MEFA : About MEFA : MEFA Leadership Team

Thomas M. Graf
Executive Director

Tom joined MEFA in December 1999. Prior to joining the Authority, Tom was Budget Director; Deputy Budget Director at Fiscal Affairs Division; and Director of Legislative Affairs/Fiscal Affairs for the Office of the Governor for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Tom received his B.S. in Business Administration from Merrimack College.

Elizabeth K. Fontaine
Assistant Executive Director

Liz joined MEFA in February 1993. Prior to joining MEFA, she served as Director of the Massachusetts State Scholarship Office and held several related college financing positions. Liz received a B.A. from Assumption College and completed graduate study at Clark University.

James Leighton
Chief Financial Officer

Jim joined the Authority in November of 1997 and has been the Chief Financial Officer since April 2003. Before assuming his current responsibilities, Jim was Director of Finance for the Authority. Formerly, he was Portfolio Administrator for Mercantile Bank & Trust Company and a Financial Analyst for U.S. Trust and Fleet Management & Recovery Corporation. Jim received his B.S. and his M.B.A. from Northeastern University.

Kathleen M. Mahoney
Secretary to the Board and Human Resource Administrator

Kathleen joined the Authority in 1982. Besides her duties as Board Secretary, Kathleen is the Human Resource Administrator. Previously, she was with the Commercial Loan Department of the Bank of New England. Kathleen attended the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Thomas Murphy
Director for Programs & Operations

Tom joined MEFA in 1996, as the Director of Loan Operations and Training. He is currently the Director of Program and Operations, oversees Operations, Business Development, Marketing, High School, College and Public outreach for MEFA. Tom received his B.A. from St. Michael's College and his M.B.A. from Boston University.

Thomas Smith
Director of Information Technologies

Tom joined MEFA in May, 2000. Formerly, he held several positions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts including serving as the Director, Commonwealth Information Warehouse for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Systems Programmer/Systems Supervisor for the Fiscal Affairs Division of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Tom received his B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and his M.ED. from Providence College.

Anna Scimemi
Director of College Savings Programs

Anna joined MEFA in March 2002. Prior to joining MEFA, Anna worked as an analyst and client manager for Fidelity Investments. She graduated from Suffolk University with a Bachelor of Science degree and her Masters in Public Administration degree where she was awarded a full-time fellowship. Anna spends her days working on ways to encourage Massachusetts families to save for college in either of MEFA's savings programs, The U.Plan and The U.Fund. She is also in charge of our internal customer service department. Her mission is to make sure our customers are informed, educated on college financing and guide them through the process. You will usually find Anna at our many community events including the Baby Fair, Kids Expo, WGBH Ice cream Fun Fest, Boys and Girls Club literacy event, Movie screenings, Start U. Reading events at local libraries or anytime something fun is going on.