Brian E. Mueller has been serving as our Chief Executive Officer since July 1, 2008, as a director since March 2009, and as the Chairman of our Board since January 2017.  Since July 1, 2018, Mr. Mueller has also served as the President of Grand Canyon University, an independent non-profit Arizona corporation that is our most significant university partner.  From 2012 to 2018, Mr. Mueller served as the President of Grand Canyon University when it was owned and operated by the Company. See Policies and Procedures for Related Party Transactions.  From 1987 to 2008, Mr. Mueller was employed by Apollo Education Group, Inc., a for-profit, postsecondary education company and the parent company of the University of Phoenix, serving between January 2006 and June 2008 as its President and a Director. Mr. Mueller previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Apollo Education Group, Inc. from December 2005 to January 2006, as Chief Executive Officer of the University of Phoenix Online, a unit of the University of Phoenix, from March 2002 to November 2005, and as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of the University of Phoenix Online from May 1997 to March 2002. From 1987 to May 1997, Mr. Mueller held several positions in operations management for Apollo Education Group, Inc. From 1983 to 1987, Mr. Mueller was a professor at Concordia University. Mr. Mueller received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and a Master of Arts in Education degree from Concordia University.

Sara Ward has been serving as a member of our Board of Directors since March 2013, and as the lead independent director since January 2017. Ms. Ward has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sara Dial & Associates, an executive coaching and economic development consulting firm specializing in site selection and government relations since 1996. From 1993 to 1996, Ms. Ward served as the director of the Arizona Department of Commerce, having previously served as the finance director from 1991 to 1993. Prior to her work in the public sector, Ms. Ward worked in the investment banking industry.  From 2014 to 2023 Ms. Ward served as a director for WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp., a publicly traded provider of portable storage and mobile office solutions. Ms. Ward was previously a member of the board of trustees at Seattle Pacific University. Ms. Ward is a graduate of Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations. Ms. Ward is NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) Directorship Certified. The NACD Directorship Certification program equips directors with the foundation of knowledge sought by boards to effectively contribute in the boardroom. NACD Directorship Certified directors pass a foundational exam developed by experienced directors and, via continuing recertification requirements, commit to continuing education on governance and emerging issues impacting the businesses they service in order to elevate the profession of directorship.

Jack A. Henry has been serving as a member of our Board of Directors since November 2008. Since 2000, Mr. Henry has served as the Managing Director of Sierra Blanca Ventures, LLC, a private investment and consulting firm. From 1966 to 2000, Mr. Henry worked as a certified public accountant for Arthur Andersen, a national accounting firm, retiring in 2000 as the Managing Partner of the Phoenix, Arizona office. Mr. Henry has previously served on the boards of directors of nine other publicly traded companies and seven private companies.  Mr. Henry also currently serves on the board of directors and as chair of the audit committee of a private company. He is past President and founder of the Arizona Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors having served in that capacity for 16 years. Mr. Henry previously served on numerous community and nonprofit organizations including chairman of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Greater Phoenix Leadership, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and Junior Achievement of Central Arizona.  Mr. Henry also was a member of the Super Bowl ’96 Executive Committee, Arizona Business Hall of Fame, Arizona Economic Forum and the Violence Prevention Initiative.  Mr. Henry has spoken and consulted on audit committee and corporate governance matters.  Mr. Henry received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan.

Chevy Humphrey, DBA has been serving as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2019. Dr. Humphrey has served as the President and CEO of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI) since January 2021.  In this role, she oversees all aspects of executing the strategic vision of MSI, including guest experience, transformational exhibits, education programming, community engagement, and financial sustainability and growth. Dr. Humphrey is an international leader in the field of informal science education. Before joining MSI, she served for 15 years as CEO of Arizona Science Center. She serves as the Past Chair of the Board of the American Alliance of Museums, the world’s largest museum association, serving 35,000 members. She is Past Chair of the Board of the Association of Science and Technology Centers, which serves more than 500 science centers in more than 50 countries and has also served as the Chair of the Selection and Annual Review Committee for the National Science Foundation’s then-largest informal science initiative, Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE-Net). Dr. Humphrey has a long history serving on a wide variety of boards. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Governors for Argonne National Laboratory, a science and engineering research national laboratory operated by U-Chicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. She also serves on the Economic Club of Chicago, Choose Chicago, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, Helios Education Foundation, and Education Forward Arizona. Dr. Humphrey was named to Crain’s Chicago Business’s 2023 Notable Women in STEM list and its 2023 Who’s Who list; she participated in Leadership Greater Chicago’s Daniel Burnham Fellowship, and she has received numerous awards from Chicago community organizations, including Girls Inc. Chicago’s 2023 Strong Smart Bold award and the Illinois Black Chamber, Cook County Black Chamber and Garfield Park Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Business Leader of the Year award. Dr. Humphrey is originally from Houston, Texas. She earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from Grand Canyon University and an honorary Doctor of Science and Technology degree from the University of Advancing Technology. She holds a Master of Business Administration—with specializations in innovation entrepreneurship and marketing—from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. Dr. Humphrey also received Executive Education certifications from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and Yale School of Management.  

Lisa Graham Keegan has been serving as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2019. Since 2001, Ms. Keegan has served as the Principal Partner at The Keegan Company, an education policy consulting firm, where she leads numerous projects, writes, and speaks on critical issues in American education.  From 1991 to 2001, Ms. Keegan served as an Arizona elected official, first in the Arizona House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995, where she chaired the House Education Committee and oversaw the K-12, community college and university education budgets on the Appropriations Committee, and later as the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1995 to 2001, where she oversaw Arizona’s public school system and directed the state’s Department of Education.  In 2000 and 2008, respectively, Ms. Keegan served as education advisor to the John McCain campaigns for President.  Ms. Keegan serves on the boards of the Grand Canyon Council Boy Scouts of America: 50 CAN, The 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now education advocacy organization; the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, an education organization focused on increasing parental awareness of school options; The Foundation For Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org) National Advisory Board; and The Common Sense Institute of Arizona, a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Arizona’s economy.  Ms. Keegan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and a Masters’ Degree from Arizona State University. 

Kevin F. Warren has been serving as a member of our Board of Directors since his appointment on April 24, 2024.  He served previously as a member of our Board of Directors from September 2012 through August 27, 2019. Mr. Warren has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Bears Football Club, a National Football League (“NFL”) franchise, since April 2023, with responsibility for football and business operations. Mr. Warren is the first black President and CEO of the Chicago Bears and only the fifth President in the history of the Chicago Bears.  Mr. Warren served as the Commissioner-Elect of the Big Ten Conference from September 2019 to January 2020.  On January 2, 2020, Mr. Warren officially began his tenure as Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference and served in that role until April 2023.  From 2005 to 2019, Mr. Warren served as a senior officer of the Minnesota Vikings, an NFL franchise. Prior to joining the Vikings, from 2003 to 2005, Mr. Warren worked for the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP, which included representing the Wilf ownership group during its acquisition of the Vikings. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Warren served as Senior Vice President of Business Operations & General Counsel of the Detroit Lions, an NFL franchise. Prior to that time, Mr. Warren worked with the St. Louis Rams, an NFL franchise, as Vice President of Football Administration in 2001 and as Vice President of Player Development & Football Legal Counsel from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Warren earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Grand Canyon University, his master’s degree in business administration from Arizona State University, and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Notre Dame School of Law.