Meet Our Leaders

As CEO, Misty drives the vision and strategy behind our company mission. Misty’s 25-year career includes extensive global experience at a senior executive level, including serving as SVP of global marketing at Instructure, where she led the global growth strategy and drove value from a private startup to a publicly traded business valued at over $1 billion. Prior to this role, she served as VP of delivery services for Datamark and worked with various global brands, including Intel, Nortel Networks, Hyatt Hotels, and Disney.

In addition to leading the charge at Penn Foster/Carrus, Misty serves on the board of directors for Marketware and Equality Utah. She’s also an active member in the Women’s Tech Council and Utah Wonder Women, a group dedicated to developing women’s executive leadership.

As CFO Scott leads the finance and shared service functions at the company.

Scott’s career includes extensive experience in both public and private companies. Prior to his current role, he served as SVP of finance and business intelligence at Reach Local Inc., a subsidiary of Gannett Company Inc., owner of the USA Today Network.  Scott holds an MBA and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

As President, Career Business unit, Dara and her team are responsible for developing education solutions meet the needs of a diverse base of learners and employers. Dara brings with her over 14 years of experience in direct response marketing, brand development, public relations, and integrated communications and business development programs. Prior to joining Penn Foster, Dara was Senior Vice President of Pri-Med, a leading medical education provider focused on bringing tier 1 education solutions to the primary care marketplace.

Dara received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in marketing and communications.

As Chief Learning Officer at Penn Foster, Dr. Shean leads academic program leadership, curriculum and courseware, academic support, faculty, non-academic support, and academic operations in pursuit of improving student lives. Prior to joining Penn Foster, Dr. Shean was the Senior Vice President & Chief Academic Officer at National Education Partners. He has also served in roles such as the Chief Academic Learning Officer for Bridgepoint Education, Vice Provost for Ashford University, and Executive Dean for the College of Education at Ashford University. He previously served as a high school English teacher where he was named the 2009 District Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Shean earned his Doctorate of Educational Leadership and Management degree from Alliant International University. He holds an MA in Education and a BA in Sociology from the University of Northern Colorado.

As Chief Product Officer, Stacy and her team are responsible for defining and building learner-centric products and programs for students that meet them where they are and propel them on their career path. Prior to joining Penn Foster, Stacy was the CEO of the Mastery Transcript Consortium, a growing group of high schools committed to building and delivering a digital transcript that opens opportunities for each and every student to have their unique skills, interests, and histories fostered, understood, and celebrated.

Stacy holds an MA in Education and MBA from Stanford University and earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University.

As General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Heather is responsible for Penn Foster’s legal, compliance and governance matters. She has a strong record in effectively promoting strategic business goals in a variety of sectors, and in working with multidisciplinary teams across business functions. Most recently, Heather served as Vice President, Legal and Compliance of K12 Inc. where she counseled the company on a wide range of legal, compliance and business matters. Prior to K12, Heather served as Counsel for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and has also served as Special Counsel to public companies including Unilever and Hilton Worldwide. Heather earned a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and a MBA from The George Washington University. She also holds a certification from the Harvard University Program on Negotiation and CCEP and CIPP licenses in compliance and privacy, respectively.

As Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Nial McLoughlin has direct ownership and responsibility for all technology initiatives across the company, including the re-platforming and transformation of all the company's learning platforms. Previously, Nial was the Chief Operating Officer of Ashworth College and President of the New York Institute of Photography and Art and Design. As COO, he led the transformation of Ashworth's technology capabilities, creating an entirely new student support and student facing infrastructure that enabled Ashworth to significantly increase its service levels while scaling the business. He joined Penn Foster’s leadership team after the acquisition of Ashworth in 2019.

McLoughlin has a BS in Finance from the University of Florida and an MS in Computer Science from Georgia State University.

As Chief People Officer, Diane oversees all aspects of the human resources function including talent acquisition and development, and diversity, equity and inclusion. Diane is a global HR executive and previously led HR for the 4,000 employees at Egencia – Expedia Group’s corporate travel brand. She has lived and worked in both Canada and the United States. In addition to her corporate HR roles at Fiserv, Inc. and Bell Canada, Diane also has experience teaching at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver Canada.

Diane earned her MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and her BA in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College.