Leadership
Management Staff
Rich Nickel, President and CEO
Tracee Antley McElvogue, Executive Assistant
Marjorie DeRubeis, Director of Education
Brenda Davis, Director of Operations
Myrna Cardenas, Regional Retention Expert
Angelica Delgadillo, Regional Retention Expert
Dalmira Perez Vasquez, Retention Specialist
Rich Nickel, President and CEO
Rich Nickel currently leads Arizona College Scholarship Foundation toward its goal of assisting young Arizonans in obtaining a college education. Rich brings 22 years of government, corporate and nonprofit experience to ACSF; much of that as a senior level leader. Rich has invested the majority of his career leading sales organizations and service related businesses in the financial services and education finance arenas. Rich may be best known for the years he spent with Sallie Mae, Inc. As Senior Vice President, he directed Sallie Mae's relationships with its largest business to business clients, including the country's largest student loan guarantor, USA Funds and the US Department of Education. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Next Generation Insurance Group, based in Phoenix. Rich's first role in the greater Phoenix community was in the mid 2000's, where he ultimately served as President of Gilbert based Southwest Student Services Corporation, following its merger with Sallie Mae.
Along with his passion for helping students attain their educational goals, Rich is also passionate about helping children take advantage of the benefits derived from participating in middle and high school team sports. In that vein, he recently served as President of Franklin County High School Baseball Booster Club as well as Director of WeWannaPlay, Inc., a Franklin County nonprofit organization aimed at aiding young, financially disadvantaged athletes. Rich earned his bachelor's degree in telecommunications from the University of Kentucky.
Tracee Antley McElvogue, Executive Assistant
Tracee was born and raised in Louisiana. She received her Bachelors of Human Services degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta before moving to Phoenix to pursue a Masters in Social Work. She worked in the media industry for many years, working for USA Today and FOX Sports Arizona, but always managed to bring her desire to help nonprofits into her corporate environment. At FOX Sports Arizona she helped launch the FOX SupPORTS AZ campaign, creating a committee that selects one nonprofit a month to spotlight during local sports broadcasts. She also encouraged a hands-on approach to volunteerism among her coworkers, leading teams for American Cancer Society fundraisers and coordinating groups to prepare and serve meals at HomeBase Youth Services. She currently is co-chair of the Great Cajun Cook-Off Committee and is a volunteer at her daughter’s school.
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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Myrna Cardenas, Regional Retention Expert
Myrna Cardenas hails from Hermiston, Oregon. Myrna began her journey in Phoenix, AZ seven years ago. In 2005, she received a Bachelor of Business Administration from DeVry University. Myrna began her professional career at Wells Fargo as a Business Specialist where she provided support and guidance to small business owners. In 2008 Myrna transitioned to the nonprofit arena where she discovered her true passion in serving youth and promoting higher education. Myrna served as the Mentor Program Manager for the Arizona Quest for Kids organization, in this role she supported the mentor program through the recruitment and retention of volunteer mentors, program planning, and program support. In addition Myrna proved pivotal in transitioning the organization to a full translation of documents by transforming all components into bilingual existence. Currently, Myrna took on the position of Retention Specialist at the Arizona College Scholarship Foundation where she can further explore her passions to directly serve college and university scholarship recipients. Myrna will complete her certificate of Nonprofit Management at the ASU Lodestar Center for Nonprofit Management in the spring of 2011. She looks forward to building and sustaining relationships with the ACSF scholars and surrounding communities.
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Angelica Delgadillo, Regional Retention Expert
Angelica Delgadillo comes from the Center for Progressive Leadership, a national political training institute. As their Outreach Director of Arizona, she was involved in developing recruitment strategies, and maintaining and creating new community partnerships throughout the state.
Her professional life in Arizona includes working at The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, where she provided staff support in the areas of early childhood and youth, and the Heard Museum as their Community Outreach Manager where she established connections with other cultural organizations for cross-promotion, and composed volunteer grassroots marketing committees for museum events. She continues to be involved in a variety of community projects and organizations such as: Advocates for Latino Arts and Culture, My Latino Vote AZ, Valle del Sol Hispanic Leadership Institute, Fresh Water, Diversity Leadership Alliance, and the Oxford Leadership Program - Girl Scouts AZ Cactus Pine Council. She recently received the 40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40 from Chicanos Por La Causa & Univision Radio.
Angelica was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. She is bilingual in Spanish and English, and has a background in Spanish/English instruction for international corporations such as Intel, and local agencies such as Phoenix Fire Department, Phoenix Police Department and other government agencies in the Phoenix area. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.
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Dalmira Pérez Vázquez, Regional Retention Expert
Her experience includes serving students in all academic areas i.e., academic advising, financial aid, assessment/testing, etc. For the past six years, she coordinated a federally funded educational program, which served low-income and potential first college generation students, to ensure their successful admission to college. Dalmira worked in conjunction with a number of highly skilled college faculty to prepare the students to pass AIMS tests and obtain satisfactory ACT/SAT scores to gain admission into college, ensuring their preparation to succeed and complete their academic goals of obtaining a college degree. Also, she provided help in finding ways to fund their education by means of federal pell grants and scholarships.
Dalmira comes from the Tucson area, where she attended the University of Arizona. She holds a bachelor’s in Psychology and a master’s in Public Administration. She is passionate to work with underrepresented group of students to help them achieve their academic dreams!
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