EFC Staff
Vince Sampson
President
vinces@efc.org
Gail daMota
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
gaild@efc.org
Samantha DeZur
Vice President, Communications & Industry Relations
samanthad@efc.org
Renee Burchard
Controller
reneeb@efc.org
Caitlin Hargett
Administrative Assistant
caitlinh@efc.org
Vince Sampson
vinces@efc.org
President
As EFC's President, Vince Sampson serves as the organization’s chief representative on Capitol Hill, with the federal government, and within the higher education community; working to advance EFC’s goal of increasing accessibility and affordability for postsecondary education. Mr. Sampson has spoken at several industry conferences, including the Bond Buyer Municipal Summit, ABS East, and the Gates Foundation convening on higher education policy and advocacy and has hosted various industry roundtable discussions. As President, Vince reports directly to the EFC Board of Directors. Prior to serving as President, Vince held the position of Senior Vice President for Government Relations, and Interim President.
Prior to joining EFC, Vince served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy Planning and Innovation (PPI) in the U.S Department of Education in the Office of Postsecondary Education. Vince also served in Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs, where he was Senior Counselor with responsibility for oversight matters. He joined the Department of Education in 2007 after serving as Deputy Chief Counsel for the Committee on Resources in the U.S. House of Representatives. Preceding his Hill experience, Vince worked in various capacities in the private sector, most recently as Vice President for Public Affairs at the Association for Competitive Technology.
Vince holds a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA as well as a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in California and LL.M. from Georgetown University.
Vince lives in Virginia with and his wife and twin daughters.
Gail daMota
gaild@efc.org
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Gail daMota joined the Education Finance Council in June of 2001. In her role as Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, she works directly with the EFC membership to ensure their needs are met and that their information is represented accurately within the EFC published materials. She serves as lead EFC staff contact for the EFC Membership Services Committee and is the meeting planner and event coordinator for the various EFC sponsored events. Gail's responsibilities include membership services, ensuring the efficient operations of EFC, and working with other EFC staff on regulatory and statutory issues affecting the EFC membership. She and the EFC team work collaboratively to achieve the goal of making college more affordable.
Gail comes to EFC with more than two decades of experience in higher education. She has been a financial aid director, school owner, and institutional third party servicer and software developer. Most recently she was the director of federal relations for the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation.
Gail is a graduate of Arizona State University. She is a native of New England and currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Samantha DeZur is the Vice President of Communications and Industry Relations for the Education Finance Council. Samantha directs and facilitates EFC’s communications and industry relations initiatives and plays a leading role in shaping the association’s advocacy strategy on relevant higher education and finance issues. She serves as EFC’s point of contact for media inquiries, manages the association’s online presence, and writes the association’s daily publication analyzing key Congressional, regulatory, political, and economic issues, along with the monthly publication on the association’s advocacy activity, and all other external communications documents. Samantha also coordinates the association’s role as a clearinghouse for its members’ college success initiatives.
Samantha has widespread experience in the field of communication. Prior to joining EFC, she has worked in government relations in the maritime industry, was the senior communications manager for an environmental sustainability consulting firm, and has worked for Marie Claire fashion magazine. Additionally, she is a freelance writer and communications consultant.
Samantha holds a B.A. in Communications as well as Spanish from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University. She is a Wisconsin native and currently resides in Washington, DC.
Renee Burchard joined EFC in March 2002. As Controller, she is responsible for all human resource, bookkeeping and audit functions of the organization. She also works with staff to coordinate office operations and the various EFC events throughout the year.
Before joining EFC, Renee worked in various positions including time spent working for David Gergen, counselor to four American presidents and the Editor of US News & World Report. She coordinated a nationwide book and speaking tour with Simon & Schuster and served as the Vice President of Development and Operations of the Ohio Ballet. There she completed a successful capital campaign and world tour.
Renee received her B.A. in Communications and Political Science from University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama in 1989. She is a native southerner and lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She and her husband, Tony, are the proud parents of four children.
Caitlin Hargett
caitlinh@efc.org
Administrative Assistant
Caitlin serves as EFC's administrative assistant. Before joining EFC, Caitlin attended Liberty University where she studied International Relations in the government arena. Promptly after graduation, Caitlin joined the Washington Semester Fellowship and moved to D.C. to intern in a Congressional office where she worked in an administrative capacity assisting in front office duties as well as various tasks for the legislative staff. Caitlin has various professional experiences by being previously employed in the service industry.
Caitlin is a native Hoosier and lives in Washington, DC.
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