As a Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Schoolcraft College, I report directly to the President and oversee a team of 120, maintaining a diverse portfolio of responsibilities that includes College governance, strategic and financial planning, funding, facilities, community relations, and industry and community partnerships. Driven by a long-term commitment to education, I ensure that programs and decision-making in all of the areas I oversee support and advance students, faculty and the learning environment. In my role, I have significantly expanded the physical footprint and community engagement of the College, simultaneously ensuring its financial stability and durability.In pursuit of long-term revenue streams that will benefit academic programs at Schoolcraft, I have created, launched, and chaired the College’s supporting organizations – SC 14, SC Tech, SC Sports, SC Health, and SC Health II. I have also engaged in ongoing consulting with the State of Michigan for a Capital Outlay Award that will convert the College’s Applied Science building into a comprehensive health sciences operation that incorporates College academic programs in a partnership with Trinity Health. More broadly, I have worked in collaboration with faculty, staff and the President to develop a long-range facilities master plan for Schoolcraft that provides the space, equipment and faculty requirements necessary to support current and anticipated academic programming. I am active in outreach to the community and ensure that the interface among community, students, faculty and staff is secure. I co-led the team that successfully passed the 2018 millage for Schoolcraft College, reaching out to the College’s internal and external stakeholders, including elected representatives, in order to preserve a critical revenue stream for the College. I often interact with lobbyists at the State and local levels to advocate on behalf of Schoolcraft and its students, faculty and staff.

During my tenure at North Central, I focused on upgrading technologies and services that helped ensure a modern learning environment and the safety and well-being of students, faculty and staff. I reported to the President, oversaw a team of 40 and regularly interfaced with faculty, staff, union representatives and members of the Petoskey business community. Among other accomplishments, I launched a state-of-the-art technology platform that integrated personal computing, VOIP and blackboard software in order to enhance the College’s learning environment. I also put into place a suite of data-driven systems that allowed for more effective management of multiple campus services, functions and facilities. As a lead negotiator and financial steward for the College, I helped identify a solution that provided affordable, quality healthcare to College staff, helping to ensure on-campus well-being and harmony. I also worked extensively with the Board of Trustees to recommend long-range financial plans that would allow the College to grow within its means while still achieving its academic vision and mission.

I was recruited to WGU to develop and implement a digital infrastructure plan that would allow the University to grow from 2,000 online students to over 20,000, maintaining and improving the experience of students and faculty. As part of this effort, I moved WGU's infrastructure from California to a state-of-the-art data center in Salt Lake City, UT, increasing scalability in bandwidth, speed and reliability, and achieving significant long-term cost savings.

Among the portfolio of responsibilities I carried at Lansing Community College, I led the Academic Quality Initiative in order to achieve accreditation from the HLC. The Initiative resulted in a clarification of the College’s mission and vision, resulting in a more effective allocation of resources. Academic programs were emphasized, with a focus placed on quality programs and student access. This refocusing was instrumental in gaining community support for a property millage increase that significantly enhanced long-term revenue streams for the institution.

I taught managerial finance, organizational behavior and statistics to LCC students through the Northwood University 3+1 program. The in-classroom experience reinforced my commitment to higher education. Engaging students directly was inspirational, and serving as adjunct faculty was enlightening. It made clear how important it is for colleges to provide the support platforms adjuncts require in order to be effective developing and teaching quality curriculum, thereby retaining students and ensuring that they graduate.

I taught in a cohort business program that included a capstone as a final class prior to students graduating from Spring Arbor. The students in this program were mainly in their late 20s and were well into their careers. I was among the adjuncts the University brought in to provide real-world experience within an academic structure. I provided guidance and gentle frameworks, allowing students to approach assignments in a way that would be meaningful to them. Students performed in group settings as well as individually, simulating an actual business environment. This approach led to excellent engagement, a high level of learning, and impressive outcomes.

I managed a group of eight fiscal analysts that were responsible for overseeing over $500 million in annual renovations and new construction at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus. I was instrumental in developing and collaborating with various college academic and administrative departments in order to create the Facility Management Information System (FMIS). This system encompassed data from disparate units across campus, creating a comprehensive data decision tool for executive-level, long-term planning.

I concentrated on providing businesses with strategies that would lead to lower taxes and higher net profits. I also worked extensively with non-profit organizations, developing strategies for higher education and hospitals that would maximize resources by leveraging assets without incurring tax liabilities.