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 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 Chief Outcomes 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 Digital Officer, Bobby is responsible for leading and executing Penn Foster’s digital strategy across its B2C and B2B markets. Bobby brings over 25 years of blended experience across edTech and SaaS businesses in verticals, such as legal, compliance, HR and ECM. Most recently, Bobby was EVP/COO at LawLogix – a SaaS provider in the HR/compliance vertical. Prior to that he was responsible for digital transformation and platform strategy across McGraw-Hill Education’s k-12, International, HigherED and Professional Business Units. In Bobby’s earlier ed-tech career, he led growth through product and platform innovation, as well as strategic M&A at Archipelago Learning and Pearson Education (k-12). Prior to that Bobby was President and Chief Product Officer at ImageTag – an ECM platform company. Bobby has a BS in Computer Science, MS in Computer Science and an MBA from Arizona State University.

John is the GM and Executive Vice President, responsible for the overall B2B business at Penn Foster. John brings 15 years of experience in sales, sales management, operations & enterprise software in the Human Capital Management industry for SumTotal Systems and Skillsoft. Prior to his career in sales, John spent 10 years in the Kent School District, located in a suburb of Seattle, Washington, serving 6 of those years as an Elementary School Principal. His unique perspective of education and sales leadership provides a balanced approach to Penn Foster's growth and success in the b2b marketplace. John holds a B.A. from the University of Iowa and a Masters of Education, M.Ed from Seattle 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.

Ranjan Bhattacharya is responsible for leading the development and delivery of all customer facing product lines at Penn Foster. Ranjan brings more than 20 years of experience in technical leadership in various Boston based large companies and startups. He has worked in various industries including financial services, mortgage services, and utilities, where he built and led product engineering teams developing SaaS based products. Ranjan has deep technical expertise in areas such as Cloud Computing, Big Data and Machine Learning.

Ranjan holds a BS in Electrical Engineering, and MS in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India.

Kevin is the Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances for Penn Foster Education Group. From 2013-2015, Kevin oversaw the growth of Penn Foster High School. In 2013, Kevin was appointed by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education to serve on the first ever Digital Learning Advisory Council in Massachusetts. He also serves on the SXSWedu conference Advisory Board. Kevin is considered an expert in developing new learning paradigms at the intersection of online learning, formal Education and workforce training and development. He is a frequent speaker at education conferences, including SXSW, The National Dropout Prevention Network, and the National Association of State School Boards. Previously Kevin worked at the Perkins School for the Blind helping to bring teacher professional development online. Earlier in his career he worked at Microsoft, IBM, and The Boston Consulting Group. Kevin holds an MBA from Boston College.

Rob, Chief Technology Officer, joined Penn Foster in 1997 as Senior Analyst and Project Leader. Prior to joining the Company, he worked at Dana Perfumes as a Senior Analyst and LAN Administrator. In 2003, he became Director of IT, and in 2007 he was promoted to Chief Technology Officer. His current responsibilities include data warehousing, telephony, PC support, ERP and CRM development, website development and administration. Rob received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics from King’s College, Pennsylvania.

Connie, Chief Certification and Licensing Officer, joined Penn Foster in 1988. Prior to joining the Company, she was a teacher and served in various positions in education, business, and industry. In 2005, Connie transitioned from Director of Compliance and Academic Affairs to her current position, where she is responsible for academic policies, oversight of faculty, instructional activities, regulatory compliance, and strategic direction. Connie received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from Bloomsburg University and a Master of Science Degree in Correlated Business from the University of Scranton.

She is currently serving a third appointed term on the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed Schools and is a member of the Research and Educational Standards Committee of the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC).

Pat is Vice President of Admissions, and joined the Penn Foster team in 2012. He brings over 20 years sales management experience to the team, including working as the Senior Director of Sales and Retention in the cable industry at RCN, and as Associate Director of Telesales for Verizon Wireless in the New York Metro area. He has a Bachelor of Science in Public Accounting from Penn State University, and has also spent 6 years in the United States Army Reserve as an infantryman. Pat’s background in sales and customer service brings strong leadership to manage and support a large team of Admissions Specialists, who work towards helping students get started on their path to success.

Sean is a Managing Director and the Vice President of Employer Solutions in the B2B business at Penn Foster and brings 25+ years of sales, sales leadership and business development experience in the enterprise Human Capital Management, Financial Analytics and eLearning SaaS software markets. Most recently with Skillsoft and SumTotal Systems for almost 14 years, Sean brings a blend of Talent Management and eLearning industry thought leadership, solution positioning and customer success delivery to Penn Foster and our customers. Sean holds a B.A. from The University of Maryland and graduated from the General Management Program at Harvard Business School

As Vice President of Marketing, Kate and her team lead the development and execution of integrated marketing strategies supporting brand development, student acquisition and retention, product marketing, demand generation, and client-enablement. Prior to joining Penn Foster, Kate held various marketing leadership and client-focused roles with organizations including eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions (formerly eDialog, which she helped reposition under the eBay umbrella); Thomson Learning (now Skillsoft) where she led go-to-market strategies and new product development efforts for their high growth government business segment; and J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, where she began her marketing career.

Kate holds a BA in Marketing and Public Relations from Simmons College.

Paula is the Vice President of Engineering, overseeing all aspects of application and systems development at Penn Foster. Paula brings 17 years of experience in technical program management, business process improvement, and end-to-end solution management across verticals including Tech, Retail, CPG, Financial Services, Telecom, and Pharma. Prior to joining Penn Foster, Paula was Senior Director of Customer Experience and Product Management at eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions focused on next generation platform product strategy, planning, and execution.

Paula holds a B.S. in Marketing and Operations Management from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business.

Mark is Vice President of Digital Learning Products at Penn Foster. He previously served as Vice President, Employer Product for MyEdu (acquired by Blackboard), where he spearheaded the launch of a business enabling employers to find and hire college graduates. Prior to joining MyEdu, Mark had 15 years of leadership experience in digital product and content strategy for companies in the e-learning and career management industries, including Monster Worldwide and IBM. Mark also helped to create Edutopia, an online community for educators and policymakers, as director of digital content for The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Mark holds a Masters in Educational Technology from Harvard University and an MBA from Babson College.

As Senior Vice President, Student Success, Mark has over 25 years experience in Direct Response Marketing and Customer Relationship Management. In his prior roles, Mark was responsible for the development and execution of contact management strategies in the U.S. and abroad. He reengineered the Enrollment Management function in the U.S. and at International sites in Scotland and Australia. He also led the development of B2B and B2C special services to third-party clients, including contact management solutions, inbound/outbound telemarketing, and customer care.

In his current role, Mark is responsible for CRM/Contact Center Operations, strategically blending telephonic/web communication channels to positively influence customer behaviors, including enrollment generation, student services, and retention.

Rachel is the Vice President of Product Management and Content at Penn Foster. In this role, she is responsible for the creation and instructional design of the programs, as well as the product strategy that ensures alignment among Penn Foster’s offerings and students’ and employers’ needs. With more than 15 years of experience consulting to and managing educational product teams, Rachel has held leadership roles at Pearson, The Princeton Review, Pri-Med, and a number of education startups.

Rachel is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.