New Board members appointed

Secretary Carol Beatty, Carol Coughlin, Keith D. Persinger, Dee Anna Sobczak join the Maryland 529 Board 

Maryland 529, formerly College Savings Plans of Maryland, is pleased to announce Governor Lawrence Hogan’s appointment of Keith D. Persinger, Carol Coughlin, and Dee Anna Sobczak, to the Maryland 529 Board of Directors.  Maryland 529 also welcomes new Board member, Carol Beatty, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Disabilities. The addition of Secretary Beatty is a result of the  Maryland Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Program (HB 431), which was passed by the General Assembly on July 1, 2016.

Secretary Carol Beatty currently serves as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Disabilities. Prior to her appointment in 2015, Secretary Beatty was the Executive Director of The Arc of Howard County, a private, non-profit organization which provides advocacy and support services for more than 750 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities along with their families. She also held roles in an executive-level capacity at Alternative Living, Inc., and Bello Machre, Inc., both dedicated to providing quality services to individuals with disabilities. Over the past 20 years, Secretary Beatty has received numerous awards for her work on behalf of individuals with disabilities including induction into the Howard County Women's Hall of Fame in 2012 and selection as one of the Daily Record's 2013 Maryland's Top 100 Women.  

Carol Coughlin is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of BottomLine Growth Strategies, Inc. a growth advisory service firm which works with CEOs of privately held companies to transform their enterprise value through implementation of proven best practice financial and operations strategies and to assist them in the development of board governance best practices. Before founding BottomLine Growth, Ms. Coughlin was an accomplished CFO who helped lead four of the most prominent healthcare services companies in the United States to sustained profitability. In addition to serving as a public member of the Maryland 529 Board, she currently serves as the Board Chair of Hamilton Bancorp and is a Board Member and Finance Affairs Chair of the University of Maryland Medical Center. 

Keith D. Persinger is the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). Prior to UMMC, Mr. Persinger served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for University of Maryland Medical Systems and a was consultant in the firm of KPMG, LLP in KPMG’s Healthcare Financial Strategies Consulting Group. In addition to serving as a public member of the Maryland 529 Board, Mr. Persinger is the Past Chairman and Board Member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore, Inc. 

Dee Anna Sobczak is the CFO and Partner in ThinkBig Networks, an internet provider for rural and underserved communities.  Ms. Sobczak’s previous positions include President of CSS Antenna, Inc., an antenna manufacturing company based in Edgewood, MD that supplied antennas to the wireless industry nationwide and played a key role in the sale of the Company in 2013.  She also ran an accounting firm prior to CSS and served as a financial consultant until 2014. In addition to serving as a public member on the Maryland 529 Board, Ms. Sobczak has served on local Private School Boards and various committees.  

Board Chair, Treasurer Nancy Kopp commented, "The Board is pleased to have Keith Persinger, Carol Coughlin, and Dee Anna Sobczak appointed to fill the vacant seats on the Board of Trustees.  Collectively, they have extensive backgrounds in the finance industry and we look forward to having their perspective and expertise. We believe the addition of Secretary Beatty and her breadth of experience of advocating for individuals with disabilities will be valuable as Maryland 529 develops the Maryland ABLE Program over the next year.”

About Maryland 529

Maryland 529 offers two affordable and flexible 529 plans to help families save for the future cost of college. The Maryland College Investment Plan allows families to save as little as $25 per month and is managed by T. Rowe Price.  The Maryland Prepaid College Trust allows families to save for tomorrow’s tuition at today’s prices for as little as a semester of college. Enrollment in the Prepaid College Trust is open from December 1, 2016 through April 24, 2017. The College Investment Plan is open for enrollment year round.

Maryland 529 Plans are the only 529 plans that offer Maryland taxpayers a Maryland State income deduction for contributions. To learn more about the options offered by the College Savings Plans of Maryland, visit www.Maryland 529.com or call 1-888.MD.GRAD (463-4723).