CHARLES TOWN, W.Va.,
June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI) –
parent company of online learning provider American Public
University System (APUS) and pre-licensure nursing
educator Hondros College of
Nursing (HCN) – today announced the appointment of
Granetta B. Blevins and Daniel S. Pianko to its Board of Directors,
effective June 13, 2020. Ms. Blevins
has also been appointed as a member of the Board's audit
committee. The appointment of Ms. Blevins and Mr. Pianko
brings the total number of members on APEI's Board to nine.
"It is an honor to welcome Granetta and Daniel to the board of
directors. The board's expanded team will work closely with
our CEO, Angela Selden, as she leads
both APEI's enterprise transformation and the growth of our adult
learning platform and executes on her vision for the future of our
company," said Ric Andersen,
chairman of APEI's Board of Directors. "The relevant and
valuable experiences of our two new directors will further expand
the Board's ability to support APEI in the fulfillment of its goals
and guide the management team in service to our institutions of
higher learning."
Granetta
Blevins brings to APEI extensive expertise in
strategic planning and strategy execution, as well as finance and
overall management. Ms. Blevins has served in several executive
leadership roles during her career, including CFO, COO, Chief of
Staff and business advisor to executives for education and
educational technology companies as well as other
industries.
Daniel Pianko brings
more than two decades of financial and investment experience
primarily in the education industry. Mr. Pianko is co-founder and
managing director of investment firm University Ventures, which
reimagines the future of higher education and creating new pathways
from education to employment. Mr. Pianko is responsible for
all aspects of fund operations at the firm, including capital
raising, compliance, acquisitions and dispositions.
"I am so pleased with the appointment of our newest board
members," said Ms. Selden. "We will most certainly capitalize
on their combined breadth of experience, their understanding of the
changing needs of working adult learners, and their keen ability to
discern the potential for the intersection of education, skills and
employment that will help us accelerate the company. I look
forward to working closely with Granetta, Daniel and our Board to
build on our recent successes at serving learners of all
backgrounds, fulfilling our enterprise mission and ushering in a
new era of growth."
From October 2018 to September 2019, Ms. Blevins served as Chief of
Staff, LRNG at Southern New Hampshire
University, where she was responsible for managing strategy,
budget and resources for the LRNG learning platform. She also
served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff of the
non-profit social enterprise Collective Shift, which created the
LRNG platform, from January 2015
until its acquisition by Southern New
Hampshire University in October
2018. Ms. Blevins' other senior financial and
leadership experience includes roles with Georgetown College, online education company
bigchalk, educational game development company GlassLab, and
private seed fund and incubator Education Design Studio, as well as
companies in other industries.
Ms. Blevins holds an M.B.A. in Management and Finance from
Xavier University and a B.S. in
Economics and Business Administration from Georgetown College.
Prior to co-founding University Ventures, Mr. Pianko held
positions at Ameriquest Capital Group and Edison Schools and started his career at Goldman
Sachs. Mr. Pianko is a frequent commentator on student debt
and advocate for more affordable education.
Mr. Pianko graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in History from
Columbia University and holds a M.B.A.
and an M.A. in Education from Stanford
University.
About American Public Education
American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq:
APEI) is a leading provider of higher learning dedicated to
preparing students all over the world for excellence in service,
leadership and achievement. The Company offers respected,
innovative and affordable academic programs and services to
students, universities and partner organizations through wholly
owned subsidiaries: American Public University System and
National Education Seminars Inc., which we refer to in this press
release as Hondros College of
Nursing. Together, these institutions serve more than 80,000
adult learners worldwide and offer more than 200 degree and
certificate programs in fields ranging from technology, business
administration, public health, nursing and liberal arts to homeland
security, military studies, intelligence, and criminal justice. For
additional information, please visit www.apei.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release regarding American
Public Education, Inc., or its subsidiaries, that are not
historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current
expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections
about American Public Education, Inc. and the industry.
Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as
"anticipate," "believe," "seek," "could," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "may," "should," "will" and "would." These
forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements
regarding expected growth and plans with respect to recent, current
and future initiatives, including enterprise transformation and the
growth of the adult learning platform.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and
uncertainties include, among others, risks related to: the
Company's dependence on the effectiveness of its ability to attract
students who persist in its institutions' programs; impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic; ongoing employee and executive retention and
relationships; the Company's ability to effectively market its
institutions' programs; adverse effects of changes the Company
makes to improve the student experience and enhance the ability to
identify and enroll students who are likely to succeed; the
Company's ability to maintain strong relationships with the
military and maintain enrollments from military students; the
Company's ability to comply with regulatory and accrediting agency
requirements and to maintain institutional accreditation; the
Company's reliance on Department of Defense tuition assistance,
Title IV programs, and other sources of financial aid; the
Company's dependence on its technology infrastructure; strong
competition in the postsecondary education market and from
non-traditional offerings; and the various risks described in the
"Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the Company's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2019, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended
March 31, 2020, and other filings
with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to
update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason,
unless required by law, even if new information becomes available
or other events occur in the future.
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SOURCE American Public Education, Inc.