Chairman

Michael Platt
Ad Venture Interactive
Lenexa, KS

Michael Platt is a renowned leader and innovator in the career college sector. For nearly 20 years, Platt provided out-of-the-box marketing and advertising solutions for all types of learning institutions as CEO of PlattForm Advertising. The agency became one of the largest providers of interactive lead generation, advertising and marketing services to career colleges under his leadership. In 2008, Platt assumed the role of CEO for Ad Venture Interactive (AVI). He now oversees and integrates all three of the parent company’s divisions: PlattForm, VentureDirect Worldwide and Beauty Schools Marketing Group.

PlattForm was the first agency to produce all creative in-house, including TV and radio production as well as web design, newspaper ads and inserts. Introducing another significant innovation, Platt developed cost-per-lead advertising, which revolutionized online marketing for the career college sector. PlattForm now earns more than $100 million in annual billings and employs about 200 individuals who service more than 1,400 schools.

Platt's success lies in his vision and forward thinking, as well as his team's ability to see the big picture while executing on a daily basis. He is widely regarded by his colleagues for his creativity. Many of his team's print, Web and video/TV productions have won ADDYs, Tellys, Webbys and a variety of international awards. He has authored numerous articles on effective advertising methods and student recruitment strategies. Platt specializes in empowering and increasing productivity of admissions staff and has over a decade of proven excellence in admissions training, management and consulting.

As a 22-year veteran in the marketing field, he has established a distinguished career as a successful entrepreneur. At 23 years old, Platt became Vice President of Marketing for Stage II Apparel, the world's largest importer of men's activewear. Later, Platt represented numerous professional athletes in the product endorsement arena, hosted a sports talk show, and owned and operated a professional wrestling organization in Charlotte, N.C.

After enjoying much success through early advertising ventures, Platt ultimately discovered his passion in the education industry. After handling a diverse account base, which included the recruitment advertising for Domino's Pizza and consumer advertising for Flight 23 by Jordan (retail outlets owned and operated by the family of Michael Jordan), Platt landed his first career school. Within four months, Platt was handling 13 schools and made the strategic decision to focus exclusively on school recruitment advertising.

In 2004, Platt was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of Business Services. He was lauded by the Career College Association with its Irreplaceable and Indispensable award for his service to the organization in 2006. Most recently, Platt was elected Chair of the Imagine America Board of Directors.

Vice-Chairman

Jim Gessner
Duluth Business University
Duluth, MN

Jim has been actively involved in postsecondary education for over 30 years. He has been on the Imagine America Foundation (IAF) board since 2005, and he was elected as Treasurer for the 2006-2007 term and most recently as Vice-Chairman. Jim has served on the Career College Association (CCA) board of directors since 2001. Jim is currently the chairman of audit committee and is a member of the litigation committee. Previously Jim served as a member or chairman of many other CCA committees including the convention, PAC, state affairs and leadership committees.

Jim is very active with the Minnesota Career College Association (MCCA) and has served as an officer and director. He has also been chairman and/or a member of a number of MCCA committees including the Strategic Planning, Scholarship and Revitalization Committees. Jim has served on the State of Minnesota Legislative Task Force and the State of MN Public Law 141 (original law regulating private schools) Regulations Committee member.

He is active in a number of professional and civic associations.

Treasurer

Dennis Spisak
McGraw-Hill Career College Division
McGraw-Hill Higher Education
St. Louis, MO

Dennis graduated from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and holds a B.S. degree and Master's degree in Business Education. He taught business and office education at the secondary and postsecondary levels in Pennsylvania before joining the Gregg Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies as a sales representative in 1981. Dennis is the VP of Sales and National Sales Manager for the Career College of McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Joseph Davis
MedTech College
Indianapolis, IN

Joe Davis is the President/CEO of MedTech College, LLC, which operates two colleges: MedTech College in Indianapolis, Ind., and the Stuart School of Business Administration in Wall, N.J. Since 1991, Joe has been very active in the area of government relations for both the Career College Association (CCA) and the Indiana Association of Private Career Schools. Previously chairman of the CCA board in 2004-2005, Joe also served as Chairman of the Imagine America Foundation board from 2005-2008.

Danny Finuf
Brown Mackie Colleges (EDMC)
Pittsburgh, PA

Danny Finuf serves as President of Brown Mackie Colleges (EDMC) which currently consists of 20 campus locations in 10 states. Prior to his appointment as President of Brown Mackie College, Finuf served as Group Vice President, Regional Vice  President and Regional Campus President. Prior to joining Brown Mackie College (EDMC), Finuf served as Vice President of Administrative Services for Spartan College of Aeronautics in Tulsa, OK. Finuf sits on the Management Committee for EDMC, serves as a board of trustee member for the Brown Mackie College Kansas locations and has previously served on the board of trustees for American Education Centers.

Russell “Wicker” Freeman
Coyne American Institute
Chicago, IL

Russell has been actively involved in postsecondary education for 23 years. Prior to joining the Imagine America Foundation (IAF) board, Russell served on the Career College Association (CCA) board of directors from 1995 to 2001 where he served as a member or Chairman of many committees including Litigation, Membership, Awards, Skills 200 (grassroots lobbying efforts). Currently, he still serves on the Awards and Federal Advisory committees.

Russell also is a member of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois’ board of directors. He has served on this board since 2003. He is a second generation owner of Coyne American Institute which his father, John, purchased in 1974.

Sabrina Kay
Fremont College
Cerritos, CA

As Chairman and CEO of Fremont College, Sabrina Kay brings an expansive vision to the field of higher education and understands the difference education can make in the lives of the students. She believes that the beneficial effects of education extend far beyond the walls of any campus. Armed with an outstanding management team, Sabrina's goal is to create an institution that closes the gap between the classroom and the workforce. Fremont College is the perfect vehicle to leave a legacy in higher education community and corporate learning system. It also provides opportunities for students to become exceptional members of the industries they serve.

Sabrina comes from a diverse and successful business and education background. She founded California Design College in 1991 as the nation's leading institution teaching computer-aided fashion design, and sold it to Education Management Corporation in 2002. As a founder of various entrepreneurial businesses such as Premier Business Bank, Fremont Private Investments, Fashion Umbrella LLC, and LAdesigns.org, she has been at the forefront of educating and empowering others to foster success with integrity and achieve their full potential. She has had a profound influence on a generation of young professionals by spearheading several educational programs and influential events in design, business, finance and leadership.

She currently serves as a commissioner of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission; a director of the Golden State ScholarShare Program; an executive committee member of USC Alumni Association Board of Governors; Director of the Career College Association; Imagine America Scholarship Foundation; Chairman of CCA Political Action Committee; an accreditation evaluator for the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS); and a member of YPO (Young Presidents' Organization) Bel Air Chapter.

As a philanthropist, she founded Sabrina Kay Charitable Foundation, and serves as Chairman and annual dinner chair of After-School All-Stars Los Angeles; a director of LA, Inc., the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission, and California Fashion Association; and is a member of The Trusteeship, American Friends of the Louvre, LACFR (Los Angeles Council on Foreign Relations), and Geffen Playhouse Founders.

Sabrina has been recognized for her achievements with numerous awards, including being named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, Woman of the Year by the State of California Legislature, and Rising Asian Woman by the World Affairs Council, among many others.

Sabrina received her MBA at the University of Southern California and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. She is a doctoral candidate in Work-Based Learning Leadership at Wharton School of Business and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Harris N. Miller
Career College Association
Washington, D.C.

Harris N. Miller was named CEO/President of the Career College Association (CCA) in February 2007.  For 11 years, Mr. Miller was President of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), the leading trade association representing the IT industry, as well as President of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), consisting of 67 IT associations from around the globe.  As ITAA's President during a dynamic period of change, he regularly appeared on radio/TV and in numerous major and industry publications as a spokesperson on key industry issues such as IT workforce supply/demand, cyber security, government IT procurement, Y2K, and the interwoven global economy.  In 2006, Mr. Miller lost narrowly in his race for the U.S. Senate Democratic nomination from Virginia.

He previously served as Legislative Assistant to the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives, was Legislative Director for former Senator John Durkin (D-NH), and was Deputy Director of Congressional Relations for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. He was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow and also served as Research Assistant to Lord Roper when he was in the British House of Commons.

Mr. Miller received his B.A., summa cum laude, in Political Science and in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh, which selected him in 2004 as its Legacy Laureate, and his M.Phil. in Political Science from Yale University. He served on the Board of Directors of ITT Educational Services, Inc. for six years and has served on numerous local, state and international non-profit boards.

Craig Quigley
Lockheed Martin
Manassas, VA

Craig Quigley serves as the Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs for Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors (MS2). Mr. Quigley leads the development and execution of an integrated communications program that creates, projects, and reinforces perceptions of MS2 as a single, customer-focused enterprise. He directs media relations, advertising, marketing communications, community relations, multimedia and web sites, and employee communications. In addition, he works with MS2 business leaders, Washington operations and business development functions to create integrated communications strategies that support business objectives and strengthen relationships with the U.S. and allied military customers, as well as with government policymakers.

He joined Lockheed Martin following a 27-year career in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a rear admiral and the senior uniformed public affairs officer in the Defense Department. From 1999 until his retirement, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs). Since late 2001, he has also served as acting Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Central Command, developing a strategic communications plan for the military organization in charge of the global war against terrorism. Previously, he was Special Assistant for Public Affairs to Navy Secretaries John Dalton and Richard Danzig. Prior to his involvement in public affairs, he served for eight years as a surface warfare officer at the beginning of his Navy career.

Mr. Quigley is a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, and serves as president of his class. A native of Winthrop, IA, he is an active public speaker, and believes in the value of mentoring juniors and developing teamwork to accomplish difficult objectives. He has been listed in “Who's Who in American High Schools” and “Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities,” and was selected as an “Outstanding Young Man of America” in 1980. He also serves as a National Director in the Navy League of the United States; as Chair of the Navy's League's Communications Advisory Board; as a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Communications Committee; as a member of the board of directors of the Imagine America Foundation; as a member of the board of trustees for the Prince William County Health System Foundation; and as a member of the advisory board of the Enduring Heroes Foundation.

MS2, with more than 12,000 employees, provides advanced mission equipment for surface and undersea combatants, land-and-sea-based radars, aircraft avionics, sea-based elements of the nation's missile defense capability, and team leader for the Navy's first Littoral Combat Ship. Its principal customers are the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Air Force, and the armed forces of U.S. allies. The segment is expanding its expertise into adjacent markets with products that have both civil government and commercial applications.

Keith Zakarin
Duane Morris, LLP
San Diego, CA

Keith is a lawyer and partner at  Duane Morris, LLP.  He is the Co-Chair of Duane Morris' Education Practice Group.  For the last 16 years, Keith's entire practice has been dedicated to the representation of private postsecondary schools and colleges.  His representation of our sector coast-to-coast includes every aspect of law that touches our businesses, including student and employee litigation, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory and administrative counseling and litigation, political advocacy, accreditation matters, unfair competition, taxation and corporate law, insurance, employment counseling and risk management.  He is also General Counsel of the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools and the American Association of Cosmetology Schools.

Keith's understanding of our sector goes well beyond purely legal concerns.   He assists clients in all aspects of school operations, including admissions, accreditation, retention, financial aid and auditing, and accounting matters.   A school operator himself, Keith and his wife Jo own a nationally accredited career college in San Diego, California.   

Mr. Zakarin is a 1986 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law and a summa cum laude graduate of the University of California at San Diego.