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. Prior to becoming USA Funds®’ president and chief executive officer in July 2013, he worked for 15 years in the public sector and 20 years in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
As USA Funds CEO, Hansen oversees an organization that since 1960 has supported a total of $247 billion in financial aid for higher education. USA Funds has served approximately 22.4 million students and parents, as well as thousands of educational and financial institutions.
Hansen is transforming the organization to advance Completion With a Purpose℠, building a more purposeful path for students to and through college and on to rewarding careers and successful lives. USA Funds pursues its nonprofit mission through philanthropic activities and partnerships, policy research, and programs and services.
Hansen is recognized as a national leader in the education sector. He served as deputy U.S. secretary of education from 2001-2003, acting as the department’s chief operating officer and managing 5,000 employees and a $100 billion annual budget. He played
a key role in developing and implementing landmark legislation that enhanced accountability in education and helped the Education Department earn its first-ever independent clean financial audit.
Previously at the Education Department, he had served as assistant secretary for management and budget and chief financial officer.
He most recently was chairman and CEO of the Washington, D.C., consulting firm Madison Education Group. Hansen’s previous private sector experience includes service as president and chairman of Scantron Corp. and Global Scholar, providers of assessment and survey solutions to education, commercial and government organizations internationally. He also co-founded, with former U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige, an education-related consulting firm. Additionally, he was senior vice president and managing director of the state and local solutions education services business for Affiliated Computer Services, a Fortune 500 company.
Hansen also was president of the Education Finance Council, a trade association representing state-based student loan finance organizations.
He serves on the board of directors of First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD), Performant Financial (NASDAQ: PFMT), Student Loan Finance Corporation, Everspring, Argosy University and South University. He also has been appointed to the boards of Roadtrip Nation and the Jefferson Education Accelerator.
Hansen was a member of four state education commissions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, helping improve education and workforce opportunities for students. He was appointed as a commissioner on the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education.
He also has served on the boards of nonprofit organizations including The Education Sector, Reading Is Fundamental, the National Guard Youth Foundation, Thanks USA, the Indy Chamber, Thrive360 (formerly Kids Against Hunger of Central Indiana), and United Way of Central Indiana. Hansen has been an advisory board member for the University of Virginia Curry School of Education, Brigham Young University-Idaho, the George W. Romney Institute of Public Management at BYU, and Southern Virginia University.
A graduate of George Mason University in Virginia, Hansen also attended Idaho State University, which recognized Hansen as a distinguished alumnus in 2003.