Board of Directors
The EFC Board of Directors is the governing body for EFC and is elected by the EFC Voting Members. The Board is comprised of the following dedicated individuals.
Scott A. Giles
Chair
Scott A. Giles is President and CEO of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), a public non-profit established by the Vermont legislature in 1965 to open the doors of education and training to students of all ages. VSAC is widely recognized for innovation in the development of college access and success programs, expanded support for industry recognized credentials, facilitating employer-educator partnerships and use of research to shape policy.
An expert on federal and state higher education finance policy, he has devoted his career to expanding access to education and training after high school. He received a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from St. Lawrence University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Religious Studies (ethics) from the University of Virginia.
Prior to joining VSAC, Giles served as deputy chief of staff of the House Committee on Science. He previously worked on the majority staff of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and was a principal staff member on the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 and the National Science Foundation Authorization Act.
Giles served as chair of the Federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance and has been appointed by multiple Secretaries of Education to represent non-profit student loan and grant providers in negotiated rulemaking. He has been interviewed by the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Economist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Tricia Dubroc
Vice Chair
Tricia Dubroc joined the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority (LPFA) in April, 1994 and has served as its chief executive officer since January 2023. Dubroc has full administrative responsibility of all aspects of the LPFA’s activities, which include low-cost financing for student loans, hospitals, hospital equipment, colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, manufacturing facilities, industrial construction, and economic development projects. This includes direct supervision of all aspects of the Louisiana Education Loan Authority (Lela), the student loan division of the LPFA.
Lela is a division of the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority (LPFA). The LPFA is a Louisiana’s statewide non-profit, self-supporting, public trust which was established in 1974 whose primary purpose is to issue taxable and tax-exempt bonds for any public purpose which provides benefit to Louisiana citizens to further education, healthcare, economic development and job creation. In 2024, the LPFA celebrated its 50th year of service to Louisiana and has issued bonds to finance 879 projects totaling $30.1 billion.
Over the years, the LPFA has issued $2.4 billion in bonds to fund, purchase and refinance federal and private student loan programs to assist over 400,000 Louisiana students and families.
After receiving a B.S. in Business Administration at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then USL, with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, Dubroc was employed on campus as a Financial Aid Administrator and later in High School relations, under the Enrollment Management, for the next five years. Prior to joining Lela-LPFA directly, Dubroc was employed by Citi-State Advisors to market and administer the LPFA’s student loan programs. In 1994 the LPFA hired her directly to manage and develop their student loan programs.
Dubroc serves on several industry related national, regional and statewide Boards in Louisiana. The Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), the Louisiana Public Broadcasting Foundation (LPBF) and the Southwest Association of Student Aid Administrators (SWASFAA). She is also a member of the National Health and Education Facilities Finance Association (NAHEFFA) focused on non-profit bond issuers, the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) dedicated to the advancement of development Finance, Healthcare Management Finance Association (HFMA), and the Louisiana Hospital Association (LHA).
Chad Tate
Treasurer
Chad Tate is the president of ECMC, a nonprofit company that provides financial education services to empower students to make informed choices about their futures. He oversees the loan guarantor operation, financial literacy outreach, and the ECMC Scholars Program, which combines mentoring and scholarships to improve college persistence. ECMC serves 41,000 students annually through more than 800 college prep events.
Before joining ECMC, Tate held various finance and operations roles at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, including director of treasury operations, director of finance operations, senior director of claims and billing operations, and vice president of claims operations.
Tate is a board member for Tutapona, an organization focused on emotional healing from trauma. Previously, he served on the boards of Five Loaves Food Shelf and the YMCA in New Richmond, WI.
Tate holds a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from Hamline University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from North Central University.
Joseph V. Wood
Secretary
Joe Wood was appointed President and CEO of INvestEd (an Indiana based 501(c)(3) corporation) in August 2008 because of his extensive background in municipal finance and nearly 35 years of experience developing and managing student loan servicing and finance programs in the non-profit student loan sector. Wood joined INvestEd in June 2002 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer after having served 16 years as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) and representing the Bank of New York as a Vice President overseeing Municipal Sales in the Midwest. During his tenure with MOHELA, Wood had organizational responsibility for accounting, treasury, administrative services and strategic planning functions
At INvestEd, Wood was part of a team that grew the Corporation’s balance sheet and charitable activities to unprecedented levels. INvestEd grew organizational holdings to create the kind of affordable access to education funding for which INvestEd was created. On the financial aid literacy side of the organization, INvestEd presents at over 1,000 literacy and professional training events all over Indiana. These events are designed to reach students and their families throughout the state of Indiana with the dual mission of helping them to prepare for college financially and avoid expensive debt.
Wood completed his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and his Master of Business Administration at St. Louis University. He is a long standing member Education Finance Council (EFC), and the Government Finance Officers Association.
Gregory O’Coyne
Gregory (Greg) O’Coyne serves as Vice President, Enrollment and Financial Strategy at Midwestern University, where he provides strategic leadership across student enrollment, financial operations, and the University’s private and institutional loan programs. In this role, he oversees the full enrollment lifecycle from application through matriculation, including admissions operations, student finance, registrar functions, and institutional research and assessment. He is also responsible for ensuring institutional compliance with the Higher Education Act (HEA) and leading the University’s financial planning and analysis activities.
With more than twelve years of service at Midwestern University, Greg has played a pivotal role in advancing the institution’s mission of excellence in healthcare education. He has managed financing and refinancing transactions totaling more than $240 million and brings extensive experience aligning fiscal strategy with enrollment objectives to support institutional growth and long-term sustainability.
Prior to joining Midwestern University, Greg held leadership roles in student financial aid, corporate finance, and regulatory compliance at a private postsecondary institution specializing in nursing and allied health education.
Greg began his professional career in 1999 with Ernst & Young’s Phoenix audit practice, where he specialized in financial statement audits of banks and financial institutions. He currently represents Midwestern University as a member of several professional organizations, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s Fiscal Officers Council.
He holds a Master of Science in Data Analytics from Western Governors University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Information Systems from Arizona State University. Greg is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Arizona.
Chad Pastorius
Chad Pastorius started his career at Rhode Island Student Loan Authority (RISLA) in 1998 and he currently oversees and provides strategic direction for RISLA’s marketing, loan origination and servicing divisions as well as RISLA’s capital markets activities and investor relations.
From 2004 until 2007 he worked for Nelnet’s New England subsidiary where he focused on business development and managing FFELP consolidation loan marketing efforts.
Chad has a master’s degree of business administration from Bryant University, and he received his BS degree in accounting from the University of Rhode Island
William Shaffner
Will Shaffner has been the Director of Business Development and Government Relations with the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) since 2004. He has over 42 years of experience in the student loan and higher education finance arena. Shaffner participates as a member of the Executive Management Team at MOHELA and is responsible for all sales, school, government and external relations activity within the Authority.
Shaffner has represented the student loan and higher education finance industry, participating on the 2014 and 2021 Negotiated Rulemaking panels representing the FFEL and loan servicing communities, on national news and media outlets as a subject matter expert, and has presented multiple times on a variety of higher education finance topics across the country for years.
Prior to MOHELA, he worked with American Student Assistance as Director of Lender and Strategic Partnerships. He also held various sales and training positions at USA Funds/USA Group/SLMA from 1990 – 2001. Prior to working within the higher education finance industry, Shaffner was the Associate Director of Student Financial Aid at the University of Central Florida, where he worked for over eight years.
Shaffner currently serves on the Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation board as Vice-Chair, Infinite Scholars board Co-Chair, EFC Board of Directors and Chair of its Government Affairs Committee, and the NCHER Government Relations Committee. Shaffner holds a B.A. in business administration from the University of Central Florida.
Kathleen Smith
Kathleen Smith serves as Senior Vice President, Federal Government Relations, and brings an extensive background in leadership and policy experience to Strada. She most recently served as Senior Vice President, Director of Federal Relations, Outreach, and Development for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, for which she cultivated relationships with members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation and relevant congressional committees, shaped advocacy strategies related to legislation, managed institutional outreach efforts, and collaborated with federal agencies.
Previously, Kathleen held several positions in the U.S. Department of Education, including as Deputy Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid and Special Assistant to the Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education. She played a central role in ensuring student aid was delivered and that it complied with federal regulations, preventing program fraud, advising the secretary and senior staff, and representing the agency to Congress and other federal agencies.
Kathleen also served as education policy advisor for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and held leadership roles for the Education Finance Council and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Kathleen began her career in the financial aid office of D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York. She earned her bachelor’s degree from D’Youville and master’s degrees from both the University of New Haven and American University.
Jeanette W. Weldon
Jeanette Weldon was appointed Executive Director of the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority (CHESLA), the state’s alternative student loan entity, in July 2012. In 2014, Weldon was also appointed Executive Director of the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation (CSLF) as it entered a run-off period. Both CHESLA and CSLF are subsidiaries of the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA), for which Weldon has served as Executive Director since July 1, 2015.
CHEFA is a quasi-public entity that provides capital financing for colleges and universities, hospitals, and other eligible nonprofits throughout the state. By serving as Executive Director of CHEFA and its subsidiaries, Weldon is able to position all of the organizations to help address the state’s economic and workforce development needs.
Weldon has previous experience as a credit analyst with Moody’s Investors Service, an investment banker with Bank of Boston, a financial advisor with P.G. Corbin & Company, and as Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Windham Hospital in Windham CT. She received a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.B.A. and M.P.H. from Columbia University.