Board of Directors

Board of Directors

  • Brian Mueller

    Brian E. Mueller

    Chairman of the Board
    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

      Sara Ward

      Director
      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 2014-2023 Ms. Ward was a director for WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp./Mobile Mini Inc., 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.
      Independent Director
      Lead Director
    • Jack A. Henry

      Jack A. Henry

      Director
      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 previously served on the board of directors of nine other public reporting 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, 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

      Chevy Humphrey

      Director
      Chevy Humphrey has been serving as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2019. Ms. Humphrey is the first Black American to head a science center in the United States and, in January 2021, Ms. Humphrey became the first women and first Black American to lead the Museum of Science and Industry (“MSI”), in Chicago, Illinois. Before joining MSI, Ms. Humphrey had served as President and CEO of the Arizona Science Center, one of the nation’s premier science and education centers, since 2005. During her tenure at Arizona Science Center, Ms. Humphrey secured numerous national competitive and prestigious grants for the Arizona Science Center from organizations such as the National Institutes for Health and the National Science Foundation and has been recognized by the Phoenix Business Journal as a Most Admired CEO and by the Women’s National Basketball Association as a Visionary Leader. Ms. Humphrey currently serves as a board member and Chair of the American Alliance of Museums, an organization that supports more than 35,000 museums, zoos, science centers and similar organizations. Ms. Humphrey serves as a board member of College Success Arizona, an organization focused on increasing the post-secondary attainment rates of Arizona students, and the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, an organization that advances civics education, civic engagement and civil discourse. Ms. Humphrey also serves as a board member of Helios Education Foundation and Argonne National Laboratory. Ms. Humphrey received a Bachelor of Business degree with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Phoenix, a Master of Business Administration degree from Northeastern University with specializations in Marketing and Entrepreneurship/Innovation, and is pursuing her Doctorate of Business Administration from Grand Canyon University.
    • Lisa Graham Keegan

      Lisa Graham Keegan

      Director
      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.