grigsby & Associates, LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in educational policy issues and the legislative process. Dr. Grigsby was elected to the USA Funds Board in 2002. He is a member of USA Funds’ Governance Committee and serves as Chair of the Mission Advancement and Philanthropy Committee. Dr. Grigsby has served as the Senior Legislative Associate for Higher Education with the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the United States House of Representatives. Prior to his service on Capitol Hill, Dr. Grigsby served as an associate dean and faculty member at Howard University, executive vice-president and provost and chief operating officer at Hampton University and as president of Benedict College of Columbia, South Carolina. Dr. Grigsby is also the founder, president and CEO of Educational Research Systems, a non-profit research organization that focuses on comprehensive socio-economic, educational and policy issues affecting minority students and students of color.

Dr. Grigsby received his undergraduate education at Morehouse College and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Chicago.

Michael D. King is Vice President and General Manager, Global Education Industry for IBM, with responsibility for strategy, marketing and sales across schools and higher education. He oversees all facets of IBM’s work with K12 schools and higher education institutions, including the development of industry specific solutions. IBM’s portfolio in Education includes consulting and IT services, analytics tools and other software, as well as cloud and high performance computing.

Mr. King has been with IBM for over 30 years in various executive and management positions, with over 20 years in education and learning. He has held a variety of roles in the education industry, developing programs like ThinkPad University, Insight at School, Learning Village and many others. He has also worked in IBM’s corporate training segment, leading marketing, strategy and partner programs.

Mr. King has served on various client advisory groups, such as the California P16 Council, as well as industry associations, such as the Business Higher Education Forum, where he is a member of the Executive Committee. He also serves on the board of directors for both the IMS Global Learning Consortium and the Schools Interoperability Frameworks Association (SIFA) standards organizations that foster industry collaboration to build more interoperable technology systems.

Mr. King is a member of USA Funds’ Investment and Finance Committee and the Mission Advancement and Philanthropy Committee. He holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and engineering from Kansas State University and a master’s in business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Erik I. Moreno serves as Executive Vice President, Business Development, for Time Inc., where he is responsible for formulating and executing the strategy for leveraging the more than 90 Time Inc. brands into new digital businesses and adjacencies. Mr. Moreno was elected to the USA Funds Board in 2011. He currently serves on USA Funds’ Audit Committee and serves as Chair of the Investment and Finance Committee.

In his previous role as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, for Fox Networks Group, Mr. Moreno identified new business and strategic opportunities and worked on the company’s acquisitions and joint ventures. During the past five years, Mr. Moreno also served as co-General Manager of Mobile Content Venture, and he led 21st Century Fox’s efforts ahead of the FCC’s upcoming spectrum auction and other digital initiatives. Previously, Mr. Moreno was Director of Corporate Development for eBay Inc. and Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy for Level 3 Communications, a global wholesale telecommunications company. Mr. Moreno began his career at Gleacher & Co., a boutique investment bank specializing in Mergers & Acquisition. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ilene H. Nagel is the Leader of the Higher Education Practice for Russell Reynolds Associates, focusing on searches in universities and colleges for presidents and other senior academic administrators. She is also a member of the Not-For-Profit Practice and the Academic Medicine/Health Services Practice.

Prior to joining Russell Reynolds Associates as a Managing Director, Ilene was the Senior Advisor to the University of California Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, and to the Office of the President of the University of California System. Before joining the University of California Office of the President, Dr. Nagel was the Executive Vice Chancellor (chief academic officer) of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and before that, Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Research at the University of Maryland (College Park). She served for two decades as a Full-Time Professor of Law at Indiana University (Bloomington), with visiting appointments as a Guggenheim Fellow at Yale Law School, as a Fellow at Cambridge University, as a Professor of Law at Columbia University School of Law and as a Professor of Law at the George Washington University School of Law. From 1985-1994, Dr. Nagel was a presidential appointee as a Commissioner on the United States Sentencing Commission, an independent agency in the federal judiciary.

Dr. Nagel was elected to the USA Funds’ Board in 2000. Dr. Nagel is a member of USA Funds’ Mission Advancement and Philanthropy Committee and Governance Committee. She received her Masters of Legal Studies from Stanford University School of Law and her Ph.D. from New York University. Dr. Nagel is on the TrailBlazer Board of Directors, a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.

William R. Neale, Esq. is the senior partner with the law firm Krieg DeVault LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana. He was elected to the USA Funds Board in 1997 and served as Chairman of the Board from 2000-2009. He currently serves on USA Funds’ Investment and Finance Committee and Mission Advancement and Philanthropy Committee. He was a Director of USA Group from 1997 to 2000. He received a B.S. and J.D. from Indiana University.

Mr. Neale has numerous community affiliations including: Director of Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce; Director of the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation; a member of the Butler University Business Consulting Group Advisory Panel; a member and past Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law; emeritus board member and former Chairman of Young Audiences of Indiana; member of Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis; and member of the Indianapolis, Indiana and American Bar Associations. From 2000 to 2007 he served on the board of the Lumina Foundation for Education. From 1992-95, he was a Presidential appointee to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the U.S. (a federal agency formed to advise the executive, legislative, and judicial branches concerning administrative law matters).

Ernest J. Newborn II is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of USI Holdings Corporation, the eighth largest insurance brokerage firm in the United States. Mr. Newborn was elected to the USA Funds Board in 2000 and served as Chairman of the Board from 2009 to 2014. He is a member of USA Funds’ Audit Committee and serves as Chair of the Compensation Committee. He previously served as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Acordia, Inc., a formerly Indianapolis based publicly held insurance brokerage administration company. Mr. Newborn has also previously served as Associate Counsel for Indianapolis, Indiana based Wellpoint, Inc., formally known as Anthem Inc. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan and his undergraduate degree from Drake University. Until he assumed his current position with USI, Mr. Newborn resided in Indianapolis, Indiana and was active in the Indianapolis not-for-profit community. Mr. Newborn has received numerous awards for his civic and professional achievements.

Edward R. Schmidt, Esq. is President & CEO of Silver Creek Partners, LLC, based in suburban Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a retired partner of the Indianapolis based law firm Krieg, DeVault, LLP, a former Executive Vice President of Sallie Mae, Inc., and the former Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of USA Group, Inc.

Mr. Schmidt joined USA Group in 1991. He was elected to USA Group’s board in 1993 and USA Funds’ board in 1996, and was a director and trustee until July 31, 2000. Mr. Schmidt was reelected to the USA Funds Board in 2001. He is a member of USA Funds’ Compensation Committee and serves as Chair of the Governance Committee. He was a member of the Lumina Foundation for Education Board from 2001 to 2009. Mr. Schmidt previously served as President of Commonwealth Title Services of Indiana, Inc., and Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Wainwright Financial Corporation. He received a B.S. from Susquehanna University, a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame and is licensed to practice law in the states of Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Mr. Schmidt is a member of the American, Indiana, and Indianapolis Bar Associations. He serves on the Board of Directors of Susquehanna University, Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center, and the Board of Chancellors of the Indiana State Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

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