Friday, March 12, 2010
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Over a 25-year span, James A. Boyle, President, College Parents of America, has carved out a successful professional career path that has encompassed politics, trade associations, media business and the financial services industry.
Before he took over the reins as President of College Parents of America in September 2003, Boyle served as Vice President of Brand Marketing and Corporate Communications for Sallie Mae, the nation's largest provider of higher education financing. It was at Sallie Mae, working on the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) Program, that Boyle first met the founder and chairman of COLLEGE PARENTS OF AMERICA, Doug Laughlin. Laughlin's organization then was small and searching for its identity.
As the two collaborated on a college finance research project, they were surprised to find that parents, at all educational levels, were baffled about how the financing of college worked, and, as they got deeper into it, were even more baffled by the admissions process.
Laughlin shared with Boyle that he, too, had been baffled as a college parent, and that was his original impetus for starting College Parents of America. "He told me," recounts Boyle, "just how frustrating it was for him that his tuition checks for his two sons were not recognized by the Federal Government as a true investment in America. He also felt that he wasn't receiving enough information from the colleges about how his sons were doing. And when he looked at his check ledger, he could see that there were many more costs to the college experience than just room and board. It was then that all three things came together and he thought that there should be an AARP for college parents. And thus College Parents of America was born."
Boyle was intrigued with Laughlin's vision of just what the association could accomplish for college parents and their children, and, in 2003, Boyle decided to leave his job at Sallie Mae to help bring Laughlin's vision further along into reality.
Boyle's accomplishments at College Parents of America have been dramatic. Since assuming leadership of the organization, he has quintupled the individual membership rolls, while also creating an institutional member group with 75 colleges and universities as allies. Through Boyle's leadership, College Parents of America has also quadrupled tripled partner company arrangements, creating value for member parents who gain deep discounts on goods and services relevant to the college experience, and for companies who are able to tap into this once-overlooked group.
In June 2004, Boyle launched a free, quarterly e-newsletter, Decade of Decisions, providing relevant information to parents based on the high school graduation year of the child. In a little than a year, more than 75,000 parents have already signed up for this customized product, which has drawn the attention of numerous national advertisers.
Boyle has also been recognized as an important spokesperson on college parent issues, speaking out on a wide range of topics. Since early 2004, he has appeared on CNBC, MSNBC, CNN-fn, ESPN2, BusinessWeek TV and Maryland Public Television and has even testified on Capitol Hill, to make a case for the special financial, political and social concerns of the country's college parents and their children. Stories about College Parents of America have also appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Tampa Tribune, The Chronicle of Higher Education and on the Associated Press wire.
Jim has spoken on behalf of College Parents of America before trade and consumer audiences from Boston to Bozeman, Montana, including an appearance in New Orleans at MONEY WATCH LIVE, a public event put on every year by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He has also authored Op-Ed pieces for publications such as The Washington Post and University Business, and he contributes a weekly column for the organization's website called "News You Can Use," with updates and insights on education news, legislative actions, financial information, admissions trends and tips, and more. It can be found at www.collegeparents.org/cpa/news.html.
With all his achievements as president of College Parents of America, and over such a short period of time, Boyle is most proud that the organization has fulfilled the early vision of Laughlin and is becoming the number #1 organization for current and future college parents.
Says Boyle: "In the advocacy arena, College Parents of America has certainly filled a void. But when it comes to information, there's anything but a void - there's a glut. So College Parents of America is constantly sifting through all the information that's on the Internet and elsewhere, and has stepped out as a virtual, trusted advisor for families, presenting them with the best and most current of what's out there.
In addition, our Decade of Decision newsletter puts together critical and pertinent information, sending it to parents just at the point they need it most. And finally, on the discounts front, we are demanding from those who provide products and services to the college parent market, that they supply us with the lowest possible prices for needed college-related items. The pocketbook issues are so important."
Earlier in his career, Boyle held executive marketing and communications positions at WorldGate, NBC and, for over a decade, at Discovery Communications, Inc. He began his career in Washington, DC as a press secretary on Capitol Hill, followed by a stint at the National Cable Television Association.
A native of the Detroit area, Boyle and his sister, Pam Williams who is now an elementary school principal, were members of the first generation in his family to attend college. Through a combination of support from Pell Grants, institutional aid, a National Merit Scholarship, work-study and federal student loans, Boyle received his B.S. in Communication Studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Boyle has been married for nearly 20 years to Kellie Boyle, and he is the father of two future college students, Griffin and Tucker.
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