Doug Tuthill, President
Doug Tuthill has devoted most of his professional life to improving education, first as a college professor and then as a classroom teacher, policy advocate and teacher union president. In 1984, he helped create Florida’s first International Baccalaureate high school. He was elected President of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association in 1991, serving two terms. He served on a state commission that created Sunshine State Standards and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). He spent six years in the private sector, directing K-16 sales for an online learning company, Saba Inc., and serving as Chief Operating Officer for the media company, Creative Loafing. He received his bachelor and master of education degrees from the University of Florida.
Reach Doug at dtuthill@stepupforstudents.org.
John LeHockey, Executive Vice President, Scholarships
John LeHockey oversees all scholarship operations, including application processing and scholarship awards, call center, check distributions and monitoring and assisting schools. John is a decorated U.S. Marine Corps Colonel whose corporate expertise in leadership, processes and restructuring are recognized nationwide. He previously was Division Vice President of Global Operations at Affiliated Computer Services, a Fortune 500 provider of diversified business process and information technology. He also served as Chief Operating Officer of the School Employees Retirement System in Ohio. While in the Marine Corps, he served as the Commanding Officer of five separate organizations. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Arizona State University and his MBA from Baldwin Wallace College.
Reach John at jlehockey@stepupforstudents.org.
Kerri Vaughan, Executive Vice President, Development
Kerri Vaughan oversees a team that has raised more than $900 million in state tax-credited and philanthropic contributions to fuel the scholarship program. She is recognized nationally for her fund-raising expertise and success, and serves on the boards of the Miami-Dade Industrial Development Authority and Consumer Debt Counselors. Previously, she served as the statewide Director of Development for Take Stock in Children, a non-profit organization providing scholarships, mentors and hope to low-income children. She also served as the Executive Director of the Perrine-Cutler Ridge Council, an economic development organization dedicated to rebuilding after Hurricane Andrew. Her efforts led to her receiving a national “Women at their Best” award.
Reach Kerri at kvaughan@stepupforstudents.org.
Ann Mackey, Chief Financial Officer
Ann Mackey oversees all financial affairs, including receipt of contributions from companies and foundations and disbursement of scholarship checks to parents. Previously, she worked as Chief Financial Officer for one of north Florida’s largest non-profit agencies, providing early education services and social services to 27,000 low-income children. Prior to that, she spent more than 25 years in financial services. She was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of a mortgage servicer that specialized in serving community banks and was Finance Director for one of the largest mortgage banks. Ann started her career with KPMG in Manchester England and is a Chartered Accountant in England and Wales. She graduated from Vanderbilt University.
Reach Ann at amackey@stepupforstudents.org.
Scott Massey, Chief Information Officer
Scott Massey is responsible for all information technology, including the customized online family application process developed by his team. He has special expertise in process and infrastructure improvement, network and high performance systems design, data warehousing, and solution development. Previously, he served as the Director of Information Technology for a privately held company providing market intelligence, analysis, consulting and training to help companies develop government business and public sector organizations achieve their objectives. He has a bachelor’s degree in Media Arts from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and his technical skills include Windows, Linux, Cisco IOS, and Mac OS platforms.
Reach Scott at smassey@stepupforstudents.org.
Anne White, Vice President, Human Resources and Organizational Development
Anne White oversees scholarship operations and strategic business planning as well as employee resources. Prior to joining the staff, she served as a consultant who led Step Up For Students through a process re-engineering initiative that involved merging two scholarship programs and implementing the new in-house call center that serves parents and schools. She spent more than nine years in the Business Process Outsourcing industry, most recently as Director of Global Clients Services and Operations at Convergys Corporation. Anne received her bachelor’s degree from The American University in Washington, D.C., and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Reach Anne at awhite@stepupforstudents.org.
Michael Benjamin, Vice President, Grassroots Advocacy and Outreach
Michael Benjamin oversees a team that helps students, families, educators, business leaders and communities support learning options for low-income schoolchildren. In 2001, he along with Chairman John Kirtley helped convince the Legislature to create the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and helped launch Step Up For Students. His achievements include the recruiting of more than 5,500 people to the State Capitol in 2010 to rally for a proposed expansion of the scholarship program – the largest parental choice gathering in the nation’s history. He has developed a national reputation for his efforts to recruit and mobilize supporters of parental choice, and he was recently named to the Board of Directors of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO). He received a degree in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Reach Michael at mbenjamin@stepupforstudents.org.
Alissa Ciaramello, Vice President, Marketing and Events
Alissa Ciaramello leads the promotion, outreach and marketing programs for Step Up For Students. Her team is responsible for the organization's marketing policies, branding, strategies and materials, donor events and the recruitment of scholarship applicants. Prior to joining Step Up For Students, Alissa spent the past 10 years in key account strategy and development, most recently as a director of key accounts at Cox Target Media, a division of Cox Enterprises, Inc. She also served as a senior account manager at ORB Interactive, an interactive advertising agency offering proprietary media tools exclusively to major corporations for online marketing. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Roger Williams University, a masters in Media from The New School for Social Research and a masters in Computer Animation from William Paterson University.
Reach Alissa at aciaramello@stepupforstudents.org.
Jon East, Vice President, Policy and Public Affairs
Jon East is part of a team that oversees research and policy development, legislative and regulatory issues, and communications through conventional and new media. He is a lifelong journalist whose interest began as editor of his middle-school newspaper. Previously, he was a member of the editorial board and the Sunday commentary editor at the St. Petersburg Times, Florida’s largest daily newspaper – where he wrote about education issues for most of his 28 years. He was also a reporter and editor at the Evening Independent and Ocala Star-Banner. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Reach Jon at jeast@stepupforstudents.org.