Leadership
Board of Directors
Don Budinger, Chairman
Rodel Foundations, Chair and Founding Director
Frank Brady, Vice Chairman
Ernst & Young, Audit Partner, retired
Bob Craves, Member
College Success Foundation,
Co-founder, Chairman and CEO
Paul Koehler, Member
WestEd, Director of the Policy Center
Vince Roig, Member
Helios Education Foundation,
Founder and Chairman
Management Staff
Lisa Budinger, CEO
Marjorie DeRubeis, Director of Education
Brenda Davis, Director of Operations
Paul Raia, Retention Specialist
Steering Committee & Major Supporters
Jerry Bisgrove, Stardust Companies
David Bousquet, Northern Arizona University
Kathy Boyle, Arizona Community College Association
Robert M. Delgado, Hensley & Company
Robert S. & Susan A. Diamond
Robert S. & Susan A. Diamond Fund, Arizona Community Foundation
Robert I. Donofrio, Ed.D., Arizona State University
Wayne Doran, Wayne Doran Foundation
Karen Fisch, Salt River Project
Robin Hanson, Prudential Financial
David A. Highmark, Northern Trust Bank of Arizona
Adrienne Howell, Southwest Gas
Dave Howell, Wells Fargo
Dawn Jones, Intel Corp.
Marion Kelly, Mayo Clinic
Paul Kohn, University of Arizona
Carolyn O’Malley, Dorrance Family Foundation
April Osborn, Ph.D., Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education
Carol Peck, Ed.D., The Rodel Charitable Foundation
James Rund, Arizona State University
Grace Smith, USA Funds
Joel Sideman, Arizona Board of Regents
James K. Zaharis, Ed.D., Greater Phoenix Leadership
Costco Wholesale
Kitchell Corporation
National Education Foundation
BHHS Legacy Foundation
Carstens Family Fund
Dan Quayle Christmas Classic/Thunderbirds Charities
The Ellis Center for Educational Excellence
Helios Education Foundation
Northern Arizona University GEAR UP
Larry and Linda Stuckey
Don Budinger, Board Chairman & President
Don is Chairman and a Founding Director of the Rodel Foundations and Chairman and Founding Director of Science Foundation Arizona (SFA). Don was a founder and the former President of Rodel, Inc. - the world’s largest manufacturer of high precision surface finishing chemicals used in the manufacture of computer chips, silicon wafers, rigid memory discs and specialty optics.
When Rodel was sold to Rohm and Haas in 2000, a significant portion of the proceeds were contributed to create The Rodel Foundations. As a way of giving back to the communities that supported Rodel's success, The Rodel Foundations have concentrated their initial philanthropic endeavors in Delaware and Arizona. The vision is to improve the states' education systems so that they are widely recognized as two of the best in the country by 2012 and 2020 respectively.
Don also serves on the board of Greater Phoenix Leadership and is a member of the Business-Higher Education Forum in Washington D.C. In 2004, Don received the “Outstanding Achievement in Higher Education” award from the Arizona Board of Regents. In 2005 he received the “Homeroom Heroes” award from Teach for America and the “Distinguished Service” award from the University of Arizona College of Engineering.
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Frank Brady, Board Vice Chairman & Treasurer/Secretary
Frank Brady has recently retired as an Audit Partner from Ernst & Young where he worked since 1970. He is the former President of the Arizona State Board of Accountancy and currently serves on the boards of directors of Aztar Corporation, Biltmore Bank, and Sundt Corporation. Frank was chairman of the Catholic Community Foundation from 2002-2004, board member of Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Phoenix from 1989-1999 and currently serves as board member and treasurer of the Paradise Valley Country Club.
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Bob Craves, Board Member & Vice President
Bob is Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of the College Success Foundation (CSF). CSF is partnering with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to offer achievers scholarships and mentoring support to approximately 500 highly motivated low-income students per year. CSF also administers the Costco Scholarship Fund. Most recently, CSF secured more than $100 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to implement the CSF model in Washington, DC.
Bob is one of the founding officers of the Costco Wholesale Corporation, a membership warehouse distribution organization based in the Seattle area. Since its start with a single warehouse in Seattle, Costco has grown to become a Fortune 500 company operating 349 stores throughout the Untied States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia with combined 2000 sales of $32 billion.
Throughout the last 18 years, Bob helped develop and manage a number of functional areas for Costco. As a Senior Vice President he oversaw all Marketing and Membership activities, Community Giving, E-Commerce and Publishing. He continues to oversee Community Giving.
Bob also is the Chairman of the Higher Education Coordinating Board of the State of Washington and co-chair of the Governor's 2020 Commission on the Future of Post-Secondary Education. He sits on the Board of Regents of Seattle University and is a member of the Board of Trustees.
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Paul H. Koehler, Ph.D., Board Member & Vice President
Paul is the Director of the Policy Center for WestEd. As one of 10 regional education laboratories, WestEd services Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. In this position, he is responsible for providing information and services to the policymakers in the four-state region. Additionally, Paul has been an education policy advisor for Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano providing consultation, assistance, advice, and research to the Governor on improving the effectiveness of Arizona’s K-12 public education system.
Prior to joining WestEd, Paul served as Superintendent of the Peoria Unified School District, the fourth largest school district in the state, and was Associate Superintendent of the Arizona Department of Education. Paul lists among his many honors being named Arizona’s Superintendent of the Year by the Arizona School Administrators in 1999 and being named to the Executive Education 100. He also holds gubernatorial appointments to the State Conservation Acquisition Board and the Arizona K-12 Finance Efficiency and Accountability Task Force.
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Vince Roig, Board Member
Vince is Founder and Chairman of the Helios Education Foundation, the largest education foundation in Arizona. Prior to forming the Foundation, he served as Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO of Southwest Student Services Corporation, one of the largest independent student lender/servicers in the country, for more than twenty years. In February 2004, the Boards of Directors of Southwest and its affiliates elected to convert and reorganize the companies in order to create the Helios Education Foundation. In a transaction effective October 15, 2005, Helios sold the stock of Southwest Student Services Corporation to SLM Corporation for just over $500 million. The net proceeds of the sale funded the Helios Education Foundation.
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Lisa Budinger, CEO
As Chief Executive Officer of Arizona College Scholarship Foundation, Lisa Budinger is diligently working to accomplish the organization’s vision of making a college education a reality for Arizona’s high potential/low income students. A native of Arizona, Ms. Budinger is passionate about education and ensuring that Arizona’s students have the opportunity to attend college, regardless of their financial status.
Ms. Budinger is a strategic and visionary leader with a background in communications and management in both corporate and not-for-profit environments. Most recently, she served as a consultant to The Rodel Foundations and Science Foundation Arizona. Prior to that, she created and managed the global training program for Check Point Software Technologies. Ms. Budinger received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Christian University and her Master of Business Administration degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
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Marjorie DeRubeis, Director of Education
Marjorie has spent 15 years in academia. During this time, she managed Financial Aid for the Higher Education Opportunity Program at Fordham University, assisting many academically and financially disadvantaged students get a Fordham Education. As a member of NYSFAA for eight years, Marjorie worked on diversity and retention committees to help New York City students succeed in postsecondary education.
In 2000, Marjorie relocated to Arizona and continued her career in academia with leadership positions at Arizona State University and Cook College. She later became the Arizona State Financial Aid Director for the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education (ACPE). During her tenure at ACPE She worked with Congress to interpret, write policy and implement new state grants, while improving the procedures of those already in existence. Marjorie was born in the Bronx, and raised in New York City.
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Brenda Davis, Director of Operations
Brenda has spent more than 30 years in the accounting profession. She has served as office manager for two leading Arizona CPA firms and worked in administration in the banking field. Additionally, she and her husband started the “Madison Basketball Association, a 501(c)(3) organization serving Phoenix youth.
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Paul Raia, Retention Specialist
Paul was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised on Long Island. In 1994, he received a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communications from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Paul moved to the Valley in 1996 and received his Elementary Education Certificate from Arizona State University. From 2001-2005, he taught fourth grade and general music in the Isaac School District and the Fountain Hills School District, respectively. Prior to joining ACSF, Paul worked for Mesa Community College as an enrollment specialist in the Office of Records and Registration.
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