Meet Our Leaders

As CEO, Kermit is responsible for the vision and strategy that opens doors to brighter futures for Penn Foster Group’s learners. Kermit works with our leadership and team on how we create paths to greater economic mobility for learners and enable them to achieve long-term success.

Kermit is an experienced executive in the education industry, having started his career as a high school physics teacher in St Louis Public Schools with Teach For America. Most recently, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of the education technology company Cengage Group, where he was responsible for investments to grow its career education offerings. He also led Cengage’s K-12 business, along with corporate functions including supply chain, corporate development, and human resources. Prior to Cengage, Kermit worked at the investment firm KKR, ultimately serving as Co-Head of KKR Capstone in the Americas and as a member of the Portfolio Management Committee.

Kermit lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children. He is a member of the board of trustees at Linsly School in Wheeling, West Virginia, where he grew up. He holds an MA in Education and an MBA from Stanford University, and a BA in Engineering Sciences and a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Dartmouth College.

As Chief Financial Officer, Frank and his team are responsible for the continuous development of financial strategies that inform Penn Foster Group’s efforts to support learners in their education, training, and outcomes. Frank is a seasoned financial leader with a long track record of success across multiple industries including education, media, communications, technology, and manufacturing. Frank has an extensive background in finance and operations management, bringing over 30 years of experience to his role as CFO at Penn Foster Group.

Prior to joining Penn Foster Group, Frank served as Chief Financial Officer at Edmentum, overseeing and managing all financial and legal aspects of the business focused on K-12 education and technology worldwide; Chief Financial Officer at Education Management Corporation (EDMC), Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer at The Dolan Company; and Vice President Enterprise Finance at Freedom Communications. He holds a BBA from Texas A&M University, Mays Business School.

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, Terri and her team are responsible for leading all aspects of the people function including talent acquisition and strategy, culture, total rewards, and learning and development so that we are well positioned to best serve our learners.

Terri has over 25 years of experience as an HR leader and has a real passion for leading strategic HR teams and partnering with senior leaders to build an integrated talent strategy to enhance business growth. Before joining Penn Foster Group, Terri was SVP People Leader for Corporate functions with Nielsen. Terri spent 10 years at McGraw Hill leading HR for the Higher Education, Professional, and Digital platform groups. Terri has demonstrated experience in leading talent management (acquisition, development, and succession), organizational design, and total rewards. She also has experience leading aspects of global diversity and inclusion strategy designed to create an inclusive culture, engage leadership, attract and retain talent, and anticipate customer needs. She has a bachelor’s degree in business from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two children. Terri serves as a school board member for her local high school district.

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.

Matt Simon is the Chief Marketing Officer for Penn Foster Group. As CMO, Matt and his team are responsible for developing strategies, content, programs and insights that bring new learners to Penn Foster Group’s portfolio of brands and that support the completion of their studies.

Matt leads a best-in-class marketing team, all of whom are focused on delivering a learner-centric, innovative, and impactful brand story. His areas of responsibility include brand strategy, performance marketing, advanced analytics, communications and B2B marketing. Simon’s tenure with the company began in 2022.

Matt has over 20 years of marketing experience, working across the CPG, QSR and Retail industries. Prior to joining Penn Foster Group, Matt served as Chief Brand Experience Officer at The GIANT Company, a proud local brand of Ahold Delhaize. He also spent memorable years working on several national recognized brands, including The Hershey Company, Del Monte Foods and Auntie Anne’s.

Matt has also had the honor serving on the boards for the Central PA Food Bank and Please Touch Museum of Philadelphia.

Matt earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh and his MBA from The Pennsylvania State University.

Jordan Thompson is the General Counsel at Penn Foster Group, responsible for ensuring the organization is meeting high standards of education and operations. Prior to his current role, he was the Deputy General Counsel and Director of Compliance and Risk at New York Institute of Technology. He attended Cornell University where he received a Bachelors of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations. Jordan is also a graduate of Rutgers Law School. A Certified Information Privacy Professional and licensed attorney in the states of New York and New Jersey, he is also admitted to practice law in the United States District Courts of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York as well as the District of New Jersey. Jordan serves as a General Chair of the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network, is a Vice President and Board member of the Suffolk Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation, and is a former President of the Huntington Lawyers Club. He lives on Long Island with his wife Kimberly and their three boys.

Thais Lyro is the Chief Product Officer for Penn Foster Group. As CPO, Thais and her team are committed to ensuring our programs and our learning experience are designed with learner success front-of-mind and will help open doors for their future success.

Thais has more than 20 years in the product and user design field and has deep experience in identifying market needs and translating into unforgettable experiences. Solving problems is at the core of Thais' work, and she thrives on the challenge of identifying market gaps and finding solutions.

Prior to joining Penn Foster Group, Thais held several product technology and user design roles at a range of education, technology and consulting companies. Her experience ranges from evolving existing offerings to creating brand new ones, requiring her to lead teams through a disciplined process of strategy, execution, and implementation to achieve desired results. Thais is not only committed to driving innovation but also to advocating for women in the workplace. Since April 2021, she has served as a Guardian at AngelUS Network, a global professional network of women supporting and empowering each other. Thais also champions the integration of AI in education, leveraging its potential to enhance learning experiences and foster personalized, data-driven approaches.

As Chief Operating Officer, John is responsible for creating great experiences for, and with, our learners. He leads the operations strategy, processes, and teams that focus on meaningfully improving learner outcomes and opening doors for learner success.

John has been working in the EdTech space for over 25 years where he has led both technology and services teams. Prior to joining Penn Foster Group, he was the Executive Vice President at 2U, responsible for all aspects of the learner facing services teams. He also served as COO at Helix Education, Managing Director at Australian-based EQUELLA, and Senior Vice President of Business Operations and Services at Pearson. John started his career as a kindergarten French teacher.

John lives in Colorado with his wife, Carey and Boston Terrier pup, Tonka. He holds a Bachelor’s in Education and French from Niagara University and enjoys golf, travel, hiking, and fly fishing.