People

At TERI, we pride ourselves on the knowledgeable professionals who make up our team. All experienced in the higher education information and private education loan markets, our staff believes in our mission - promoting access to education for students of all ages and backgrounds.

Executive Management Team

Willis J. Hulings III

President and Chief Executive Officer

Willis Hulings is President and CEO of TERI, and a member of its Board of Directors.

Mr. Hulings joined TERI in February 2005 with over 25 years of experience in consumer and corporate finance and a deep interest in education. Prior to TERI, he served as Chief Operating Officer for AmeriFee LLC, a wholly owned consumer finance company acquired by Capital One Financial Corporation in 2001. Prior to AmeriFee, he spent five years at First Union Corporation where he held several positions including Head of Corporate Finance, Head of Specialized Corporate Lending and Head of Capital Markets E-Commerce. Prior to First Union, he spent over eight years in investment banking at Kidder Peabody & Co. and before that was a lending officer at the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co.

Mr. Hulings' interest in education began during college when he worked for the Jersey City Public Schools teaching ESL, GED and Life Skills Curricula in the Adult Education and Vietnamese Refugee Programs. He holds a BA degree from Yale University and an MBA degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Board Member for World T.E.A.M. Sports, the National College Access Network (NCAN), Boston College's Carroll School of Management, College Ready New England and The Boston Plan for Excellence.

Amy W. Bizar

Vice President and General Counsel

Amy W. Bizar joined TERI in 2006 as Vice President and General Counsel. Previously, she served as General Counsel and Secretary at The Reserve Funds in New York City. Prior positions also include Vice President and Senior Counsel at GE Capital Corporation, General Counsel and Secretary of Fleet Bank of Massachusetts, and Assistant General Counsel of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

She is also an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law, teaching a course in Consumer Financial Services Law. Ms. Bizar received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston University and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and is a member of the Massachusetts bar.

Cheryl D. Blanco

Vice President, National College Access Programs

Cheryl D. Blanco is Vice President, National College Access Programs and Executive Director of the Pathways to College Network. Dr. Blanco joined TERI in October 2007. She has over 20 years of experience working in the field of college access. Prior to joining TERI, she was Vice President for Lifelong Learning Policy and Research at the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). In addition, she has served as Senior Program Director for Policy and Research at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and the Education Policy Director for the Florida Postsecondary Education Planning Commission. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Florida State University, and earned a master’s degree in Higher Education and a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University.

Ann S. Coles

Senior Advisor, College Access Programs

Ann Coles is Senior Advisor for College Access Programs. Dr. Coles provides leadership for TERI’s national efforts to expand college opportunities for groups under-represented in higher education. Previously, Dr. Coles served as founding executive director of both the Higher Education Information Center at the Boston Public Library, and the Pathways to College Network, a national alliance directed by TERI of over 30 nonprofit organizations and funders committed to advancing college access and success for underserved students. Before joining TERI, Dr. Coles managed programs for disadvantaged students at a Massachusetts community college and held administrative positions with the National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students (NSSFNS) and the Institute for Services to Education. Dr. Coles serves on various national groups, including the advisory boards of Scholarship America, College Goal Sunday, and the American Council on Education. She previously served as vice-chair of the College Board trustees and was a founding board member of the Council for Opportunity in Education and ACCESS, Inc., a financial aid advising and last dollar scholarship program for Boston public school students. She holds a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

William G. Davidson

Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

William G. Davidson is Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of TERI. He joined TERI in November 2005. Mr. Davidson has over thirty years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently as Chief Financial Officer for the Small Business and Premiere Banking Group at Bank of America. Previously, Mr. Davidson also worked in such financial management positions as Chief Financial Officer for the Personal Financial Services Group and Commercial and Retail Banking Group at FleetBoston Financial, Director of the Consumer Credit Division and Senior Risk Officer at Marine Midland Bank, and various financial positions at National Westminster Bank USA and Irving Trust Company. He is also a member of the board and Treasurer of the Treehouse Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping pre-adoptive and foster care children in Massachusetts. Mr. Davidson attended Queensborough College and Long Island University.

Jane N. Dixon

Vice President, Administration, and Clerk of the Corporation

Jane Dixon is Vice President, Administration and Clerk of the Corporation. Ms. Dixon has over twenty-five years of human resources and management experience in a variety of for-profit and non-profit organizations. Ms. Dixon has provided management consulting services, including grant-writing, public relations, strategic planning, research and human resources to non-profit organizations, including the New England Resource Center for Higher Education and Harvard University. Prior to entering the field of non-profit education services, Ms. Dixon worked as a human resources professional in the financial services industry. Her extensive experience includes her position as a Sr. Consultant for W.T. Haigh & Company and Fidelity Investments, as well as Vice President of Human Resources at Bank of Boston and Bank of New England Corporation. Ms. Dixon received an A.B. from Smith College and an Ed.M. from Harvard University. She serves or has served on a number of Boards including the Board of Overseers of the Joslin Diabetes Center, the Board of Visitors of the Dimock Community Health Center, the Boston Smith College Alumnae Admissions Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Dance Complex.

John F. Marcus

Senior Vice President, Business Development

John Marcus is Senior Vice President, Business Development. Mr. Marcus joined TERI in February 2007 with over twenty years of experience in education financing. He is responsible for leading TERI’s business development effort in the loan guarantee business, including formulating, implementing, and managing TERI’s development plan, strategies, and activities. Prior to joining TERI, he served as president of Nellie Mae, the 10th largest student loan company in the U.S., and previously held the positions of Vice President of Sales and Senior Product Manager. Mr. Marcus’s experience also includes work in the fields of college admissions and financial aid, where he served as Director of Admission and Financial Aid at Westfield State College and Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Fitchburg State College. Mr. Marcus received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from North Adams State College, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and also serves as a Trustee for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Board of Directors

Sherry H. Penney, Ph.D., Chair

Sherry H. Penney is the "Sherry H. Penney Professor of Leadership" in the College of Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston and is the Founding Director of the Center for Collaborative Leadership there. Dr. Penney previously served as the Chancellor of UMass Boston (1988-2000), as interim president of the University of Massachusetts system (1995) and as interim president of SUNY Plattsburgh (1986-1987). She serves on corporate and non -profit boards, including NSTAR and South Shore Hospital, and on advisory boards in higher education and on women’s issues. Dr. Penney received her B.A. degree from Albion College, Albion, Michigan; her M.A. from the University of Michigan; her Ph.D from the State University of New York; and she has been awarded honorary degrees from Albion College and Quincy College.

Sylvia Q. Simmons, Ph.D., Vice-Chair

Sylvia Q. Simmons is a Lecturer in Education at Boston University and a consultant with the Executive Service Corps of New England, working with nonprofit organizations in the areas of Board Development and Strategic Planning. Previously, she served as the President of the American Student Assistance Corporation and American Student Assistance Services Corp. Dr. Simmons received her bachelor's degree from Manhattanville College, her M.Ed. and Ph.D. from Boston College and honorary degrees from Merrimack College and Saint Joseph's College in Hartford, Connecticut.

Grace K. Fey, Ph.D.

Grace K. Fey is an Executive Vice President and Director of Frontier Capital Management Co., LLC. She is formerly the Chairperson of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees and President of the UMass Foundation. Ms. Fey serves on numerous boards and advisory committees that foster leadership and promote access to education. She has been recognized for her work by a number of organizations and frequently provides analysis for the national media. Ms. Fey graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in English and holds an Honorary Degree from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.

Neal F. Finnegan

Neal F. Finnegan is the former Chairman of Citizens Bank of Massachusetts and former Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Trust, which merged into Citizens Financial Group in 2000. Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Northeastern University Board of Trustees, and is the principal in Clover Capital, LLC and Data Products, Inc. Mr. Finnegan currently serves on numerous boards for financial services companies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Mr. Finnegan earned his undergraduate degree in finance from Northeastern University, and an M.B.A. from Babson College. Additionally, he holds honorary doctorates from Emmanuel College, Northeastern University, and St. Anselm College.

M. Howard Jacobson

M. Howard Jacobson is the former President, Treasurer and Director of Idle Wilde Foods, Inc., a Fortune 500 company sold in 1986. Mr. Jacobson has additionally served as Senior Advisor for Bankers Trust, the Private Bank, and as Senior Advisor at Prudential-Bache Capital Funding. He currently serves or has served on numerous boards for financial services companies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations, including PBS, WGBH/Public Broadcasting, the New England Board of Higher Education, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the Harvard Overseers’ Visiting Committee for the Graduate School of Education. Mr. Jacobson received his A.B. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Edward R. Piana

Edward R. Piana served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Corp of New England. He previously had a long career at BayBank, which included service as President and CEO of BayBank Credit Corporation and Vice Chairman of BayBank Mortgage Corporation. Mr. Piana is a former co-owner and officer of Credit Data of New England, a major credit reporting agency serving the New England region. He serves on numerous boards in the financial services industry. Mr. Piana received his A.B. from Northeastern University and graduated from the ABA Rutgers School of Banking and Harvard Business School AMP 80.

Barbara E. Tornow

Barbara E. Tornow is a higher education consultant. She previously served as Senior Advisor to the Vice President for Enrollment at Boston University and, prior to that, as Executive Director of Financial Assistance at Boston University. Ms. Tornow has served on numerous boards and advisory committees for organizations involved with access to and the financing of higher education. She received her bachelor's degree from William Smith College and her M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.