John Glen Sperling was an American billionaire businessman who is credited with having led the contemporary for-profit education movement in the United States The fortune he amassed was based on his founding of the for-profit University of Phoenix for working adults in 1976,which became part of the publicly traded Apollo Group. Sperling brought the business model of higher education to the forefront,a model that employed the scientific management of higher education to the forefront:diminishing the power and importance of labor,increasing the importance of technology,marketing and advertising,and as University of Phoenix cofounder John D. Murphy explained,maximizing profit. For ventures ranging from pet cloning to green energy,he has widely been described as an "eccentric" self-made man by The Washington Post and other media.
University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix,Arizona. Founded in 1976,the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate,associate,bachelor's,master's,and doctoral degree levels. It is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has an open enrollment admissions policy for many undergraduate programs. The school is owned by Apollo Global Management and Vistria Group.
David Plouffe is an American political and business strategist best known as the campaign manager for Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential campaign. He is a senior advisor to Kamala Harris’2024 presidential campaign. A long-time Democratic Party campaign consultant,he was a partner at the party-aligned campaign consulting firm AKPD Message and Media,which he joined in 2000.
Apollo Education Group,Inc. is an American corporation based in the South Phoenix area of Phoenix,Arizona,with an additional corporate office in Chicago,Illinois. It is privately-owned by a consortium of investors including The Vistria Group,LLC and funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management,LLC.
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington,D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1983,consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party support to the election and re-election of Democratic gubernatorial candidates. The DGA's Republican counterpart is the Republican Governors Association. The DGA is not directly affiliated with the non-partisan National Governors Association.
Penn Foster High School is a for-profit online high school based in Scranton,Pennsylvania,United States. The high school is regionally and nationally accredited and is the largest high school by enrollment in the United States.
Penn Foster Career School is a U.S. for-profit,regionally and nationally-accredited distance education school offering career diploma programs and certificate programs. It was founded in 1890 as International Correspondence Schools,or ICS. Penn Foster is headquartered in Scranton,Pennsylvania.
Mona K. Sutphen was the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011. She is currently a partner and Head of Investment Strategies at The Vistria Group,a Chicago-based private equity firm founded by Marty Nesbitt and Kip Kirkpatrick. From 2013 to 2019,she was a partner in Macro Advisory Partners LLP and from 2011 to 2013 was a managing director at UBS AG,covering geopolitical risk,macro-policy trends and their impact on the global economy. She held a diplomatic position in the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration.
Neal Steven Wolin is the CEO of the corporate advisory firm Brunswick Group,an equity partner of Data Collective,a board partner of Social Capital,and a limited partner advisor of Nyca Partners. He was the longest-serving Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and also served as Acting Secretary of the Treasury in early 2013.
Mary Ellen Callahan is an American attorney serving as the Assistant Secretary for the DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office since August 2023. She was previously the chief of staff to DHS Deputy Secretary John Tien in the Office of the Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2021-2023. Callahan had previously served as Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security.
Robert Perciasepe is an American former government official who currently serves as a senior adviser to McKinsey and Company and the nonprofit Center for Climate and Energy Solutions,following his role as President of the organization. He served as the Deputy Administrator and Acting Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the administration of Barack Obama.
Lisa Oudens Monaco is an American attorney,former federal prosecutor and national security official who has served as the thirty-ninth United States deputy attorney general since April 21,2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Martin Hughes Nesbitt is an American businessman and public figure. Nesbit is co-CEO of the Vistria Group,a Chicago-based private equity firm. Nesbitt is on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies CenterPoint Energy,Norfolk Southern Corporation,and American Airlines Group. Nesbitt was the founder and former CEO of The Parking Spot,an airport parking company. He was on the board of the Chicago Housing Authority.
For-profit higher education in the United States refers to the commercialization and privatization of American higher education institutions. For-profit colleges have been the most recognizable for-profit institutions,and more recently with online program managers,but commercialization has been part of US higher education for centuries. Privatization of public institutions has been increasing since at least the 1980s.
Gregory W. Cappelli is an American business executive who specializes in national education policy. He is the CEO of Apollo Education Group,a Fortune 1000 company and the parent company of the University of Phoenix,as well as chairman of Apollo Global,a subsidiary company that invests money in educational institutions.
Jesse H. Ruiz is an American politician,lawyer,and businessman. He has previously held the positions of deputy governor of Illinois for education,chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education,president of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners,vice president of the Chicago Board of Education,and interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools. He currently works in the private sector as chief compliance officer and general counsel to the Vistria Group. He also currently serves as a member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
Mara Elizabeth Karlin is an American foreign policy and defense advisor. In April 2021,President Joe Biden nominated Karlin to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy,Plans and Capabilities. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by voice vote on August 9,2021. Previously,she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In her role,she served as the main advisor to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on U.S. security policies related to every country in Europe,the Middle East,Africa,Eurasia,and the Western Hemisphere. Her portfolio included shaping U.S. defense policy related to NATO.
Todd S. Nelson is an American businessman who has been the CEO of three of America's largest for-profit college chains:Apollo Group,Education Management Corporation,and Career Education Corporation. He is currently the Executive Chairman of Perdoceo Education Corporation,the parent company of Colorado Technical University,American Intercontinental University,and Trident University International.
