Leadership

Donald Lassere
Senior Vice President

Donald E. Lassere was named Vice President for Scholarship America's Scholarship Management Services division in 2006 and was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2007. Prior to joining SMS, Lassere held a variety of positions in marketing and senior management at Bell Atlantic Corporation (now Verizon), Ernst and Young LLP and Enron.

Lassere's most recent position prior to joining Scholarship Management Services was Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Gallup Worldwide Consulting/The Gallup Organization.

Lassere holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of San Francisco, an MBA from Harvard Business School and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Barb Weber
Assistant Vice President

Barb Weber, Assistant Vice President, Scholarship Management Services, has been with Scholarship America since 1988. She has served as a Program Manager, Senior Manager, Training Coordinator and Director of Operations. Weber's responsibilities include overseeing the administration and conduct of over 1200 scholarship and tuition assistance programs.

Weber is also responsible for customer satisfaction, client negotiations and maintenance and new product development. Prior to joining Scholarship America, Weber held positions at Farm Credit Services and State Farm Insurance. Weber holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Gustavus Adolphus college and is currently pursing an executive MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

Mike Guyer-Wood
National Director of Marketing & Sales

Mike Guyer-Wood, National Director of Marketing & Sales, Scholarship Management Services is responsible for the sales and marketing efforts of scholarship and education assistance programs.

Mike has been a Marketing Director with Scholarship Management Services since 2002. Prior to joining Scholarship Management Services, he was Director of One Stop Student Services at the University of Minnesota and Student Accounts Manager at the University of St. Thomas.

Mike holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and communication and a master's degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Kimberly Brinker
Director, SMS Planning & Customer Service

Kim Brinker joined Scholarship America in 1990 as program manager in the Scholarship Management Services Division. She is currently Director of SMS Planning & Customer Service, responsible for customer satisfaction including conduct of an annual client survey and oversight of service delivery. She heads the pilot project on the design, testing and transition to a new electronic application and award management platform. Brinker also oversees an operations team of program managers responsible for distribution of approximately $18 million on an annual basis through programs such as USA Funds Access to Education Scholarship Program, Clara Abbott Foundation Scholarship Program, and Simon Youth Foundation programs.

Kim is a graduate of Minnesota State University-Mankato with a bachelor's degree in art and business communication and has prior experience as an optical technician.

Jodi L. Bruns
Director, Training and Application Development

Jodi L. Bruns has been with Scholarship America since 1997. She started her career as a Program Manager responsible for the day-to-day administration of scholarship programs. Ms Bruns was promoted to a Senior Manager position within a year of her hire at which time she was responsible for oversight of team administration of scholarship and other specialized education assistance initiatives such as retraining and college savings programs. In 2007, Bruns was promoted to Director, Training and Application Development. Ms. Bruns is now responsible for operational training within the Scholarship Management Services division and oversight of development of all application products ranging from hard copy materials to interactive e-applications.

Bruns holds a bachelors degree double majoring in psychology and biology from the University of Minnesota.

Tammy J. Knudtson
Director, New Product Development & Special Initiatives

Tammy J. Knudtson has been with Scholarship America since 1992. She started her career as a Program Manager responsible for the day-to-day administration of scholarship programs including Scholarship America's largest marketing program. Knudtson was promoted to a Senior Manager position in 1998 at which time she was responsible for the implementation and launch of several large corporate education assistance programs. Since taking over Scholarship America's largest corporate program, Knudtson has been responsible for managing the distribution of over $229 million dollars to over 62,000 students.

In 2006, Knudtson developed a tuition reimbursement product which is currently growing at a rate of 33% per year. In 2007, Knudtson was promoted to Director, New Product Development & Special Initiatives. Knudtson is now responsible for the research, development and implementation of new revenue generating program initiatives. Knudtson is also responsible for the day-to-day administration and oversight of The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund.

Knudtson holds a bachelors degree in marketing from the University of Northern Iowa.

Pei-loh Lo
Director of Training

Pei-loh Lo joined Scholarship Management Services in 1988 as Program Manager and is currently Director of Training. She oversees an operations team responsible for the administration of a wide variety of competitive scholarships, notably Target Corporation grants for teachers, and the Fund for Veterans' Education scholarships for military service personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. She works closely with sponsors to ensure their goals are met in offering financial assistance to their target audience. In addition to providing leadership for operations, she also trains new program staff in an extensive year-long curriculum.

During her tenure at Scholarship America, Lo also served as National Director in the Dollars for Scholars division, overseeing operations for Dollars for Scholars headquarters and regional offices.

Prior to coming to Scholarship America, Lo was Director of Human Resources at Men's Division of Warnaco Inc. She is a graduate of Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.