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Leadership Team

Highly experienced leaders guide our team to deliver on our mission.

Our leadership team is a diverse group of individuals with deep experience and broad expertise. They understand how to help people overcome barriers to financial success – and that drives a shared passion for delivering quality products and experiences to our customers.

Executive Leadership
Board of Directors

Executive Leadership

Matt Dunlap

Interim President and Chief Executive Offiver

Matt Dunlap

Matthew Dunlap is interim President and Chief Executive Officer for Nelnet Bank.

In addition to leading the bank, Mr. Dunlap serves as Chief Business Development Officer for Nelnet, President of Nelnet Financial Services, a division of Nelnet, and has been a member of Nelnet’s Board of Directors since March 2022. He most recently served as Managing Director of Nelnet Business Services, a division of Nelnet.

Mr. Dunlap graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University in 2012 and earned his Juris Doctor, a professional degree in law, from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2015.

In addition to Mr. Dunlap’s internal audit, capital markets, and legal counsel contributions for the organization and his dedicated work with Nelnet Business Services, he also serves on the board of directors of ALLO Communications, BankFirst, First Northeast Bank of Nebraska, and Lighthouse, a Lincoln, Neb.-based nonprofit. Prior to joining Nelnet, Mr. Dunlap spent two years as an associate at GVC Capital, a Colorado-based investment banking firm providing comprehensive investment banking services to underexposed small public and private companies.

Julie Buchholz

Chief Operations Officer/Community Reinvestment Act Officer

Julie Buchholz

As the bank’s Chief Operations Officer, Julie Buchholz leads the Nelnet Bank launch phased project plan, oversees services and operations provided by Firstmark and Nelnet, and is responsible for the customer servicing experience for the bank as it launches its retail deposit program. As CRA Officer, Ms. Buchholz ensures compliance with the bank’s CRA program, leveraging a decade of experience in that role for Comenity Capital Bank, as well as for GE Capital Bank. Prior to Comenity, Ms. Buchholz spent 24 years in operational and leadership roles with General Electric and the NBC media properties. She brings to Nelnet Bank proven business acumen and experience fostering collaborative relationships with regulators, community stakeholders, and nonprofit and industry organizations. Ms. Buchholz serves on the Utah Community Action Board of Trustees.

Cindy Fulton-Serrano

Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer

Cindy Fulton-Serrano

Cindy Fulton-Serrano is a seasoned finance executive with over 17 years of experience, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Finance and Accounting for Cabela’s/World’s Foremost Bank. She provides oversight and leadership for Nelnet Bank’s financial planning and reporting, capital management, asset/liability management, liquidity management and reporting, interest rate risk, stress testing, allowance for loan loss reserves, and internal controls over financial and regulatory reporting. She is the primary contact for external auditors. Ms. Fulton-Serrano resides in Nebraska.

Lauren Whicker

Chief Compliance Officer

Lauren Whicker

Lauren Whicker is the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer for Nelnet Bank. A native of Salt Lake City, Lauren joined Nelnet in October 2019 to begin the formation of Nelnet Bank. In her current position, Lauren is responsible for overseeing the Bank’s Compliance Management System and the Bank’s privacy program for deposit and loan products. Prior to joining Nelnet Bank, Lauren was the Chief Compliance Officer at Comenity Capital Bank. Lauren received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and maintains her Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designations.

Jennifer Mackintosh

Chief Risk Officer

Jennifer Mackintosh

Jennifer Mackintosh’s 20 years of financial services experience includes building and maintaining the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) and sanctions compliance programs for consumer and commercial banking organizations as well as leading compliance, internal audit, and community development programs. Most recently she served as Senior Director of Audits, Exams, and Regulatory Relations at PayPal. Prior to joining PayPal, Ms. Mackintosh was responsible for the BSA/AML programs for two banks owned by American Express. Earlier in her career she worked for various financial institutions, including GE Capital Financial, Lehman Brothers Commercial Bank, and First Security Bank. Ms. Mackintosh has established risk governance principles and a risk management framework and policy that keeps Nelnet Bank’s risk-taking activities in line with its strategic objectives and risk appetite. She lead the bank’s second line of defense activities in addition to the Bank’s BSA/AML Program. Ms. Mackintosh resides in Utah.

Board of Directors

Mike Dunlap

Chairman of the Board

Mike Dunlap

As Chairman of Nelnet Bank, Mr. Dunlap is actively involved in bank management and strategy setting. His depth of understanding of securitization, hedging, and finance benefits the bank as he interfaces with the management team and provides review and approval of investment decisions. Mr. Dunlap serves as a member of the Executive Committee. He brings 35 years of experience in education finance and a 20-year tenure with Union Bank & Trust, where Mr. Dunlap worked in virtually every area of bank operations and management. Mr. Dunlap resides in Nebraska.

Tim Tewes

Vice Chairman of the Board

Tim Tewes

Tim Tewes serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Nelnet Bank. Providing substantial support to the Chief Executive Officer/President of Nelnet Bank, Mr. Tewes supported the bank’s formation, staffing, and startup, as well as ongoing operations. Mr. Tewes is a member of the Executive Committee. He gained progressive experience in his 16 years with Wells Fargo Bank Nebraska, ending with responsibility for 33 bank branches and more than $3 billion in assets. Mr. Tewes resides in Nebraska.

Carine Strom Clark

Board Member

Carine Strom Clark

Carine Strom Clark has an extensive background in building successful global software companies. She has served in executive leadership roles at several market-leading enterprise software companies, guiding strong market performance through her focus on customer success and product innovation. Ms. Clark was most recently President and CEO of Banyan, a venture-backed start-up in the social engagement and patient experience space. That company was recently sold to NUVI in May of 2019. Ms. Clark was formerly President and CEO of MaritzCX and SVP and CMO for Symantec, and has been recognized with numerous awards. She serves as a member of the Risk and Compliance Committee. Ms. Clark resides in Utah.

Connie Edmond

Board Member

Connie Edmond

Connie Edmond has 33 years of professional experience in finance and accounting. A creative, strategic thinker and problem solver who improves and drives operational profitability, Ms. Edmond also has proven expertise increasing accountability, transparency, and reliability, while minimizing risk factors, for overall financial reporting. She currently serves as Managing Partner – Director of Tax Compliance at WRL CPA, where she previously led business strategy and ensured regulatory compliance for a $102 million grassroots operation. Previously, Ms. Edmond served as Vice President of Business Development for CUCVS and MFYUC, and she currently serves as member of the Audit Committee. She has co-authored a tax publication that was featured in USA Today, Kiplinger’s, and Money Magazine. Ms. Edmond resides in Nebraska.

Anthony Goins

Board Member

Anthony Goins

Anthony (Tony) Goins is the Global Head of Enterprise Risk Management for Fiserv, the largest Fintech firm in the world. He is responsible for leading the risk function by partnering with line of business officers and business leaders across the company to identify, mitigate and treat events that could be detrimental to the growth of the business. This is executed through early detection and monitoring emerging risk. Additionally, Tony’s team assists with the installation of controls and remediation of issues, while supporting upside opportunities.

He most recently served as the State of Nebraska’s Director of Economic Development where he led a team that drove over $8 billion dollars of investment, created more than 7,000 jobs, and achieved the nation’s #1 ranking in COVID-19 pandemic recovery reported by news media outlet POLITICO.

Tony currently serves as a founding independent director for Nelnet Bank where he helped establish the bank’s charter and serves as Chair of the Risk & Compliance Committee, an independent director, and Vice Chair of the Risk & Compliance Committee for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, and an independent director for Inceptia, where he serves as a Member of the Finance & Governance Committees. He also is an advisory board member for i3 Bank (f/k/a Bank of Bennington).

Prior to his role leading the State of Nebraska’s Office of Economic Development, Tony served as Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for Cabela’s World’s Foremost Bank. Before that, he was Executive Vice President and Head of Operations for Certus Bank, and has previously held senior domestic and international operational and customer engagement roles for JPMorgan Chase’s Auto & Student Lending Divisions, USAA, Ford Motor Credit Company and American Express.

Tony attended N.C. A&T State University majoring in Business Management and served as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corp.

Crawford Cragun

Board Member

Crawford Cragun

Crawford Cragun is an executive coach, primarily to chief executive officers of venture capital-backed companies. He is a strategic leader and an experienced board member, having served as the President or Chief Executive Officer at Franklin Templeton Bank & Trust, F.S.B. and Ford Credit Bank, and as a key leader at GMAC Capital Corporation, GE Capital Financial, Zions Bank, and Citicorp. Most recently, Mr. Cragun served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer and Executive Vice President, Risk and Compliance at Academy Mortgage, a national retail mortgage bank. He serves as Chair of the Audit Committee, and as a member of the Executive Committee. Mr. Cragun resides in Utah.

Jaime Pack

Board Member

Jaime Pack

Jaime Pack is a Senior Partner and Realtor® with Pack Fey Real Estate Group, which is affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Utah Properties, a worldwide real estate brokerage with respect to their Utah interests. Ms. Pack previously worked at Zion’s Bank from 2003-2014, most recently as Vice President of Zion’s First National Bank Premier Wealth Management. She serves as a member of the Risk and Compliance Committee. Ms. Pack resides in Utah.