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Justin McMorrow is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Elsmere Education, bringing over 25 years of educational leadership experience. Since founding Elsmere Education in 2012, Justin has remained committed to an employee-owned model, enabling the company to stay focused on helping students access high-quality, affordable educational opportunities. Today, Elsmere has grown to 80 employees and is proudly certified as a B Corporation—reflecting our dedication to balancing profitability with purpose, fostering trust through ethical and transparent business practices, and making a positive impact on the broader community.
Outside of work, Justin is committed to his three teenage daughters and wife. His hobbies include reading, golfing, and biking. Justin is from Houston, Texas, (go Astros!) but currently resides in Denver, CO. Justin is very involved with the Denver community and currently serves on the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation.
Justin Sloan is the Chief Operating Officer at Elsmere Education. In this role he provides leadership and integration of our Marketing, Student Services, Product, and compliance operations. With over 20-year track record in higher education, Justin is dedicated to improving the institutional experiences and helping students reach their full potential.
Appropriate for the higher education industry, Justin is a life-long learner who has obtained multiple degrees and certifications. In addition to currently pursuing his EdD in higher education, he previously earned a Master’s in Science Education and a certification in Innovative Higher Education Leadership. His passion for education has allowed him to be an asset at Elsmere Education, where he exemplifies our core values daily, allowing for trust and transparency in all of our partnerships.
Outside of work and his studies, Justin enjoys spending time outdoors cycling and trail running in the mountains. However, his biggest passion is his family. He loves spending time with his wife and two children traveling to unique parts of the country, visiting his hometown of Centerville, OH, or just relaxing at their home here in Denver.
Heli Frazier is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Elsmere Education, where she leads strategic marketing plans and develops go-to-market strategies to drive growth for our partner universities.
Heli is passionate about education and has nearly 20 years of experience in higher education. She has held marketing leadership roles at INTO University Partnerships and Laurate International Universities, as well as in online education and at a private, multi-campus university. Most recently, she was overseeing the international marketing for 17 partner universities and an academic program portfolio of 5,000+ programs at INTO University Partnerships.
Heli believes in the transformative power of education and she currently volunteers as a tutor for School on Wheels, helping children who are experiencing homelessness reach their learning goals.
Outside of work, Heli loves spending time with her family and enjoys Pilates, biking, travel and the outdoors. She is from Finland and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Brian is a distinguished professional with an impressive track record in OPM, ed tech, and higher education industry. Brian brings over 18 years of expertise and a proven ability to drive new partner acquisition and cross-functional teams. His passion for expanding access to high-quality education is evident in his extensive work with over 50 colleges and universities in the U.S. as well as organizations in India, Middle East and Asia Pacific. As the executive responsible for the Elsmere Education sales, and sales operations, he works proactively to build successful partnerships with undergraduate and graduate degree programs and EPaaS solutions at top universities.
Outside of work, Brian loves spending time with his family along with his hobbies of fishing and working out. He volunteers with youth sports and enjoys watching his children’s sporting events. Brian holds bachelor’s in business administration from Blackburn College and resides in the Chicagoland area.
Ryan Lassila is the Vice President of Finance at Elsmere Education, where his primary role is to create timely, transparent, and accurate financial reports that reflect our internal operations and facilitate successful college and university partnerships. Ryan’s goal at Elsmere is to support company growth through a balanced portfolio of investment initiatives.
In addition to overseeing our financial department, Ryan recently obtained his MBA from the University of Florida with an emphasis in Finance and Strategy. In the past, Ryan has been part of early-stage startups in major cities like his hometown of Los Angeles, and once spent a month working from his van while traveling through New Zealand.
When away from Elsmere, Ryan enjoys outdoor activities such as snowboard and surfing, although it has been challenging to find surfing while living in Denver. Tennis is another hobby of his, which stems from his time on the court playing Division III collegiate tennis, where he ranked top 10 in the nation.
Ryan’s passions include his family, time with friends, and making a difference in people’s lives through greater opportunities with technology and education.
Ryan’s passions include his family, time with friends, and making a difference in people’s lives through greater opportunities with technology and education.
Lindsey Manning is the Vice President of Professional Services at Elsmere Education. In her role, Lindsey works with Elsmere’s university partners, driving successful new academic program implementations to support the institutions’ strategic growth objectives.
Lindsey joined Elsmere in 2016 and she has over 10 years of experience working in higher education. Previously, she lead various aspects of operations including recruitment and retention services, while spearheading partner growth.
Lindsey has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from University of Kansas and a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from University of Oklahoma. Lindsey has two young daughters and two big dogs. In her spare time, she is negotiating with her toddler to go to bed, shooing her dogs out of the room after they have eaten off someone’s dinner plate, and enjoying a quick beer with her husband before anyone has a meltdown at the brewery. She grew up in Shawnee, KS and currently resides in Denver, CO with her family.
Chloé brings 15+ years of higher education experience to Elsmere. As a first-generation college student, she’s always had a passion for learning which led her to complete her Masters in Management and Organizational Behavior. Early in her career, she worked in traditional on-campus roles in recruitment, advising, marketing and events but found herself drawn to online education. She’s spent the last 10+ years working in online education, focused on student retention and partner success. Growing up in a small rural community, Chloé believes that online education has the power to bring education to underserved populations and those that might not otherwise have access.
Kelly Port is the VP of Product for Elsmere Education. She joined Elsmere in August of 2023 to focus on evolving and expanding the systems and capabilities that support Elsmere’s solutions and implementing a robust and systematic set of product management practices within the business.
Kelly has been in Product Management for 18 years, with experience across healthcare, market research, and now higher education. Her career has been focused on driving scaled, sustainable growth for small to mid-sized companies through technology and process innovation and through leveraging impactful partnerships. She is passionate about finding and understanding where her teams can drive the greatest value in market.
Outside of work, Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband and two school-age sons. Favorite family activities include hiking, camping, biking, and martial arts. She’s also an avid reader and cook and enjoys travelling whenever she gets the chance. She grew up in Michigan, then moved to Denver, CO after finishing her MBA at Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, IL.
Melinda Sward is the Senior Director of Human Resources at Elsmere Education, where she oversees the recruitment, employee relations, and talent management of the team members within the organization. Melinda spends a lot of time researching, developing, and executing the various company policies and procedures that collectively support the culture at Elsmere Education.
With a Master’s in Counseling and multiple years of HR experience, Melinda was able to successfully help Elsmere double in size during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to find new ways to attract and retain quality talent to join the team. Melinda is an asset to Elsmere and helps foster a positive work environment and strong company culture by exemplifying the company values and mission in her everyday work and relationships.
When Melinda is not working, she loves traveling, wine tasting, and cheering for her hometown football team, the Denver Broncos. Melinda is a native of Colorado, and currently lives near the Sloan’s Lake area in Denver.
