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Executive Team

	Tom Moore
	President and Chief Executive Officer
	ECA President and CEO Tom Moore is a twenty-five year veteran of the Coca-Cola Company, where he held a number of leadership positions including President and General Manager of the Foodservice and Hospitality Division, a three-billion-dollar business unit serving the restaurant, travel and entertainment sectors. Before joining Education Corporation of America, Moore was a strategic growth consultant across a diverse range of industries.

	Stan Banks
	Executive Vice-President - Chief Operating Officer, Virginia College Online
	Stan Banks brings more than twenty years of experience in proprietary education to his current position with Education Corporation of America.  That includes leading four successful "turn around" operations in previous companies. He spent the majority of his career working for publicly traded Corinthian Colleges, where he was a campus President and President of their FMU Online division. Banks began his career in education as an admissions representative, soon moved to Director of Admissions, and then later became President of a college for the first time in 1990.  As President of Virginia College Online, he has guided the school to tremendous but carefully controlled growth, ensuring a positive student experience while exceeding all projections.

	Chris Hunkler
	President—Golf Academy of America
	From his previous position at The PGA of America, where he served as Managing Director of Membership Programs, Chris Hunkler joined ECA in early 2008 as President of the Golf Academy of America Schools.  Prior to more than twenty years of service at The PGA, Hunkler was an assistant principal in South Carolina then was offered a position as assistant golf professional at a country club there.  He later became head professional then general manager before joining The PGA of America's headquarters staff in 1987.  Over his PGA career, he has been directly responsible for the development and administration of the PGA Certified Professional program, the PGA's Apprentice Training program, and the Specialty Certification programs.  He twice received the American Society of Association Executives Award of Excellence as well as the Horton Smith Award for Excellence in Education, Carolina PGA Section.

	Ron Maillette
	Chief Information Officer
	After serving in the U.S. Air Force as an airborne linguist responsible for monitoring Mid East Air Force capabilities during the late 1960s, Ron Maillette worked for Travelers and for Aetna insurance companies in a broad range of information technology roles. In 1990, he joined the Coca-Cola Company and ultimately became the Chief Information Officer for the company’s largest stand-alone operating unit, the Food­service and Hospi­tality Division. He later joined Pacer Logistics as its Chief Information Officer and most recently served in the same capacity for NUCO2 (a national carbon dioxide gas distributor).

	Roger M. Miller
	Chief Financial Officer
	Prior to joining ECA, Roger Miller was executive vice-president for a division of IKEA, the international furniture distributor and retailer. Prior to that, he was senior vice-president and CFO for Ellett Brothers Incorporated, a national distributor of outdoor sporting goods, and served in the same position for Chep Americas, an international industrial services company. He also held executive positions with Cott Beverages and The Pepsi Cola Company.

	William R. Owens
	Executive Vice-President - Campus Development
	Bill Owens brings more than 20 years of experience in proprietary education management to ECA.  Bill spent 12 years at Apollo Group/University of Phoenix in Admissions and Executive Management roles.  He has also served as President of EDMC's Art Institute of Phoenix, and has performed consulting roles for a number of post-secondary schools, including Thunderbird, Jones International University, and Neumont University.

	Roger L. Swartzwelder
	Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel
	Roger Swartzwelder joined ECA in April 2005. He previously was counsel at Dow Lohnes PLLC, a Washington-based law firm specializing in higher education matters, from 2002 to 2005. Prior to that, he worked at the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) for more than thirteen years, including more than eight years as Associate Executive Director. Since joining ECA, Roger was elected to a three-year term as an ACICS Commissioner in 2007, and he was reappointed in 2009 to a second three-year term through December 31, 2012. As an ACICS Commissioner and Board Member, Roger serves on the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee and chairs the Financial Review Committee. Roger holds JD and MBA degrees from The George Washington University and a BA degree from Dickinson College.

	Charles Trierweiler
	Chief Marketing Officer
	Charles Trierweiler joined ECA from Capella University where he worked in marketing and business management. He began his career in marketing and product planning with Cadillac Motor Car, followed by twelve years with Alberto Culver in brand management. For six of those years he was head of marketing for the company’s European subsidiary headquartered in Sweden. Prior to Capella, he headed marketing and advertising at Supervalu, a top ten U.S. food retailer. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan.

	Mike Williams
	Executive Vice-President of Human Resources and People Development
	Mike Williams began his career as a Naval Flight Officer active in air reconnaissance, communications and electronic warfare and was selected to work on the START treaty at the Pentagon under the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Back in civilian life, he worked in a variety of senior human resource roles with Hallmark Cards Inc., Georgia Pacific, Vanstar, Extreme Logic, and Polyvision Corporation. A native of Pinehurst, North Carolina, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA in Finance and Organizational Development from Marymount University.

Senior Management

	Dr. Richard Dormuth
	Senior Vice-President - Academic Affairs
	Dr. Richard Dormuth has extensive experience in educational leadership.  He is responsible for all aspects of academics at ECA colleges, including curriculum development, instructor development, and evaluation and compliance. He previously had national responsibility for academics for the twelve colleges at Forefront Education, Incorporated, and, prior to that, served as vice-president of education at Kaplan Higher Education Corporation, where he directed academic matters for 76 campuses across 22 states.  Dr. Dormuth holds the Ed. D. degree in Education Administration from Temple University in addition to a bachelor's and two masters' degrees to complement his nearly 40 years of achievements in the field of education.

	Don Keith
	Senior Vice President, Marketing Communications
	Don Keith has extensive experience in media and advertising, including as an on-air personality (a two-time winner of BILLBOARD magazine’s “Radio Personality of the Year”), in management, consulting and station ownership. As a broadcast journalist, he received major awards from the Associated Press and United Press International and was the inaugural winner of Troy University’s Hector Award for broadcast innovation. He developed and marketed media buying and planning software systems for radio, TV and advertising agencies and served as Director of Software Marketing for the Arbitron Company. Don is also a prolific author with 17 books in print.

	Mike Largent
	Regional Vice President of Operations and General Manager
	Mike Largent came to ECA with over 10 years experience in management consulting and in general management leadership roles. Most recently, Mike was the Campus President of Virginia College’s Birmingham campus where he successfully led the turnaround efforts of that school. Prior to his Birmingham campus work, Mike spent six years as a management consultant with the Zyman Group and KPMG Consulting where he specialized in growth-oriented business strategy, marketing strategy, go-to-market strategy, and business process reengineering for Fortune 100 corporations across a variety of industries. He also spent 5 years in sales operations and general management roles with Frito-Lay/PepsiCo, and one year as COO of 360i.com—a search engine marketing firm and media agency. Mike earned his B.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University, and his M.B.A. in Marketing from Indiana University at Bloomington.

	Judy Lima
	Senior Vice President - Academic Development
	Before joining ECA, Judy Lima was Director of Quality Assurance for the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools in Washington, DC. She also previously served as President of Jones College in Jacksonville, Florida, and as Vice-President of Lakeland College of Business, Brandon, Florida, campus. She is also co-author of a textbook on job training and has been a frequent presenter at workshops and conferences, specializing in staff training and student retention.

	David A. Podesta
	Regional Vice President of Operations and General Manager
	David Podesta came to ECA with fifteen years of experience in proprietary education. He has held various Campus President Positions with Corinthian Colleges Corporation and Remington Colleges. During his years with Remington, he held several leadership positions including Senior Regional Vice President of Operations overseeing the operations of ten Remington Colleges. While at Remington he served as a team leader for on-site evaluations of accredited schools for ACCSCT - Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology. He has a degree in accounting from the University of Memphis.

	Shirley Wilkinson
	Senior Vice-President - Academic Development
	Shirley Wilkinson held several positions with Virginia College before assuming her corporate role with ECA, including Associate Registrar, Dean of Students, Academic Dean, and Vice-President of Education.  Prior to joining Virginia College in 1999, she spent thirty-one years with the Jefferson County, Alabama, School System.  There she worked in positions that included Scholarship/College Counselor, Vocational/Technical Counselor, Business Education Coordinator, and Business Education Instructor.  She is certified in guidance and counseling and holds a BA in business from Birmingham-Southern College and a master's degree in education from the University of Montevallo.

Board of Directors

Avy H. Stein (Chairman) - Managing Partner, Willis Stein & Partners

John Bakalar - Former President and COO, Rand McNally Corporation

Jeffrey D. Beyer - Principal, Willis Stein & Partners

John P. Frazee Jr. - Retired President, Sprint Corporation

Daniel M. Gill - Managing Partner, Silver Oak Services Partners, LLC

Gary Kerber - Retired Chairman and CEO, Kaplan Higher Education Corporation

Michael E. Lavin - Retired Midwest Area Managing Partner, KPMG, LLP

Thomas A. Moore Jr. - President & CEO, Education Corporation of America

Michael Moskow - Vice Chairman & Senior Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs

John Willis - Managing Partner, Willis Stein & Partners

Education Corporation of America was purchased in December 2004 by Willis Stein & Partners, a Chicago-based private equity investment firm with approximately $3 billion in assets under management. Click here to learn more about Willis Stein and Partners.

overview . history . accreditation . management