Jean Eddy
President & CEO
Jean Eddy, President & CEO
Jean develops and drives the overall strategic direction of ASA. In the fall of 2016, she began an evaluation of the organization’s direction and purpose to better align ASA’s strengths with highest student impact areas.
During her tenure, ASA has pivoted from a 65-year history of helping students with college financing and repayment options to a new focus of helping students discover potential career paths earlier in their education journey, before financing or repayment need occur. Working with the Board and her Senior Management Team, she has successfully shifted ASA’s focus and direction to help kids – as early as middle school – to know themselves, know their options, and make informed choices about their education and career goals.
Served on the Board of ASA for 20 years, most recently as Vice Chair.
More than 25 years of experience creating and leading education organizations, including Chief Operating Officer at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment at Brandeis University, and multiple roles in the financial services and enrollment areas at Northeastern University.
A recognized speaker and subject matter expert, she served on Massachusetts’ Governor Charlie Baker’s Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning.
She holds a B.A. from Roger Williams University and a M.A. from Johnson & Wales University.
Barbara F. Matez
EVP and CFO
Barbara F. Matez, EVP and CFO
Barbara works with the Board of Directors and Senior Management Team to develop and drive the strategic, operational, and financial direction of the organization.
Since joining in 2007, Barbara has introduced a rigorous business planning capability critical to the organization’s long-term viability in the face of regulatory changes. She led the implementation of a tiered investment strategy that increased net assets from $130m to $600m and served as the business partner in organizational restructuring that reduced expenses by 70% while dramatically improving business performance.
More than 30 years of financial management experience across many facets of organizational size and development including new market start-ups, global expansion, acquisitions and reorganization.
She holds an M.B.A. from Babson College and a B.A. in Economics from Clark University.
Clay Colarusso
CMO and SVP of Digital Strategy
Clay Colarusso, CMO and SVP of Digital Strategy
Clay works closely with the Senior Management Team in the design and deployment of initiatives that drive fulfillment of ASA’s mission. He and his team focus on creating transformational digital experiences to support today’s youth in the development of their higher education and career plans.
Nearly 15 years of experience leading high-impact teams responsible for the delivery of consumer insight driven digital experiences and omni-channel marketing programs, both on the agency and client side.
He holds a B.A. from Tufts University and a MBA from Babson College.
Angie Castera
Chief Human Resources Officer
Angie Castera, Chief Human Resources Officer
Angie brings two decades of nonprofit and corporate experience to ASA, which will guide her in developing programs and policies supporting ASA’s diversity and inclusion practices, benefits and compensation, employee training and development, and cultivation of a consistent cultural experience for all employees, regardless of their work location. She will also direct change management initiatives and manage internal communications.
Angie comes to ASA from Oxfam America, where she oversaw all HR matters in America and served as the lead for Oxfam International, and inter-affiliate human resources strategic and leadership initiatives. She previously served as Director of Human Resources, North America at Navitas, a leading global educational provider, delivering educational services and learning solutions at over 120 colleges and university locations across 27 countries.
She earned her B.A. from Emmanuel College and holds a Certificate in Human Resources Management from Eastern Nazarene College. She has held board member positions on several boards including the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts and, currently, the Immigrant Family Services Institute.
Judy Goldstein
SVP of Public Relations, Communications and Planning
Judy Goldstein, SVP of Public Relations, Communications and Planning
Judy works for the Chief Executive Officer and the leadership team to help ASA and its partners propel the mission to engage K-12 students in career exploration and experimentation.
Judy is a results-driven senior leader with the ability to move seamlessly between strategy and execution. She has more than 30 years of experience in the education sector. She believes that every student deserves access to quality education—regardless of race, geography, or circumstance—including ample opportunities to acquire information needed to make informed decisions on their career and college pathways.
Known for scanning the business landscape, identifying gaps, and creating innovative solutions that drive transformation and fuel company missions, Judy was most recently the SVP of Marketing, MSI information Services, where she ushered in a digital transformation strategy for three news journals and a book distributor serving K12 schools and public libraries.
At Pearson Education, she spearheaded a K20 marketing communication strategy and directed a K-12 operational project management office. Earlier in her career, Judy worked in various roles at advertising agencies, public relations firms, and in children’s trade book and magazine publishing managing marketing, promotion, and sales support departments.
She holds degrees in Journalism & Graphic Design from Pennsylvania State University and certifications in Prosci Change Management and Lean Six Sigma.
Julie Lammers
SVP of Advocacy and Corporate Social Responsibility
Julie Lammers, SVP of Advocacy and Corporate Social Responsibility
Julie Lammers is Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Corporate Social Responsibility. Julie leads ASA’s philanthropic strategy as well as ASA’s advocacy efforts on both the federal and state level, helping to build relationships with elected officials and promote ASA’s legislative priorities. Julie has been at ASA since March 2010. Prior to ASA, Julie spent more than nine years as Congressional Aide to Senator Edward M. Kennedy and his successor, Senator Paul Kirk, Jr. The focus of Julie’s work was managing public outreach to constituent groups on national policy related to education, the arts, environment and welfare issues. Julie is a graduate of Northeastern University, the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University, Suffolk University Law School, and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar.
Alisa Wilke
SVP of Product Operations
Alisa Wilke, SVP of Product Operations
Alisa works closely with the Senior Management Team to develop and execute successful mission-aligned programs throughout the organization. She is responsible for the definition of program impact and outcomes measurement. Alisa is committed to helping students find their strengths and interests early so they can better inform their educational and career choices.
Nearly 20 years bringing technology focused educational products to market across a number of segments, including K-12, Higher Education, clinician certification, and patient education.
Prior to her roles within educational products, Alisa was a strategy consultant helping clients in financial services, healthcare, and consumer packaged goods leverage emerging technology.
She holds a B.S. in Finance and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Marketing and IS from Babson College.
Carmela Caplain
VP of Finance
Carmela Caplain, VP of Finance
Since June 2021, Carmela has been working with the Executive Vice President, CFO, and the Senior Management Team to develop, implement, and ensure financial programs, processes, and initiatives to effectively support ASA’s overall mission, goals, and objectives.
More than 18 years of fiscal management experience working with not-for-profits and five years of public accounting experience. She has worked extensively with Board of Directors, Audit, Finance, and Investment Committees.
Previously served as Vice President of Finance at Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston (CJP) where she managed the significant growth of over $2 billion in philanthropic assets and all financial aspects of annual campaign fundraising and grantmaking.
Began her career in public accounting and was an audit manager at Coopers & Lybrand, which merged and became PWC.
Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of Boston University.
A resident of North Easton, she is a member of Temple Beth Emunah in the South Area, where she has served as Vice President and Treasurer.
Cameron F. Logan Ph.D.
Vice President of Technology
Cameron F. Logan Ph.D., Vice President of Technology
Cameron Logan is the Vice President of Technology at American Student Assistance® (ASA) where he works closely with the senior management team to support ASA’s digital strategy, direct ASA’s information security programs, and manage the full range of technology resources employed to support ASA’s mission.
Cameron has over 20 years of experience in senior leadership and chief officer roles across technology consultancies, digital agencies, and educational and institutional non-profits. Cameron excels at building and leading diverse teams of web developers, digital operations specialists, security professionals, and IT engineers towards the design, development and support of business critical IT and digital solutions.
Cameron holds an A.B. from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Rilwan Meeran
VP of Mission Impact Investing
Rilwan Meeran, VP of Mission Impact Investing
Rilwan is the Head of ASA’s Impact program, which focuses on investing in funds and private companies. The Impact program was built to deepen ASA’s impact within the education and career readiness ecosystem by fostering innovation that provides millions of students with learning experiences aimed at changing the way young people learn.
Previously, Rilwan was the Head of Impact investing at MassMutual, having created multiple new programs within the firm that focused on impact allocations to both funds and direct investments as well as diverse managers and entrepreneurs. Prior to his time at MassMutual, he was a Managing Director for Flat World Partners, where he analyzed and invested in global impact opportunities. Prior to Flat World Partners, Rilwan was the Chief Investment Officer of Leopard Capital. Rilwan started the first private equity fund for Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Previously, Rilwan was a Director for Swicorp – an Emerging markets focused private equity firm – having opened the Dubai office for the fund in 2006. At Swicorp, he sourced, structured, and added value to investments in consumer driven sectors in Asia, Middle East and Turkey. Rilwan has spent 18 years in venture capital and private equity. During this span he has transacted deals across Latin America, Turkey, the Middle East, Asia, and the United States.
Rilwan started his career as an investment banking analyst at UBS in New York. He holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and has an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has been profiled in a case study on private equity and is a frequent lecturer in MBA programs on investing with a focus on Impact.
Kyle Morin
VP of Investments and Financial Analysis
Kyle Morin, VP of Investments and Financial Analysis
Kyle Morin joined American Student Assistance (ASA) in May 2022 as Vice President of Investments and Financial Analysis working with the Executive Vice President and CFO along with the Senior Management Team to develop and implement investment oversight, financial reporting, and analytics to effectively support ASA’s overall mission, goals, and objectives.
Kyle has more than 16 years experience in institutional investments focusing on controls, reporting and asset manager oversight. Prior to joining ASA, Kyle held a managerial role as Head of Operational Due Diligence at MassMutual, where he was responsible for diligence of institutional fund managers as well as other financial reporting obligations.
Kyle began his investment career as manager of pricing of securities and derivatives with Barings (fka Babson Capital Management), then continued into Internal Audit and Fund Administration as Assistant Treasurer for MassMutual’s retail mutual funds.
Kyle holds a BS in Business Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Christopher Sheehan
VP and General Counsel
Christopher Sheehan, VP and General Counsel
Since 2008, Christopher has been head of the legal team and advisor to the Board of Directors and management. He has been instrumental in helping the organization navigate the many changes that resulted from the federal government’s takeover of all federal student lending in 2010. He also played a key role in the development of ASA’s newer programs such as college planning services, the Salt financial literacy program, and the most recent focus on helping middle and high schoolers discover their aptitudes and develop their career paths.
Served multiple roles throughout ASA allowing him to develop a deep base of knowledge about the organization, the student loan industry, and the law of tax-exempt organizations.
Earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and worked for several New England newspapers before earning his law degree from Western New England University School of Law, where he was an editor of the law review.
He attended the University of Oregon in Eugene and holds a graduate certificate in Knowledge Management from Northeastern University.
He is active in community affairs and has served on the board of the Boston Living Center.
Greg Smith
Vice President of Marketing
Greg Smith, Vice President of Marketing
Greg Smith is the Vice President of Marketing at American Student Assistance and is responsible for translating our annual business objectives into strategic marketing plans and leading the marketing team to concept, create and execute the digital campaigns that impact millions of students each year.
He brings over 25 years of corporate strategy, brand development and global marketing experience to ASA with a career that has spanned the technology, banking and financial services industries. In prior agency and client roles, Greg partnered with executives at companies such as American Express, EMC and Citizens Commercial Bank to envision how their marketing organizations must evolve to embrace the digital world and to transform their go-to-market strategies as the power shifted from companies to consumers.
Greg holds a BS in Business and Finance from Saint Michael’s College.
