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Board of Directors

Imagine America Foundation Board of Directors

CHAIRMAN — Tracy Kreikemeier

Tracy Kreikemeier works with the client services, public relations and marketing departments of Thruline Marketing to develop and implement highly successful, cost-effective advertising plans for a client base of nearly 4,000 campus locations across the United States and Canada. She also leads new product development and speaks as an industry expert at both investor conferences and state and national education conferences. Kreikemeier has been with Keypath Education for almost 10 years and was formerly vice president of client services. She holds a degree in communication studies with an emphasis in public relations from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She's been a member of the Public Relations Society of America since 1998 and was recently included on Kansas City Business Magazine's fourth annual list of the 33 Most Influential Women in Kansas City.

PAST CHAIRMAN — Daniel Levinson

Levinson began his career as an audio instructor in the audio and video department at The Art Institute of Philadelphia.

Levinson has held a number of executive management positions in both administration and education with The Art Institutes, providing strategic direction and leadership to students and faculty while maintaining campus growth. Previous positions with The Art Institutes include group vice president, where he oversaw 12 campuses and played a key strategic role in both expansion and additions of new campus locations, as well as president at both The Art Institute of California, Orange County; and The Art Institute of California, San Diego. Additionally, Levinson spent five years as the dean of education at The Art Institute of Phoenix.

Levinson holds a master of education in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University and a bachelor of music in music composition from Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts.

VICE CHAIRMAN

Christopher M. Cimino

C.M. Cimino Holdings LLC
Falmouth, Maine

Cimino serves as executive vice president of business development for C.M. Cimino Inc. Cimino is also responsible for oversight of the portfolio of Section 8 elderly housing units owned and operated by C.M. Cimino Realty Inc.

He previously served as senior vice president for Nelnet Inc., national sales director for Tuition Management Systems, senior business development director at Pearson Education, vice president of sales at Mascot Network and national sales director at Forbes Inc.

Cimino also serves on the board of directors for the Center for Grieving Children, Jobs for Maine Graduates, AGC Maine, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine. He is a member of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition and the Maine Real Estate Developers Association.

Cimino received his B.S. in economics from Bentley University, a master's in public administration from Suffolk University Sawyer School of Management, and his MBA from McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley University.

Cimino resides in Falmouth, Maine, with his wife and three children.

TREASURER

Piper Jameson

Phoenix, Arizona
Piper Jameson serves as the senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Universal Technical Institute. She has over 20 years’ experience in the internet lead generation field. Jameson’s responsibilities include strategic branding, internet marketing, direct-response lead generation and commercial production. Her marketing experience is balanced with a strong financial background, as she previously served in Phoenix on the Ritz-Carlton Hotels’ executive team as financial controller and as a financial analyst for American Express early in her career. She has numerous direct-marketing awards, including two Emmys for direct-response commercials. She holds a B.S. in business management and a B.S. in marketing and is currently pursuing her master’s in strategic communications and leadership from Seton Hall University.

PRESIDENT

Robert L. Martin
 Imagine America Foundation
Reston, Virginia

Robert L. Martin was appointed president of the Imagine America Foundation in March 2006. The Foundation, which is the preeminent scholarship provider and research-funding organization for the career education sector, came under his direction in 1999 when it was then known as the Career Training Foundation. As the Foundation began to increase its operations and responsibilities, Martin earned appointment to president and CEO.

Through Martin's leadership, the nonprofit organization has become its own influential organization in the career college realm. Once the in-house research body under the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU), the Foundation has considerably expanded its member schools and charitable donors and has established its own identity as an independent organization.

Today, the Foundation supports more than 400 career college members across the United States and Puerto Rico. The Foundation, through financial support from the 21st Century Workforce Fund, has initiated research studies focused on the impact of career colleges, their role in meeting the nation’s current skilled-worker shortage and other broad public policy issues facing the higher education sector. The Foundation has also provided more than $130 million in scholarship and award support to hundreds of thousands of graduating high school seniors, adult learners and U.S. military veterans attending career colleges nationwide.  In 2011 the Foundation launched its financial literacy tool, Financial Planning Made Simple, and has also had thousands of applicants complete the program and benefit from the advice provided.
Before joining the Foundation, Martin was an independent consultant serving both public- and private-sector clients. He assisted with government relations, marketing and business development service initiatives for national trade associations, major textbook publishers, educational software developers, computer hardware manufacturers and internet service providers.
Prior to his consulting work, Martin attained senior positions at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and as the vice president and executive director of the Center for Workforce Preparation. His involvement led the Chamber to create the Center and develop a national outreach program that now serves more than 3,000 state and local chambers of commerce nationwide. Martin also worked extensively with senior officials at the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, as well as the White House and other leading business and trade associations. He directed all research and public policy activities in these areas.
In addition, Martin was selected to serve on the personal staff of Congressman Robert W. Daniel of Virginia. He also spent five years in state government: three working for the governor's office in the state of Indiana, directing state manpower programs; and two as a senior staff associate at the National Governors Association in Washington.
Martin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and business administration from Central Michigan University, and a master's of public administration from Indiana University.

Roger Becker

Oakland, California
Roger Becker is the founder and president of Becker Media, a full-service advertising agency serving colleges and universities exclusively since 2001 with offices in California and Maryland. Becker has published articles and spoken on the importance of brand development and lead generation for schools since joining the industry. Before specializing in schools, Becker worked with retail advertising accounts in his home state of Ohio and in California, where he relocated in his mid-20s. Roger lives in Alameda, California, with his wife and two children.

Steven M. Blicht

 Melville, New York
Steven M. Blicht has been the chief operating officer of Ambassador since acquiring a 50 percent interest in Ambassador Book Service in 1998 and co-founding Ambassador College Bookstores in 2003.  In 2013, Ambassador College Bookstores and Ambassador Book Service rebranded to better reflect the strategic direction of the organization, and they currently conduct business as Ambassador Education Solutions. Blicht stands as a leader in the course materials industry, having built Ambassador into a reputable and scaled enterprise that has grown significantly in terms of capabilities and services, capitalizing on a number of new market opportunities. Blicht has forged key relationships with influential academic leaders and has been a driving force overseeing all aspects of Ambassador’s business. With his vision, Ambassador has expanded its technology footprint and evolved its service models and offerings to stay ahead of the ever-changing needs of today's administrators, faculty and students. Previously, Blicht practiced law at a prominent law firm specializing in corporate and commercial matters. He graduated from Hofstra Law School and is admitted to practice law in the states of New York, New Jersey and Florida.

Danny Finuf
Salem Education LLC
Salem, West Virginia

Danny Finuf serves as CEO of Salem Education LLC, which currently consists of Salem University, Salem International University and Schiller International University. Before accepting the position at Salem, Finuf was president and CEO of Brown Mackie College. Prior to his appointment as president of Brown Mackie College, Finuf served as group vice president, regional vice president and regional campus president. He also previously served as vice president of administrative services for Spartan College of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Russell "Wicker" Freeman

Chicago, Illinois

Russell has been actively involved in Postsecondary education for 32 years. Prior to joining the Imagine America Foundation (IAF) board, Russell served on the Career Education Colleges and Universities(CECU) board of directors from 1995 to 2001 where he served as a member or Chairman of many committees including Litigation, Membership, Awards, Skills 200 (grassroots lobbying efforts).

Russell also is a member of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois’ board of directors.  He has served on this board since 2003.  He is a second generation owner of Coyne College which his father, John purchased in 1974.

Bruce Leftwich

Leftwich Public Policy LLC

Washington, D.C.

Leftwich Public Policy LLC's primary purpose is to deliver high-quality strategic policy recommendations both in appearance and content. The firm's 25 years of experience in public policy and relationship development offer clients effective results, as the firm has unmatched experience working on issues in Congress for organizations large and small, for-profit and nonprofit. Leftwich PP LLC listens to clients and implements action plans to achieve each client's goals.

Darryl Mattox

Kansas City, Missouri
As a 19-year veteran of the marketing and advertising industry, Darryl Mattox brings a wide range of expertise to Gragg Advertising. Mattox joined Gragg Advertising 12 years ago as business account executive. For the past four years, he has served as president of Gragg, during which time the agency has experienced a 179 percent growth rate. Mattox has overseen the overall brand management, strategic planning and implementation of all of Gragg’s clients, and has served as account service director and agency director.
Before joining the Gragg team, Mattox was the director of regional offices for Bernard Hodes in Kansas City and Phoenix. He has developed integrated marketing and branding campaigns for a variety of clients, including Rasmussen College, Topsy’s Popcorn, Salem International University and Coyne College. His diverse set of marketing experiences gives Mattox the solid foundation necessary to serve as the chief liaison between Gragg Advertising's media, creative, account service and interactive departments.

Timothy McMahon

President and COO
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Tim McMahon is president and chief operating officer of the Triangle Tech Group with corporate offices in Pittsburgh. McMahon is responsible for directing all operations of the corporation, including its six ACCSC-accredited, degree-granting technical schools that are located in Pittsburgh, Erie, Greensburg, DuBois, Sunbury and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Michael Zawisky

CEO
Ancora Education
GroupHurst, Texas

Michael Zawisky is the CEO of Ancora education. Grounded in student success, STVT-AAI Education, Inc. (d/b/a Ancora Education) is a group of private, post-secondary schools located in Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma. Offering allied health, wellness, nursing, culinary/pastry arts and skilled trades programs under the brand names of South Texas Vocational Technical Institute (STVT), Arizona Automotive Institute (AAI) and Platt College. The campuses and company serves students and employers in Phoenix/Glendale, AZ along with San Antonio, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Brownsville, and Weslaco, TX and in Tulsa, Oklahoma City North, Oklahoma City Central, Moore, and Lawton, Oklahoma.
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