CSF Leadership
Meet the team behind the College Savings Foundation (CSF). Composed of seasoned 529 plan professionals and industry leaders, our leadership team and staff are dedicated to driving advocacy, member engagement, and strategic growth for the higher education savings community.
Chris McGee
Chair
Chris McGee serves as general counsel and the head of the Policy Division at Commonwealth Savers Plansm (formerly, Virginia College Savings Plansm) and is responsible for its legal, compliance, and legislative/regulatory objectives. Prior to joining Commonwealth Savers, Chris was in private practice for 14 years with a focus on commercial litigation and commercial transactions and also briefly served in the Office of the Virginia Attorney General. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law where he was the Executive Editor of the University of Richmond Law Review.
Before attending law school, Chris was an officer with Sovran Investment Corporation. He was also selected for and completed Sovran Bank’s commercial lending program, a full-time, year-long program with an emphasis on quantitative analysis, credit policies, and loan structuring.
He regularly serves as a speaker, moderator, and panelist at national 529 and ABLE industry conferences and has co-authored articles on both 529 and ABLE issues. Chris currently serves as the chair of the College Savings Foundation.
Sandie Palmer
Vice Chair
Sandie Palmer serves as Senior Vice President, Head of 529 Education Savings, Non-ERISA Retirement Products, and Donor Advised Fund at Franklin Templeton, one of the industry’s leading independent asset managers. In this capacity, she is responsible for program strategy, sales, and cultivating new relationships within the Retirement, Insurance & 529 Division, focusing on tax-deferred solutions.
Prior to Franklin Templeton’s integration with Legg Mason in July 2020, Sandie was Director and Co-Head of Legg Mason’s US Retirement Solutions Division, where she oversaw the division’s operating model, strategic direction, and managed both the Defined Contribution Investment Only (DCIO) and Variable Annuity/Sub-Advisory field sales teams. Earlier, she led a national account team as Senior National Account Manager, strengthening strategic partnerships across individual and workplace retirement channels.
Her previous roles include national account management positions at Columbia Funds and Oppenheimer Funds, where she directed distribution strategy and business development with insurance and broker-dealer partners. Sandie began her financial services career in Baltimore, MD at Legg Mason Wood Walker and T. Rowe Price.
Tracy A. Zeigler
Secretary
Tracy Zeigler is a Senior Product Manager for the 529 college savings plans offered at Bank of America. Bank of America is one of the largest distributors of advisor-sold 529 plans in the country, supporting more than $20 billion in 529 college savings assets. The bank, through Merrill Financial Advisors, offers 21 advisor-sold 529 programs, as well as Maine’s NextGen 529 Direct Plan through the Merrill Edge online investing platform.
In her role, Tracy supports the day-to-day management of Bank of America’s 529 business by helping to maintain appropriate governance and regulatory standards and by contributing to effective execution across the platform. She partners with internal teams on marketing initiatives and helps manage key external relationships, including serving as the primary point of contact with the Finance Authority of Maine for NextGen 529.
Tracy has more than 34 years of experience in the financial services industry, with a career spanning investment relationship management, marketing, sales and operations roles focused on retirement and education savings products.
Tracy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Rutgers University and is Series 7 and Series 66 registered.
John Park
Treasurer
John Park, is BlackRock’s Head of Educational Savings. His responsibilities include business development, product & platform strategy, and driving the success of the 529 educational savings business. In addition, he is responsible for managing the firm’s retail and state relationships as it relates to 529 and ABLE government savings programs.
Prior to joining BlackRock, Mr. Park held leadership roles at Citigroup Asset Management, Citi Private Bank, and Morgan Stanley. He was Product Head of the Unit Investment Trust and ETF businesses at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and managed product development for Smith Barney’s Structured Portfolios Group.
Mr. Park earned a BA degree in Government from Dartmouth College.
Vivian Tsai
Immediate Past Chair
Vivian Tsai is on the leadership team of TIAA’s Education Savings business as Head of Relationship Management where her responsibilities include client relationship management, contract oversight, client satisfaction, and growth strategy across twelve 529 college savings plans representing more than $85 billion in education savings.
Prior to joining TIAA in 2014, Vivian worked in sales and product management roles with BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch. She worked in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Taipei, Los Angeles, and New York. Vivian has been on the Board of College Savings Foundation since 2011, serving as Board Chair from 2020-2024, and serves on the Governance Committee of the College Savings Plan Network.
In addition to her Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Vivian is a Certified Investment Management Analyst and a Certified Private Wealth Advisor and holds FINRA Series 7, 66, 24, 31, 51 registrations.
Staff
Mary-Claire Gordon
Senior Meeting Manager
Zackary Jarman
Marketing Manager