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Our Leadership Team

We’ve spent years inside higher education—sitting in the same endless meetings about making college more skill-based, more responsive to employers, more efficient. But change wasn’t happening fast enough.

So we built it ourselves.

Welcome to the smarter way to college. Radically affordable. Wickedly relevant. 

200K+
Number of learners we've supported
over 90 years
Of experience in education
150
Programs we've built

Our team

Meet the awesome folks who make all of this possible day to day

Sasha Thackaberry-Voinolvich PhD Headshot

Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich, PhD

President and CEO

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Jaime Mordue Headshot

Jaime Mordue, MEd.

Chief Academic Officer

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Sheri J. Thompson, MA

Chief Technology Officer

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PVoinovich 9

Peter Voinovich, MBA

Director of Operations

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George Voinovich Headshot

George Voinovich, JD

Chief Data & Compliance Officer

Our mission
Newstate University equips college-ready individuals with high-value, future-forward skills that unlock career growth, through fully online certificates and degrees.

Meet our superstar advisory board

Experience in quality. Dedication to students. Commitment to family-sustaining wages.

DEB ADAIR, PhD
CEO of Quality Matters
 
MELANIE BOOTH, EdD 
Principal, Nectary Solutions
 
JILL BUBAN, PhD
Associate Provost, Online Learning, University of Miami, formerly EdAssist & ASU
 
EVANGELINE CUMMINGS, EdD
Executive Director, Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) Strategy and Graduate Programs, Johns Hopkins University
 
CLAYTON DEAN
Co-founder Circa Interactive, VP Ziplines Education
 
RENE EBORN
AVP of Digital Transformation & Enterprise Systems/Security, Utah State University
 
LINDA FENG
Vice President of Product, D2L
 
GORDON FREEDMAN
President & Founder, National Laboratory for Education Transformation
 
KEVIN GIFFHORN
Cross-Industry Engagement Director, Mindgrub Technologies
 
ADRIAN JONES
Partner, Success Labs
 
JOSH KIM

Assistant Provost for Online Learning Strategy, Dartmouth College
Senior Fellow, Georgetown University

MICHAEL KNIGHTEN
Chief Product Officer, BlueFlag Security

AMELIA MANNING
Dean, School of Professional Advancement, Tulane University
former COO of Southern New Hampshire University
 
LISA MCINTYRE-HITE, PhD
Chief Operating Officer & EVP
Competency-Based Education Network
 
TAWNYA MEANS, EdD
Founding Partner and Principal
Inspire Higher Ed
 
MICHAEL MOORE, PhD
VP for Academic Affairs, University of Arkansas System
 
DEE DEE PFISTER, PhD
Associate Vice President, Academic Professional Development, Instructional Design, & Online Learning, Cuyahoga Community College
 
PREETHA RAM
Managing Partner
Pier70 Ventures
 
JOE SALLUSTIO, EdD
Chief of Industry Engagement & Senior Vice President 
Ellucian
 
JESSICA SCHEIN
Senior Manager, Song Account Lead Accenture
 
BURCK SMITH
Founder of Smarthinking and Straighterline
 
J. MICHAEL THOMSON, PhD 
former president, Northwest State Community College
 
JOCELYN WIDMER, PhD
Dean of Weapons Learning Transformation, Los Alamos National Lab

Join the movement

Believe what we believe? Let's join forces. Get started today, building the skills of the future at a radically affordable cost. No debt. Just opportunity. That's the smarter way to college.

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