Our Leaders

Frank is the Chief Executive Officer of Penn Foster, the leading skills development training, credentials and employment matching enterprise for frontline workers. This for-purpose organization is focused on employment outcomes through ed-tech enabled workforce solutions and today has more than 125,000 active students and 1,000 partners, including employers, youth organizations, government organizations, and academic institutions. He previously served as an Operating Partner at Bain Capital Ventures and CEO of Pri-Med – the largest medical education training company for primary care physicians. He is a recognized education authority, with media and investor community engagement such as Bloomberg TV, C-SPAN/ U.S. Congress, SXSWedu, TEDx, BMO and ASU/GSV investor conference, and was appointment by Governor Corbett of Pennsylvania on the Advisory Committee on Future of Postsecondary Education. Frank earned his B.S. from Syracuse University in marketing and operations.

As Chief Customer Officer, Dara and her team are responsible for advocating for the customer and ensuring that Penn Foster education solutions meet the needs of this diverse base of learners. 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 Marketing Officer, Cindy and her team are responsible for developing strategies, content and programs that bring new learners to Penn Foster’s portfolio of schools and that support the completion of their studies. Prior to joining Penn Foster, Cindy was Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for Vistaprint, where she was responsible for performance across North America, Europe and Australia, managing all customer acquisition and retention activities and overseeing all marketing channels. Before Vistaprint, Cindy was CMO of Smart Destinations, a travel e-commerce company. Cindy previously spent 10 years in key leadership roles for digital agencies working with clients that included Comcast, Liberty Mutual, The Home Depot, HP and The Make-A-Wish Foundation. Cindy received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

As Chief Financial Officer, Tom is responsible for financial planning, business analytics, liquidity management, investor relations, pricing strategy, and other strategic initiatives at Penn Foster. Tom brings with him 10 years of progressive financial management experience in a variety of areas including education services, software, and consumer goods industries. Prior to joining Penn Foster, Tom was the Director of Finance for the corporate entity that owned the Penn Foster and The Princeton Review businesses.

Tom received an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

As Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Nial McLoughlin has direct ownership and responsibility for all technology initiatives across the company, including the replatforming 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, Josh leads all Human Resources activities at Penn Foster, including talent acquisition, learning and development, and talent management. He brings over 10 years of experience leading organizations through change and building people capabilities at scale. Josh was previously a VP of People and Culture at Medallia, a leader in customer experience management software, and an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company.

He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Music from Boston University.

As General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Penn Foster, 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 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 Head of Academic Services, Tracey leads the team responsible for academic planning and strategy at Penn Foster. Establishing and driving strategic initiatives, her team supports learner outcomes and innovation throughout all courses Penn Foster has to offer. Tracey has 19 years’ experience in online education with expertise in strategic planning, operations, project management, and product development. Prior to her current role, she held various leadership positions across Penn Foster’s Academic, Product, and Client teams, bringing a comprehensive knowledge of Penn Foster’s various departments to her current role.

Tracey earned her BS in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University. She is currently pursuing an MBA at Marywood University.