Julie Valencia ** Deer Creek Court ■ Mason City, IA 50401

www.linkedin.com/in/julie-valencia-9011a212 319-***-**** ■ acxhkj@r.postjobfree.com Senior Leadership & Operating Executive

Operations Management ■ Process Improvement ■ Lean & Six Sigma Initiatives Expense Control ■ Employee Training, Development & Engagement ■ Quality Assurance Master of Science, Industrial / Organizational Psychology ■ Master of Business Administration More than 13 years of experience reflects a track record in improving financial performance, strengthening operational efficiencies, and increasing employee engagement. Professional Experience

Kaplan University ■ Mason City, IA / Cedar Rapids, IA ■ 2010 – Present Campus President (2013 – Present)

Brought in to turn around the Mason City campus location and the Rochester Student Service Center experiencing a 2-year steady decline in revenue and operating income. In charge of marketing, lead generation, community outreach, brand recognition, student enrollment, retention and job placement, and employee development and coaching functions and initiatives in Academic, Financial Aid, Admissions, and Career Services Departments. Partner with companies and provide them with continuing education and leadership classes. Attend community events and participate in leadership panels through local chambers on behalf of the campus. Manage 11 direct reports, 5 indirect reports, $3M-$5M revenue budget, and $2M-$2.5M expense budget.

Achieved 78% increase in YOY operating income ($965K) and identified ways to save money and minimize a projected missed budget of 60% ($460K) down to 29% ($228K) in 2013. Drove 20% increase in YOY operating income ($1.15M) as budget requirements increased 106% in 2015.

Surpassed target budget numbers and generated nearly $1M in operating income during 2014-15. Campus became the top performer to budget, outpacing other campuses that have twice as many students.

Brought in $36K annually by identifying and negotiating with tenant to sublease 6,000 sq. ft. of unused space.

Identified inefficient processes and employees doing duplicate work by conducting an assessment of each position and time study for all employees on campus.

Strengthened productivity of admissions teams by 200% through developing and implementing incentive plans. Achieved record-level enrollments in 6 different months during 2014.

Increased student census to 275+ students and reduced campus staff size and through process improvement and natural attrition while providing the same level of service in a more efficient manner.

Streamlined processes, reduced internal audit errors, and allowed for the saving of one FTE by combining the Business Office and Financial Aid Departments to eliminate duplicate efforts.

Further eliminated redundancies by merging Business Development Manager and Career Services Director positions into one role as Client Relations Manager versus each of them visiting the same businesses to build partnerships. Regional Default Manager (2010 – 2013)

Hired to redesign the collections process and decrease student loan default rates for all ground locations (as many as 65) under the Kaplan umbrella east of the Mississippi. Requested in 2013 to take over the management of a call center in Florida comprising 10 different on-site student loan counselors working with past Kaplan graduates who had fallen delinquent on their student loans. Managed 12 direct reports, 30 indirect reports, and $750K budget.

Led initiatives to strengthen the performance of student loan counselors who were falling in productivity and missing their assigned goals each month.

Reduced default rates from 30% to 14%-17% across all locations, successfully averting the Department of Education from putting the school on warning.

Julie Valencia - Page 2-319-***-**** ■ acxhkj@r.postjobfree.com

Spearheaded an in-classroom financial literacy program as part of the default management process. Helped students understand their student loan obligations and the importance of managing to a budget.

Developed specific collections strategy based on days past due on borrowers’ accounts. Provided call scripts to assist student counselors in asking more direct questions about students’ finances.

Created spreadsheets and databases (still in use today) to track progress by each counselor and across all teams, enabling immediate manager and VP to oversee progress and performance on a daily basis.

Established a sense of connection and consistent communications between field teams and call centers by creating and maintaining SharePoint sites where everyone received the same information. General Electric Capital Finance ■ Cedar Rapids, IA ■ 2007 – 2010 Collections Team Leader (2007 – 2010) ■ Quality Control & Training Specialist (2005 – 2007) Began in a team leadership role when General Electric bought the Ikon portfolio and subsequently requested to manage a federal collection team and assist in the virtual management of a team in Georgia. Handled 11,000+ collection accounts, including authority for review and write-off on uncollectible accounts and errors.

Challenged to turn around a federal collection team managing a declining portfolio with a delinquency rate spiraling out of control.

Determined root causes of issues and executed adjustments (e.g., partial monthly payment options) aligned with the federal government’s specific requirements for invoicing and payment collection.

Improved efficiencies by creating a template for writing standard operating procedures for all collections teams in order to have each process documented in the same manner.

Integrated Ikon financial portfolio into GE system and processes three months ahead of six-month deadline.

Turned Ikon team into the top collection team at the Cedar Rapids site through careful monitoring and review of processes/adjustments, holding team accountable for results, and creating a positive work environment.

Provided call monitoring, coaching and feedback to associates company-wide as Quality Control & Training Specialist. Prepared training based on internal customers’ needs and managed process improvement projects. Federal Team Specialist (2002 – 2005)

Handled a portfolio of accounts under a private label for the federal government. Managed contract review and sales support, invoicing and renewals, and meter and read collection as well as disposition at end of term, including coordinating meter removals multiple times from secure locations.

Key challenges involved inefficiencies associated with paper invoices mailed by specialists each month, incoming meter reads that were faxed or mailed, excessive data entry, and manual reporting of delinquencies.

Recognized the need for and drove the move from paper based invoicing to web /electronic based invoicing. Reduced completion time from 3 hours to 15 minutes through automating the delinquency reporting process.

Facilitated reduction of one FTE on federal team ($34K annual savings in addition to benefits) by leading a Green Belt project to convert meter entry process from a manual, paper based system to a dynamic web based system.

Company rolled out the web based meter entry system across all other teams, creating further efficiencies and reductions in expenses.

Education / Professional Development

M.S., Psychology (Concentration in Industrial/Organizational Psychology) – Kaplan University M.B.A. (Concentration in E-Business & Global Management) – University of Phoenix B.S., Business Management (Concentration in Strategic & Behavioral Management) – Pittsburg State University Change Acceleration Process; Lean Certified – General Electric ■ Six Sigma – Green Belt Certified Leading Strategic Growth - Executive Education Program, Columbia Business School / Execonline, Inc.

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