Meet The Team

Partnership for Education Advancement (formerly known as Education Finance Institute) was formed in 2018 by Tony James, Chairman of Jefferson River Capital, and Jim Runcie, former Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA), the higher education regulatory oversight and student financing arm of the federal government. Mr. James and Mr. Runcie believe strongly in the benefit of obtaining a college education and have seen first-hand the significant and generational impact of higher education on students’ lives. They have also witnessed the structural inequities that keep this opportunity out of reach for many Americans.

Team

James Runcie

Chief Executive Officer

Wayne Cummings

SVP, Chief Technology Officer

Zina Evans, Ph.D.

SVP, Enrollment Management & Student Success

William Leith

Managing Director

Robin S. Minor

SVP, Institutional Partnerships & Risk Management

Annie Reznik

Chief of Staff

Sherill Anderson, Ed.D.

Director of Student Success

Monica Ballinas

Program Associate, Research

Isabelle Cayo Sanders

Associate Director, Enrollment and Retention Services

Zalika Coleman

Administrative Coordinator

Nara Lee

Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives

Cecilia Marshall

Director of Technology Strategy

Aquafie Munroe

Executive Assistant

Kenneth Rubenstein

Administrative Associate

Alton Russell

Associate Director

Amanda Schaffer, Ed.S.

Associate Director, Enrollment Analytics and Performance Strategy

Ka’rin Thornburg, Ph.D.

Director of Enrollment Management

Jane Vo

Associate Director of Technology

Victoria Walker

Director of Risk Management

Tiffany Wilson

Program Partnership Manager

Meet our Co-founder Tony James

Hamilton “Tony” James is Co-founder of the Partnership for Education Advancement. James serves as Chairman of Jefferson River Capital. He was previously Executive Vice Chairman of The Blackstone Group, a global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services. James transformed Blackstone from a private-equity shop into an investment giant with $731 billion in assets across numerous business lines. James is co-chairman of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and chairman of the finance committee at Mount Sinai Hospital System. He is also board chairman of retailer Costco Wholesale Corporation

Advisory Board

John Barnhill Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Florida State University

Douglas Christiansen, PhD Vice Provost for University Enrollment Affairs & Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Vanderbilt University

Barbara Gill Associate Vice President, Enrollment Management University of Maryland

Ingrid Hayes Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management Spelman College

Kedra Ishop, PhD Vice President, Enrollment Management University of Southern California

Joseph Montgomery Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Success Tuskegee University

Jim Nondorf Vice President, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid University of Chicago

Matt Proto Vice President, Dean of Admissions Colby College

Matt Sessa Executive Director of Student Registration and Financial Services University of Pennsylvania

Francisco Valines Director of Financial Aid Florida International University