RUFFALO NOEL LEVITZ - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Board
Al Ruffalo began his career in telecommunication services in 1983 when he joined Telecom*USA, Inc. Under his leadership, Telecom*USA Direct, became the fastest growing subsidiary of Telecom*USA. In 1990, Telecom*USA Direct was named the third largest inbound and outbound telemarketing center in the country by Telemarketing Magazine.
In August 1991, Mr. Ruffalo decided to move in a new direction and, with four co-founders, created RUFFALO, CODY & ASSOCIATES. Six years later, Inc. Magazine, Ernst and Young, and Merrill Lynch recognized Mr. Ruffalo as one of the nation's "Emerging Entrepreneurs of the Year." In 1995, Ruffalo Noel Levitz was ranked 26th among Inc. Magazine's 500 fastest growing private companies in the nation. One year later, Ruffalo Noel Levitz was purchased by McLeodUSA, Inc. a telecommunications company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
In December of 2001, Mr. Ruffalo and members of Ruffalo Noel Levitz's management team purchased the company back from McLeodUSA. During his time as CEO, he led the company through many years of expansion including 250% overall growth from 2006-2012. Mr. Ruffalo now serves as Executive Chairman of the company's board of directors.
Additionally, Mr. Ruffalo has held positions including Marketing Manager for National Oats Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and administrator for Cedar Rapids Community Schools. In recent years, Mr. Ruffalo has been named Corridor Business Journal Leader of the Year (2007), Junior Achievement Business Laureate Hall of Fame member (2008), Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year (2010), and received the Loras College Distinguished Alumni Award (2011).
Mr. Ruffalo is very involved in the community and has held various positions including Director of Junior Achievement, Director of Big Brothers & Big Sisters, and Director of the American Cancer Society. He continues to lead fundraising efforts for the American Heart Association (Heart Walk) and encourages Ruffalo Noel Levitz employees to get involved in area events as well. In addition, Mr. Ruffalo serves on The Board of Regents for Loras College in Dubuque, is a board member at Theatre Cedar Rapids, the Entrepreneurial Development Center, and Mercy Medical in Cedar Rapids.
Job Titles:
- Executive Consultant for Student Success Solutions at RNL
Brandi Phillips, executive consultant for student success solutions at RNL, works closely with colleges and universities to promote and support student success initiatives. In particular, Brandi provides guidance and support in using the College Student Inventory ™, the Mid-Year Student Assessment™, and the Second-Year Student Assessment™. Offering a wide range of experiences, she has worked with traditional and nontraditional students in academic advising, career development, first-year programming, and student engagement. Brandi holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Courtney Greene, director of student success operations, provides technical support to RNL clients to ensure the effective use of the RNL Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys and the Retention Management System Plus™ products and reporting systems. Courtney assists clients with collecting, administering, and processing assessment data that have proven effective for early intervention strategies and satisfaction-importance analyses at colleges and universities nationwide. Courtney holds a bachelor's degree in business administration, with emphasis in management and organizations, from the University of Iowa.
Job Titles:
- Chief Business Development Officer
Before joining RNL in 2013, Dawn Hiles served as vice president of enrollment management and dean of admissions at Drury University (MO), where she partnered with RNL. While in this role, and she credits the RNL partnership as an integral factor in achieving record-breaking results. During her time as vice president for enrollment management, Drury experienced the three highest years of enrollment in the university's 138 year history, while simultaneously increasing the class profile and net tuition revenue.
Dawn also served as the vice president of alumni and development at Drury, aided by years of fundraising experience with Fortune 500 companies earlier in her career. Again, she credits a partnership with RNL as a key factor in reaching the highest levels of annual fund giving and alumni engagement while serving in this role.
Additionally, she brings perspective from her training at the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at Harvard University and her selection as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. This unique combination of experiences provides Dawn with tremendous insight into the complexities of higher education and the role of campus leadership. She brings a data-driven approach to identifying solutions and strategies that benefit the entire institution.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Financial Officer of RNL
Debra Mason is Chief Financial Officer of RNL, responsible for leading the company's global financial operations. Prior to joining RNL, Debra held leadership positions in finance and operations in a variety of industries. Most recently, she served as chief financial officer of Arizent, a business information company serving the financial services industry. Prior to that, she was chief financial officer of Questex LLC, a B2B events and information company across five industry verticals - beauty & wellness, hospitality, travel, life sciences & healthcare and telecommunications & technology, and led the company though a successful sale to MidOcean Partners. And prior to that, she was chief operating officer and chief financial officer for ALM Media LLC, a B2B information company specializing in the legal and other related markets.
Her previous leadership positions included chief financial officer for the Americas region of Ipsos, a global market research firm, where she spent nine years as a key advisor to the business leaders while driving efficiencies through process improvements and strategic cost reductions, as well as assisting in the negotiations of acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and alliances; chief operating officer and chief financial officer of X Plus One Solutions, a technology start-up formerly known as Poindexter Systems; and six years with Interpublic Group, where she served as the global CFO of several divisions, including Jack Morton Worldwide, a global event and experiential marketing group, NFO WorldGroup, a leader in market research, and full-service advertising agencies, including the independent brands of The Lowe Group. Debra began her career in auditing with PricewaterhouseCoopers and EY.
Education and Certifications
Debra earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting at The University at Buffalo School of Management, State University of New York. She is a certified public accountant in the State of New York and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Student Success
- Vice President for Student Success at RNL
Julie L. Bryant, vice president for student success at RNL, works directly with colleges and universities throughout North America in the area of satisfaction assessment.
Julie Bryant, vice president for student success at RNL, works directly with colleges and universities throughout North America in the area of satisfaction assessment. Julie is responsible for client service to more than 2,700 institutions using the RNL family of satisfaction-priorities assessment instruments, including the Student Satisfaction Inventory™, the Adult Student Priorities Survey™, the Priorities Survey of Online Learners™, and the Institutional Priorities Survey™. Julie provides service to educators by assisting them in determining relationships between perceptions of importance and satisfaction of students, special populations, and campus personnel. Julie identifies ways these data can inform retention planning and be shared with the campus community. She also oversees the annual national reporting and trend analysis of these data. She has authored and contributed to white papers and blogs on topics related to student satisfaction. In addition, Julie represents RNL at regional and national events, presenting at conferences and webinars in the areas of satisfaction assessment. Julie has a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell College (IA).
Job Titles:
- Chief Digital and Technology Officer
Kader Sakkaria serves as the Chief Digital and Technology Officer at RNL. Prior to joining RNL, Kader oversaw strategic Technology and Digital Transformation initiatives across Cartus/Realogy.
Previously, Kader was the head of business, technology and portfolio management at BMO Harris Bank. Kader has led large-scale technology transformation initiatives for Fortune 500 companies such as Deloitte and Accenture. He was the country head for TransUnion in South Asia, and has led PMO and offshore delivery centers at various organizations, such as State Farm, HighMark (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Pennsylvania), US Foods, and Ryder Logistics.
He comes with deep vertical expertise in real estate, healthcare, logistics, financial services, consumer, and industrial products.
Education
Kader earned his master's in computer science from the University of Madras (India) and MBA in Global Management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (IL).
Job Titles:
- Consultant for Student Success Solutions at RNL
Laura Breckner, consultant for student success solutions at RNL, works closely with colleges and universities to promote and support student retention and success. In particular, Laura provides guidance and support in using the College Student Inventory ™, the Mid-Year Student Assessment™, and the Second-Year Student Assessment™. Before coming to RNL, Laura served as the Associate Dean for Student Success at Spring Arbor University. Laura has supported institutional student success efforts in advising, career development, residence life and housing, mental health services, and academic resources. She has served both traditional and nontraditional student populations. Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Albion College and a Master of Arts degree from Spring Arbor University.
Job Titles:
- Board Member and Managing Director, Summit Partners
- Summit Partners in 2006 As an Associate
Leonard Ferrington joined Summit Partners in 2006 as an Associate. Today, as a Managing Director, he focuses primarily on the technology and education sectors.
Mr. Ferrington's board and investment experience includes A10 Networks (NYSE: ATEN), Access Information Management (acquired by Berkshire Partners), Aeryon Labs, Heald College (acquired by Corinthian Colleges), Ruffalo Noel Levitz, Trident University International and Ubiquiti Networks (NASDAQ: UBNT).
Prior to Summit, Mr. Ferrington worked for Celerity Partners and Baxter Healthcare International. He received a BS in accounting from the Leventhal School of Accounting at the University of Southern California.
Job Titles:
- Board Member and Managing Partner, Quad Partners
Lincoln E. Frank founded Quad Partners in 2000 and is its Managing Partner. He is responsible for the management of the firm and has led investments across Quad's education portfolio.
Mr. Frank currently sits on the boards of TargetX, Ruffalo Noel Levitz, The Learning Experience, and Stratford School. Prior to Quad, Linc was the Chief Operating Officer of J.P. Morgan Capital Corporation, an investment banker with Goldman, Sachs & Co. and a lawyer with Skadden Arps.
Mr. Frank holds an LL.M. from Cambridge University, a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President at RNL
- Executive Vice President, Client Success
As the executive vice president at RNL, Renée is the head of the Fundraising business while overseeing the Account Management and Client Success teams. She works with hundreds of institutions each year to drive donor engagement and meet their strategic goals. During her 20+ year tenure with the organization she has become a trusted partner and consultant to universities and non-profits.
Previous Experience
Renée began her career at RNL as a student fundraiser and has steadily risen through the company to become a member of RNL's senior leadership. She previously served as executive vice president of operations, leading all aspects of client delivery including account management, client services, project management, creative services, calling and mail operations, data management, and analytics. She has served hundreds of partners and has extensive marketing services experience related to account management and marketing operations.
In addition to her expertise in marketing and fundraising, Renée offers a well-rounded perspective on the business and strategic leadership. She has led change at RNL through acquisitions, functional consolidations, and process improvement-delivering improved top- and bottom-line performance.
Education
Renée holds an MBA from Boston College and bachelor's of business administration in marketing and management from Abilene Christian University.
Job Titles:
- Employee
- Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Administration
Rob Ackley oversees employee relations, benefits administration, talent acquisition and talent development for Ruffalo Noel Levitz.
Mr. Ackley began his career with Ruffalo Noel Levitz in 1999 in the Program Center Manager position. He steadily progressed in his career with Ruffalo Noel Levitz, serving as Senior Operations Manager, Human Resources Trainer, Director of Recruiting and Training Operations and the Vice President of Recruiting and Training Operations prior to his current role.
Mr. Ackley holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI), the Certified Professional (CP) certification from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and is certified as a Training Manager by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI). Mr. Ackley earned his Bachelors of Science in Political Science from the University of Oregon and has completed graduate-level business studies at Tennessee Technological University.
Job Titles:
- Product Support Specialist
Robin Nilsson, product support specialist, student success operations, provides technical support to RNL clients to ensure the effective use of the RNL Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys and the Retention Management System Plus™ tools. Robin assists clients with collecting, administering, and processing assessment data. Robin holds a bachelor's degree in analytics, from Cornell College (IA).
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant
- Senior Director of Retention Solutions
As senior consultant for student success solutions, Shannon Cook assists colleges and universities with using our assessment tools, market research, and management consulting to improve student persistence and degree completion rates. She is experienced in addressing questions about RNL's retention assessments including the Student Satisfaction Inventory™, the Adult Student Priorities Survey™, the Priorities Survey of Online Learners™, and the Institutional Priorities Survey™ as well as the Retention Management System Plus™. Shannon maintains communications with colleges and universities throughout their decision processes as they are reviewing RNL services and identifying their most productive retention initiatives. In addition, she often represents RNL at regional and national events during the year. Before coming to RNL, Shannon was assistant director of admissions at Coe College (IA). She also served as an intern for the NBC morning news program Today. Shannon received her bachelor's degree from Coe College.
Steven Isaac most recently led the Forbes Education initiative, a joint venture with Forbes Media. Prior to Forbes, he was the CEO and Founding Partner of EducationDynamics, a leading provider of online marketing support to higher education.
Mr. Isaac has held senior executive level positions at several organizations including DIMAC Marketing, Cadmus Communications Corporation, and The Martin Agency. He also served on the faculty of the executive MBA program in Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Business, where he developed and directed the Business Planning Track and was the Managing Director of The Interactive Marketing Institute.
In addition to Ruffalo Noel Levitz, he currently serves on the boards of Ashworth College (as Chair) and MarketingEDGE (formerly the Direct Marketing Education Foundation).
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Executive Advisor
- President
- President and CEO of RNL and Oversees All Aspects
Sumit Nijhawan is president and CEO of RNL and oversees all aspects of the business which serves more than 1,900 campuses and nonprofits each year to maximize results across a connected student lifecycle, including enrollment, student success, and fundraising.
Dr. Nijhawan joined RNL in 2018 from Infogix, where as CEO he was responsible for leading company strategy, operations, and customer partnerships. Under his leadership, Infogix achieved significant growth from the introduction of multiple new data management and analysis solutions.
Dr. Nijhawan is also an executive advisor to other data and analytics companies. Previously, he held leadership positions at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, SPSS, Inc., and PwC, while also acting as an advisor to other companies in the data space.
Education
Dr. Nijhawan received a bachelor of arts in physics and chemistry from Coe College and a PhD in engineering from Brown University, and attended the Program for Leadership Development at Harvard Business School.
Wanda Kane, delivery manager, student success operations, coordinates the delivery of results for the RNL student success assessment tools with a primary focus on RNL's Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys . She works within RNL's established systems to process institutional data and to benchmark it with national norms. Wanda provides customer services to hundreds of colleges and universities retrieving their reports on an annual basis. Wanda earned her associate's degree in business administration from Hamilton Business College (IA).
Will Ethridge is active in the education sector as an investor, a board member of several companies, and as the Principal at Ethridge Advisors, where he provides advisory services to education companies, educational institutions, policy makers, and private equity companies.
From 2008 until early 2015, Mr Ethridge was CEO of Pearson North America and also served on Pearson's board of directors. Mr. Ethridge served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Pearson's U.S. Higher Education, International, and Professional Publishing Group, a division of Pearson from March 2003-2008. He has also served as Chairman of the Association of American Publishers and as a board member of Interactive Data Corporation and CourseSmart, where he also served as Chairman.