Meet Our Board & Leadership

Scholarship America’s leadership team and board of trustees bring together decades of expertise across finance, education, technology, law, and corporate strategy, united by a shared belief that every student deserves the opportunity to succeed.

At the heart of every decision is our mission: removing financial barriers so students can achieve their dreams. Our leaders bring diverse perspectives from the worlds of business, philanthropy, and higher education, ensuring that Scholarship America remains a trusted, innovative partner for sponsors and a life-changing resource for students nationwide.

Treasa Bowers, Board Chair

Executive Vice President, Human Resources, 7-Eleven, Inc.

Treasa Bowers serves as Executive Vice President of Human Resources for 7-Eleven, Inc., leading the company’s talent strategy, overseeing talent acquisition, talent management, training and development, total rewards, HR information technology, and employee relations. Treasa began her career at 7-Eleven in 1983 and over the next three decades was promoted to roles of increasing responsibility within Operations and Human Resources. In 2017, she became Vice President of Human Resources and Women’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. In 2020, Treasa was named 7-Eleven’s first Chief Diversity Officer responsible for connecting 7-Eleven’s DE&I strategy to business objectives with special focus on leadership growth, cultural awareness and engagement and talent management. Prior to joining 7-Eleven, Inc., Treasa pursued a career in banking and finance.

Treasa was recognized as Convenience Store News’(CSN) “Mentor of the Year” and one of the “Top Women in Convenience.” She currently serves on multiple non-profit boards including CSN’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board, Scholarship America, and the Global Leadership Enhancement and Mentoring Network.

Treasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and management. She is a resident of North Texas, is married to her husband (Tony) and the mother to their son.

Michael Maney, Immediate Past Chair

Senior Director, Internal Communications, The Home Depot

Michael Maney is a communications and employee experience expert. He serves as the head of internal communications for The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer. He has led communications for several other Fortune 100 consumer brands including Disney, Sony, Target, and Amazon’s Whole Foods Market. Maney serves on the Board of Visitors of his alma mater, Berry College, and is a founding member of the Leadership Communications Council for the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Richard J. Schwab, Chair Pro Tem, Honor Roll Trustees, Assistant Treasurer

Entrepreneur

Richard J. Schwab is an entrepreneur, woodworker, angel investor, organic farmer, and community volunteer. After spending 25 years in the corporate sector, he redirected his energy toward service to others. His professional background includes leadership positions at National Computer Systems, Inc. (NCS), including vice president and general manager of the Information Technology Division, where his business strategy focused on being a leader in such market niches as education finance.

In his previous position at NCS, Schwab was general manager of the Information Technology Division, where he was responsible for the company’s Federal Student Financial Aid business, including relations with the U.S. Department of Education and fulfillment of the Pell Grants Application Processing contract. Previously at NCS, Schwab was the controller for the Information Technology Division.

Prior to NCS, Schwab had the following roles at Medtronic, Inc.: manager of finance, BioInterface Division; manager of finance, Pacing Products Group; U.S. Pacing Financial Planning; Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis; and Corporate Audit.

Until very recently, Schwab’s Iowa affiliations included: Solon school board; MidwestOne Bank board; Goodwill of the Heartland board; Community Foundation of Johnson County; Bur Oak Land Trust; and Solon Dollars for Scholars chapter since its founding in 1993.

Schwab earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota. He is also a certified public accountant and certified management accountant.

Lucinda D. Robb, Secretary

Lucinda Desha Robb was born over Texas soil on October 25th, 1968. Technically she was born in Bethesda Naval Hospital, but her grandfather Lyndon Johnson arranged to have a box of land from the LBJ ranch put under her mother’s hospital bed so she can claim to be a native Texan.

Robb graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 1990, but never became a lawyer like her parents thought. After leaving college she worked in Guest Relations for Walt Disney World, where one of many highlights was an internship at Walt Disney Imagineering (she designed a Little Mermaid float). After that she worked for five years doing education programing at the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives, the perfect job for a history nerd. She learned to recognize the handwriting of most of the Founding Fathers on sight. She worked on educational projects and traveling exhibits and was Project Director for The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson: 1789-1920 and Our Mother’s Before Us: Women and Democracy, 1789-1920.

In 1997 she became Director of Recruiting for The Teaching Company which makes The Great Courses, college level not-for-credit courses on everything from literature, history, and science, to music, philosophy and religion. She flew around the country visiting colleges and universities and sitting in on over 600 world class professors and grading their lectures. It was a fascinating job she would have happily done for free (not to mention being great training for Jeopardy). Later, she became Director of Professor Relations, guiding professors through a rigorous audition and course making process. She worked with a wide range of talented individuals, including well known science popularizers, MacArthur Genius award winners, and National Geographic photographers, not to mention a lot of amazing adjunct professors who should be more famous.

Along the way she met her husband Lars Florio, and they had three children – Madeline, Eleanor, and Lawrence. After 15 amazing years at The Teaching Company, she left to take on her most challenging job, full-time mom and serial volunteer. These days when she isn’t driving her kids around, she serves on the board of the National Archives Foundation, the Arlington Food Assistance Center, and Communities of Schools of Northern Virginia. Robb also started and runs KidsGiving, an organization to promote philanthropy in kids, and is currently writing a book on the 19th Amendment. She occasionally writes book reviews for the Washington Post and gives advice on public speaking to young women interested in politics.

Muneera S. Carr, Chair, Audit Committee

Executive Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, Wells Fargo & Company

Muneera Carr serves as executive vice president, chief accounting officer, and controller for Wells Fargo & Company. She manages accounting operations, financial and regulatory reporting, corporate tax, and other controllership activities such as financial controls, policies and processes for the company’s business groups and enterprise functions.

Muneera joined Wells Fargo as controller in 2020 and has more than 25 years of public accounting and financial services industry experience.

Prior to Wells Fargo, Muneera served as executive vice president and chief financial officer with Comerica, Inc., where she led all areas of finance including Corporate Treasury, Controllership, Investor Relations & Sustainability, Procurement, Real Estate, Planning & Forecasting, and Business Finance. Muneera was with Comerica for almost ten years and was previously the chief accounting officer.

Before joining Comerica, Muneera served as a professional accounting fellow in the Office of the Chief Accountant at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. She also led the accounting policy function at major banks, such as SunTrust and Bank of America, and served as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Muneera attended the University of Texas, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas. Muneera is a former member of the Financial Reporting Executive Committee, a senior technical committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is a member of the accounting committee of the American Bankers Association which represents the banking industry on policy issues related to accounting and auditing. She is also a member of the Committee of Corporate Reporting, a multi-industry technical committee of Financial Executives International, which reviews and responds to pronouncements, proposed rules and regulations, pending legislation, and other documents issued by domestic and international regulators.

At Wells Fargo, Carr is the executive sponsor of the Asian Team Member Network and co-sponsor of Women in Finance network. In 2020, Carr was selected as one of 25 Most Powerful Women to Watch by American Banker. She was also a 2016 honoree of the Dallas Business Journal Women in Business award and a Power 50 honoree of the Texas Diversity Council.

Dr. James Dlugos, Chair, Governance Committee

President, Landmark College

Dr. James Dlugos is the fifth president in the 40-year history of Landmark College, the world’s first college built to exclusively serve people who learn differently. Dlugos previously had an 11-year tenure as president of St. Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish, Maine. Upon his retirement in 2023, he founded a higher education consulting firm with his wife, Melissa, which led him to the interim opportunity at Landmark College in the summer of 2024; in April of 2025, he was named full-time president.

Dlugos holds a doctorate in English from the University of Virginia, and a master’s and bachelor’s degree from Boston College. Prior to his time at St. Joseph’s, he served as academic vice president of the College of St. Elizabeth in New Jersey as well as various administrative and faculty roles (including academic vice president) at Washington and Jefferson College Pennsylvania.

Deltra Hayes

Vice President, Head of Benefits, Voya

Deltra, as Vice President, Benefits brings over 35 years of leadership experience in retirement services, employee benefits and human resources. She currently serves as Vice President, Benefits at Voya Financial, where she leads the strategic design and delivery of the enterprise-wide benefits portfolio. Her role focuses on building competitive, inclusive, and cost-effective qualified and non-qualified benefit programs that enable the company to attract, engage, and retain talent at all levels. In addition, she provides internal leadership as a voice of the customer for Voya’s workplace product offerings.

Over the course of her career, Deltra has held leadership roles spanning relationship management, retirement plan administration, and business development. At Voya, she previously led a team responsible for business strategy and client success in the governmental, higher education, healthcare, and non-profit sectors. She and her team were instrumental in guiding clients through regulatory changes, best practice adoption, and service enhancements.

Prior to joining Voya, she held positions at Bankers Trust Company and AIG VALIC, where she was responsible for managing large institutional relationships and driving new business growth. Her earlier career includes several roles in human resources and employee benefits, providing her with a deep understanding of the workforce landscape from both the employer and provider perspectives.

In addition to her professional work, Deltra is deeply engaged in her community. She serves on the UHD Alumni Board, is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc Financial Empowerment Committee, and leads the Voya Houston volunteerism team, where she coordinates local outreach and service initiatives.

On a personal note, Deltra has been married for 40 years and is the proud parent of two grown children. She values family, service, and lifelong learning—principles that continue to guide both her professional and personal life.

Michelle Johnson, Lieutenant General USAF (Retired)

Superintendent, U.S. Air Force Academy

Lieutenant General USAF (Retired) Michelle Johnson retired from the USAF in 2017 after 36 years of active-duty service. She graduated from the USAF Academy in 1981 as distinguished graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Research. As a cadet she served as cadet wing commander and was twice named a basketball Academic All-American. She also won a Rhodes Scholarship. At Oxford University she earned a Master of Arts degree in Politics and Economics.

During her active-duty career, Michelle was a command pilot with over 3600 hours flying jet cargo and in-flight refueling tanker aircraft on worldwide missions. She was an assistant professor on the USAFA Political Science Faculty and an instructor pilot in powered flight for cadets. As a major Michelle served in the White House as the Air Force Aide to Presidents George H.W. Bush and President William J. Clinton. As a lieutenant colonel and colonel, she commanded flying units in the US and the United Arab Emirates. As a general officer Michelle led teams that made policy for personnel, communication, and cyber operations. In US Transportation Command she supported DOD logistics worldwide, including road, rail, air, and sea transport. She deployed many times to Afghanistan and Iraq. In Belgium at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, she served as the deputy chief of staff for operations and intelligence for NATO military actions from Afghanistan and the Balkans to the Baltic States. Michelle’s capstone AF assignment was as the 19th Superintendent of the USAF Academy, the military commander and college president. After retiring from the USAF for two years she served as the National Basketball Association senior vice president and head of referee operations for the NBA, WNBA and G League. Michelle currently serves on nonprofit boards that benefit veterans, youth sports, and education.

Jillian Klein

Senior Vice President of Government and External Affairs, Strategic Education, Inc.

Jillian Klein is the Senior Vice President of Government and External Affairs at Strategic Education, Inc., where she leads policy strategy, regulatory engagement, and external relations across a portfolio that includes Capella University, Strayer University, Sophia Learning, and Workforce Edge. With a deep commitment to innovation in postsecondary education, Jillian works at the intersection of higher education policy, access, and compliance to support student success and institutional integrity. She brings both strategic insight and a collaborative spirit to her work advancing equitable, student-centered education policy.

Throughout her career, Jillian has championed college affordability, access, and completion—including in roles at the University of St. Thomas and Concordia University–St. Paul. She has twice served as a primary non-federal negotiator in the U.S. Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking processes (2019 and 2024), contributing to national policy development on key regulatory issues.

Jillian holds a B.A. from Augustana University, an M.A. from Luther Seminary, and is an alumna of the Policy Fellows program at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Augustana University and has held board roles with the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) and Make-A-Wish Minnesota.

Based in Minnesota, Jillian is an active community member and proud parent of two young daughters.

Rohit Kumar

PwC Principal, National Tax Office Co-Leader, PwC US Tax LLP

Mr. Kumar is a principal and Co-Leader of PwC’s National Tax Office. In his role, Mr. Kumar advises clients on all aspects of domestic policy including tax policy. His insights and knowledge enable companies to assess critical policy issues more effectively and develop legislative strategies to address those issues from both a technical and political perspective.

Prior to joining PwC, Mr. Kumar served as the Domestic Policy Director and Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

He served 11 consecutive years in the Office of the Republican Leader for three different senators, having previously been Director of Policy and Senior Counsel to Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist and Senior Policy Advisor and General Counsel for Senate GOP Leader, Trent Lott. In all of these roles, Mr. Kumar worked in close collaboration with Senate leaders in developing and implementing all aspects of domestic policy including tax, trade, budget, and health care. Mr. Kumar also held positions in the Office of Senator Phil Gramm as Legislative Director and Chief Counsel, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs as Deputy Chief Republican Counsel and clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Mr. Kumar has been named in Roll Call as one of the fifty most influential staffers for mastery of policy and procedure and access to decision makers at key times. He was described in the Washington Post publication Who Runs Gov as, “an expert in both politics and policy” and also listed in the Almanac of the Unelected as an expert in tax, trade, banking/financial services and immigration.

Mr. Kumar received his J.D. from the University of Virginia. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Duke University.

Samata Narra, Chair, Student Success Advisory Committee

Creative Talent Development, Disney Entertainment Television

Samata Narra is Senior Vice President, Equity and Inclusion, Content Strategy at WarnerMedia. She is responsible for building audience focused innovative tools and creative systems to advance the diversity of our storytelling.

Prior to joining WarnerMedia, she was Senior Vice President of Comedy Development and Current Programming for FOX where she developed and oversaw live action and animated comedy series. While there, she had the pleasure of working with the creative forces behind “The Last Man on Earth,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “New Girl,” “Bob’s Burgers,” and “The Mindy Project.” Narra also spent a part of her career in representation at Fineman Entertainment and The William Morris Agency. While at Fineman, she developed the series “Lights Out” for FX and produced the Oscar shortlisted and Emmy-nominated romantic comedy documentary, “Meet the Patels.”

She is on the board of Film2Future, a non-profit providing equitable access to the entertainment industry for underrepresented LA youth. Her other board work includes Colour Entertainment and South Asian Women in Entertainment (SAWIE). Narra is a native of Pikeville, Kentucky and earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing from the Boston University School of Management.

Salman Ravala, Esq., Chair, Growth Committee

Partner, Criscione Ravala, LLP

Salman Ravala, Esq. is an Attorney, Arbitrator, and Mediator at Criscione Ravala, LLP. He is the founder of Dollar-A-Day Scholarship Fund, member of the Board of Advisors at Islamic Scholarship Fund and leads a variety of Access to Justice and Access to Higher Education initiatives around the United States and globally. He currently Chairs the Young Lawyers’ Friends of the New York Bar Foundation and teaches at Columbia University and New York Law School.

A former Visiting Legal Scholar at the United Nations office of Legal Affairs, he most recently served as the Ariane De Rothschild Fellow for Dialogue and Social Entrepreneurship, a program held in partnership with Columbia Business School and Cambridge University. Mr. Ravala has won numerous community service awards including the American Red Cross Distinguished Service Award as well as the President’s Call To Service Award. Most recently, he was invited to speak at a forum on social innovation at The White House. His long-term vision is to decrease the illiteracy rate in Muslim majority countries as well as throughout America as he believes that education leads to change, hope, progress and opportunity.

Mr. Ravala is a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law and Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Service and is admitted to practice with the Bar of New York and Court of International Trade. A 2016 American Arbitration Association Judge Higginbotham Fellow, he is a recipient of the 2013 – 2018 NYSBA Empire State Counsel Award, the 2015 – 2018 Super Lawyers^® Rising Stars Award, and the 2015 – 2019 Martindale-Hubbell^® “Preeminent” Client Achievement Award.

Jeff Silverman

Chief Growth Officer, Financial Services at Alera Group, Inc.

Jeff serves as the Chief Growth Officer of Financial Services for Alera Group. He is also the co-founder and managing partner of Summit Group of Virginia and The Ascent Group, both Alera Group companies.

As the Chief Growth Officer of Financial Services, he leads efforts to merge and acquire like-minded financial services firms, aiming to achieve synergies, amplify growth, and streamline operational efficiencies.

Before Summit Group of Virginia and The Ascent Group were acquired by Alera Group in 2022, Jeff began his career in wealth management 30 years ago. He co-founded Summit Group of Virginia in 1996, and now his personal AUM is approaching $1 billion. The firm’s style and structure allow the advisors to maintain close, trusted relationships with clients while providing services on a national scale.

Throughout his career, Jeff has maintained his passion for authentic client relationships and a commitment to being a resource for his staff, clients, community, and family. His involvement in organizations like An Achievable Dream, Scholarship America, the University of Georgia, and High Point University demonstrates his genuine desire to give back and build up those around him.

Advisory Services offered through The Ascent Group, LLC

Michael Nylund, Ex Officio Member of the Board

President & Chief Executive Officer, Scholarship America, Inc.

Mike has more than 20 years of experience and a deep knowledge of financial aid policy and administration. He joined Scholarship America in 2013 and most recently served as vice president, product strategy and partner solutions. In that role, he led a cross-functional team, developing new strategic objectives to expand the nonprofit’s capabilities and build creative solutions to support students and adult learners.

Prior to joining Scholarship America, Mike led one of the nation’s largest centralized financial aid offices at Capella University. There he worked side by side with admissions and academic advising to ensure student outcomes were achieved while maintaining compliance with federal and state financial aid regulations.

Mike is a graduate of Michigan State University, where he learned firsthand about the value of student scholarships. He’s a recipient of the Medio J. Bacco Memorial renewable scholarship which made it possible for him to pursue a post-secondary education. Nylund is a member of the National Scholarship Provider’s Association (NSPA), National College Attainment Network (NCAN), and has been a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).

Together, our board and leadership team ensure that every dollar entrusted to Scholarship America delivers maximum impact for sponsors, for communities, and most importantly, for students.