Leadership
Chief Executive Officer
Steve Cooper is a highly decorated 18-year veteran (active and reserve) of the United States Army where he served as an Infantryman and Military Police Officer. Some highlights of his distinguished military career are: he developed the first Department of Army police academy shortly after 9-11 that currently serves as the Department of Defense model; taught and established the first military police school on the west coast which received the highest possible accreditation; taught and managed several leadership and instructor training courses at a leadership academy, all of which he led through full accreditation, unprecedented growth and innovation; and, developed a degree completion program for Army instructors based on prior learning and training. Mr. Cooper also enjoyed a prolific academic career where he served in various roles such as professor, director of education as well as university president and chief executive officer. Mr. Cooper has edited two books on criminology and holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (minor in Sociology) from California State University, Sacramento, where he was elected national vice-president of the National Criminal Justice Honor Society, and president of his social fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and received a Master of Science in Criminology from Florida State University.
He has worked with the best teams to build for-profit, online universities with a combined market cap greater than one billion dollars, which include:
- American Public University System (NASDAQ: APEI)
- Chapman University College
- ICMT which he sold to Nouveau University (PEDU.OB)
Chief Operating Officer
Harris has a decade of management and IT consulting experience at Accenture and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to joining TeamEdu, Harris was a Senior Manager in Accenture's Information Management Services (AIMS) group focused on delivering large-scale enterprise projects including e-commerce, web portals, and enterprise content management. At Accenture, Harris' clients included the Department of Education and the US Postal Service, as well as Fortune 500 companies. Harris has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University.
Chief Marketing Officer
Ryan Busch has established a successful history of digital marketing success for higher education organizations. A former marketing manager and analyst for University of Phoenix, Ryan managed millions of marketing dollars for the nation’s largest, private accredited university.
In 2007, Ryan left University of Phoenix to build a new and revolutionary higher education course model, StraighterLine, a company focused on the delivery and instruction of general education, required college courses needed for an undergraduate degree. As the chief architect behind the innovative concept, Ryan earned success for StraighterLine with two highly innovative concepts: establishing a social media program responsible for delivering revenue growth that increased by 50%, and the invention of a “college-as-a-subscription” model, dubbed “StraighterLine for $99” which significantly boosted revenues and now accounts for over 85% of all StraighterLine sales.
Ryan oversaw successful course reviews and approvals by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) and earned nods from the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) as both a 2009 CODiE finalist for Best Virtual School Solution for Students and a finalist in the SIIA Innovation Incubator program. StraighterLine was successfully acquired through a management buyout—it continues to garner acclaim from students and media organizations as a disruptive innovation in higher education.
A marketer for over 10 years, Ryan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arizona State University in 2000, graduating Cum Laude and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Phoenix in 2007. Additionally, Ryan is adjunct faculty for the College of Arts and Sciences at University of Phoenix. The time he spends teaching on evenings and weekends is one way in which he gives back to the community at large. Working in education allows Ryan to have a truly positive impact on a person's life. You can find him:
Chief Financial Officer
Sara Ridgway has 18 years of public and private financial experience, including 12 years of executive financial management. She served as the Chief Financial Officer for Capital Pacific Arizona, Inc., and Capital Pacific Homes of Arizona, Inc., subsidiaries of Capital Pacific Holdings, Inc. (AMEX listed) where she managed more than $700,000,000 during her tenure. Sara is a Certified Public Accountant with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Pepperdine University. She started her career in the Audit department of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP in the Los Angeles and currently lives in Arizona with her family.
Program Manager
Stephanie brings over 8 years of experience in the business of higher education to her new role as Program Manager. She has an extensive background in the Academic Student Service and Faculty Services departments. In 2009, Stephanie left Grand Canyon University to work for a new expanding niche University to ensure that the educational goals and student success are achieved Stephanie was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and currently resides there with her family of three. Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Grand Canyon University and is presently pursuing her Master degree in Counseling from the same institution.
Click here to contact Stephanie
Enrollment Manager
I’ve been in the education industry for the last 10 years. My positions included: Admissions Representative, Assistant Director of Admissions and an Enrollment Manager. I’ve been active in the sales industry for the last 20 years of which 5 of those years were in advertising sales. I was nominated as sales rep of the quarter for the north central region 5 times while selling print media advertising. When I’m not training and enrolling students I mentor several ASU football players and coach youth basketball/baseball. I received my Associate’s degree from North Iowa Area Community College and my BS degree in Business with an emphasis in public relations from the University of Northern Iowa. I have a 10 year old daughter (Emily) who is my pride and joy.
Click here to contact Mike