Empowering educators and leaders across K-12 and higher ed

Now the CEO of Scholarus Learning, Chad Bonney previously served as CEO of XanEdu.

He has held numerous transformational leadership roles for Cengage Learning, both domestically and internationally, including VP of Finance, SVP, COO, CFO of Global Business, and, most recently, Senior Vice President and General Manager for International Higher Education.

Chad holds an AB in Government and Spanish from Bowdoin College and an MBA from the University of Georgia.

Education has always been important to Anthony Kim. As a young boy raised by a single mom, he’s never forgotten the value his mother placed on education and how it shapes the person you become in the future.

Anthony began his career in education by helping higher ed institutions with technology projects and data. Shortly thereafter, he founded Provost Systems, a K-12 education company with an emphasis in online learning.

Provost Systems built virtual schools that included SIS, CMS, and a portal for administrators, teachers, students, and parents to use on a daily basis. Provost Systems’ success was quickly realized, and it was purchased by Edison Schools in 2008.

After two years of serving Edison Schools as EVP of Online and assisting in the launch of Provost Academy, Anthony left to begin Education Elements in 2010. 

Following several years as the CFO for RS Energy Group (RSEG), a private equity owned technology company, Tom Stevens joined XanEdu in 2020 as Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to RSEG, he was the CFO for Crain Communications, a privately held media company, and VP of Finance at ProQuest, leading their digital content publishing efforts.

He has also held executive level positions with publicly traded entities, including Pulte Homes and Borders Group, was an equity analyst with Manning & Napier Advisors, worked in M&A with Deloitte, and began his career as a CPA with Ernst & Young.

Tom has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and an AB in accounting from Michigan State University.

Brett Costello places partnership at the center of all aspects of his work. Over the past 20 years, Brett has developed a unique ability to cultivate enduring relationships and solutions through close collaboration with customers, vendors, and internal stakeholders.

By keeping partnership at the core of his philosophy, Brett has successfully built and led dynamic teams of sales, marketing, product development, and operations professionals to drive sustainable growth, profit, and most importantly, customer satisfaction.

Brett earned a Master of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.

As Chief Technology Officer, Marc Steinberg designs, manages, and supports digital strategies and systems to deliver maximum value to Scholarus Learning customers. His portfolio spans all facets of technology, including architecture, engineering, infrastructure, and customer-facing technical support.

Marc previously held technical leadership roles at SkillCheck and First Advantage, most recently acting as Senior Director of Software Development for First Advantage. Marc began his career writing curriculum and software for QWIZ (now part of SHL).

Marc earned his undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He is based in Boston, Massachusetts where, in addition to all things technical, he pursues music composition and enjoys almost any DIY project, from amplifier circuit design to whole-house renovation.

Shelby began her career in education as a high school teacher in Flower Mound, Texas, where she worked hard to help each of her students love learning and recognize their own potential. After 6 years in the classroom, she left to pursue a career in education policy, hoping to broaden her opportunity to affect change. Through her doctoral studies at George Mason University, and as a research associate at The Center on Education Policy at George Washington University, she studied teacher perceptions of college and career readiness, assessment and accountability policies, and school turnaround strategies. 

Eager to be more connected with local school systems, once she finished her doctoral degree she joined K12 Insight to collect community perception data for school superintendents. Eventually, that role evolved into consulting district leadership teams on topics like school climate, student engagement, employee retention, strategic planning, and stakeholder satisfaction.

Through each of these professions, her mission has been to create equitable experiences and opportunities for all learners. Shelby was born into a family of public servants and raised in a town where race and class were far better predictors of postsecondary success than grade point averages and SAT scores. Watching the impact education had on the lives of her parents and her classmates has led her to devote her career to helping public education be the great equalizer it was intended to be.

Shelby joined Education Elements, now a part of the Scholarus Learning group of companies, because the organization’s mission is so closely aligned with her own. And because in the age of EdTech, Education Elements is one of the few companies committed to providing consulting services and customizing those services to best meet the needs of their customers.

John has joined XanEdu, now a part of the Scholarus Learning group of companies, as the SVP, Product Management & Strategy. In his role, John is responsible for the strategic vision and implementation of XanEdu’s K-12 product roadmap and its content/curriculum vision.

John has over 15 years of edTech experience in the K-12 school market including Product Management, Marketing, and Strategy roles at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw Hill Education, Pearson School, and Scholastic.

John holds a BA in Economics from Tufts University and an MBA from Northeastern University.

As VP of Human Resources, Sharon Norris provides leadership and guidance to Scholarus Learning’s HR operations.

With over 20 years of human resources experience, Sharon has worked in the airline, telecommunications, and education tech industries. She is a certified sales training facilitator, a certified “Mind Gym” facilitator, and a certified Leadership Development Coach.

Sharon is also a former Board member of the “YES” Foundation, an education equity organization, and a current member of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Society Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Passionate about serving her community and mentoring future leaders, she serves as a volunteer with the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan, and mentors young women from a residential empowerment program in Metro Detroit.

Sharon holds a BS in Human Resource Management from Oakland University, and attended Central Michigan University for postgraduate studies in HR Leadership.

As the Senior Vice President & General Manager of Higher Education, Rich brings more than 25 years of experience in the education sector, with executive-level sales expertise working with colleges and universities, K-12 Districts, public and academic libraries, and for-profit organizations across the country.

A key part of XanEdu’s management team, Rich works to expand opportunities in XanEdu’s custom publishing solutions, seek strategic partnerships and assist in developing digital and custom sales.

As Senior Vice President of Sales and Operations, Kevin is responsible for the day to day operations of XanEdu’s production and fulfillment teams. He provides strategic direction to the company in order to improve processes and develop customer service initiatives.

Kevin has been with XanEdu, now a part of the Scholarus Learning group of companies, for over 11 years and has served in various roles such as Account Executive, Regional Sales Manager, and Director of Folio-xPress.

Kevin earned his undergraduate degree at Michigan State University and then went on to earn his MBA at Eastern Michigan University.

After working in both schools and businesses, Penny Ciaburri observed the differences between those organizations that were successful and those that struggled with a lack of results.

Leveraging that knowledge and experience, she founded K-12 consulting firm PLC Associates, Inc. in 1988.

Since then, PLC Associates has worked with well over 2,000 school districts across 25 states, and achieved a client retention rate of over 99%.

In 2022, PLC Associates joined the Scholarus Learning portfolio, and Penny continues to serve as the CEO of PLC Associates.

Joyce Mueller is thrilled to lead the Scholarus Learning marketing team, translating customer insights and trends into actionable, measurable, and impactful marketing programs.

Joyce's journey has taken her through a diverse array of industries, including education, consumer services, and manufacturing. This broad base gives her an expansive viewpoint to draw from as she finds innovative ways to reach customers and bring relevant products to market.

For Joyce, playing a role in advancing affordable education tools comes with nonstop, intriguing business challenges that are incredibly fulfilling to solve.

As Vice President, Higher Education Product Strategy and Development, Melissa brings over 25 years' experience in motivation, team building, content acquisition, product marketing and management in the educational publishing industry to XanEdu, now a part of the Scholarus Learning group of companies.

A goal and achievement oriented leader, Melissa is responsible for Strategic Planning and Partnerships, managing XanEdu's product teams and supporting the sales teams, customer relationship building, sales partnering, and contract negotiations and launches of new Higher Ed courseware, OER, and other student- and faculty-focused products.