EFC Staff

Vince Sampson
President
vinces@efc.org

Gail daMota
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
gaild@efc.org

Renee Burchard
Controller
reneeb@efc.org

Pat Van Buskirk
Executive Assistant
patv@efc.org

Vince Sampson
vinces@efc.org
President

In his role as President, Vince Sampson is responsible for developing and implementing all strategic and policy decisions for EFC. Vince also serves as the chief representative for EFC’s membership on Capitol Hill, with the U.S. Department of Education, and within the higher education community. Vince is charged with advancing the association’s goal of ensuring access to the resources that allow all students and families to achieve a postsecondary education. As President, Vince reports directly to the EFC Board of Directors. Prior to serving as President, Vince held the position of Senior Vice President for Government Relations, and Interim President.

Prior to joining EFC, Vince served in the U.S Department of Education in the Office of Postsecondary Education as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy Planning and Innovation (PPI). Vince also served in Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs, where he was Senior Counselor with responsibility for oversight matters. He joined the Department of Education in 2007 after serving as Deputy Chief Counsel for the Committee on Resources in the U.S. House of Representatives. Preceding his Hill experience, Vince worked in various capacities in the private sector, most recently as Vice President for Public Affairs at the Association for Competitive Technology.

Vince graduated from UCLA and went on to get his J.D. at Santa Clara University School of Law in California. He later received his LL.M. from Georgetown University.

Vince lives in Virginia with and his wife and twin daughters.

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Gail daMota
gaild@efc.org
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Gail daMota joined the Education Finance Council in June of 2001. In her role as Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, she works directly with the EFC membership to ensure their needs are met and that their information is represented accurately within the EFC published materials. She serves as lead EFC staff contact for the EFC Membership Services Committee and is the meeting planner and event coordinator for the various EFC sponsored events. Gail's responsibilities include membership services, ensuring the efficient operations of EFC, and working with other EFC staff on regulatory and statutory issues affecting the EFC membership. She and the EFC team work collaboratively to achieve the goal of making college more affordable.

Gail comes to EFC with more than two decades of experience in higher education. She has been a financial aid director, school owner, and institutional third party servicer and software developer. Most recently she was the director of federal relations for the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation.

Gail is a graduate of Arizona State University. She is a native of New England and currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

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Renee Burchard
reneeb@efc.org
Controller

Renee Burchard joined EFC in March 2002. As Controller, she is responsible for all human resource, bookkeeping and audit functions of the organization. She also works with staff to coordinate office operations and the various EFC events throughout the year.

Before joining EFC, Renee worked in various positions including time spent working for David Gergen, counselor to four American presidents and the Editor of US News & World Report. She coordinated a nationwide book and speaking tour with Simon & Schuster and served as the Vice President of Development and Operations of the Ohio Ballet. There she completed a successful capital campaign and world tour.

Renee received her B.A. in Communications and Political Science from University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama in 1989. She is a native southerner and lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She and her husband, Tony, are the proud parents of four children.

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Pat Van Buskirk
patv@efc.org
Executive Assistant

Before joining EFC, Pat spent 30 years working for the federal government in various computer-related capacities including programming, testing of new computer systems, and working in finance and budgeting. She ended her career working on the Computer Help Desk as a Computer Specialist serving the IRS-DC Metro area. Pat has a varied professional background in addition to her years of work for the federal government, having also worked part-time in retail, as a beauty consultant, and in several entrepreneurial business ventures. All of these experiences have helped Pat develop her capabilities working with the public.

Pat is actively involved in her community, volunteering for the Domestic Violence Hotline, facilitating a support group, serving on her neighborhood board, and assisting the Culpepper Historical League and the League of Women Voters. She is a native Ohioan, the proud mother of one son, and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her Bichon Frise named Nauzi.

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