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 with direct oversight of accounting and financial reporting, risk management and capital markets. In June 2009, Jim's overall responsibilities expanded at the Authority to include the management of the loan portfolio origination and servicing activities. Prior to joining MEFA, 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.

Anna Scimemi

Director of College Savings Programs

Anna joined MEFA in March 2002. Prior to joining MEFA, Anna held several positions at Fidelity Investments including financial analyst and client manager. Anna is responsible for managing MEFA's College Savings Programs, The U.Fund 529 College Investing Plan and The U.Plan Prepaid Tuition Program as well as MEFA's internal customer service department. She graduated from Suffolk Univerity where she received BS and MPA degrees. 

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. 

Lori Seuch

Director of Information Technologies

Lori joined MEFA in January 2004 as the Director of Loan Operations. Prior to joining MEFA, she was in the financial aid industry for 15 years. Lori received her BA from the University of Vermont and her Masters from Boston University in Higher Education Administration and enjoys spending time with her family. 

Penny Hauck

Director of Marketing

Penny first joined MEFA’s college savings department in 1997. She took a break to work in the start-up phase of U.Promise and to teach art to children of all ages. She re-joined MEFA in 2003 as the Director of Marketing. Penny received her B.A. from Clark University and received her M.A.T. from George Washington University.