Greg Schmitz, Ph.D., is the President of VGM Education, a VGM Group, Inc. company. He joined VGM in October 2010. Greg’s primary responsibility is to guide the expansion of VGM Education’s offerings in both its traditional areas of interest and into areas beyond.

Prior to joining VGM, Greg was President of Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa. He also held several high-level positions in public education and in private industry. He began his professional career as a certified public accountant with KPMG Peat Marwick. Greg earned his master’s and PhD degrees from Iowa State University, and his BA from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.

Greg has given presentations at the national level, has many professional affiliations and serves on numerous community boards.

Sara Bauer is the Vice President of Education for VGM & Associates. She has been with VGM since 1998, and has been actively involved in the managed care division, HOMELINK, since joining the VGM team. 

Her main responsibilities have been developing and implementing training programs for VGM employees to maximize their productivity and to serve the VGM Members and Participating Vendors. 

As Vice President of Education, she is committed to building industry-leading educational programs that provide VGM Group members with tools to increase their sales remain competitive in the marketplace and increase their profitability. 

Sara works with VGM Group Participating Vendors in the education of VGM Members as it pertains to the sale/use of their products. Sara is also an active member of ASTD (American Society on Training & Development).

Scott Sergeant is Manager of e-Learning Development for VGM Education. He is responsible for coordinating Web-based training and developing programs for VGM members and VGM employees in an effort to meet their education and accreditation needs. His primary responsibilities include coordinating course curriculum, developing course content, and producing new courses for VGM’s Virtual University, VGMU. He also coordinates and hosts VGM’s monthly Member Orientation Program teleconferences and webinars, which are free to VGM Members.

A graduate of Iowa State University, Scott brought his love for writing and teaching to VGM in August 2003, following a career path that led him to such companies as John Deere, Lennox Industries, and GMAC Mortgage.

Lori Schilling is the Manager of Education Services for VGM Group, Inc. She has been with VGM since 1998, when she worked in the collection and training departments of HOMELINK, VGM's managed care division. In 2005, Lori joined the VGM Education team.

Lori is the continuing education unit administrator for VGM Education, and oversees the application process for CEU approvals. She also works closely with the vice president of education to manage day-to-day operations of the education team and its various programs.

Megan Kraft is an e-Learning Specialist for VGM & Associates. She joined the VGM Education team in the summer of 2007. Megan is responsible for coordinating course curriculum, developing customized course content, and producing new courses for VGMU’s various learning platforms. She also registers new students on VGMU, and fields questions from current VGMU users. A graduate from the University of Northern Iowa with a B.A. in Interpersonal Communication, Megan brings previous experience working as a sales associate, and a publicist.

Bridget Thede is an Education Associate for VGM & Associates. She joined VGM Education in the spring of 2008. Bridget is responsible for managing continuing education records, organizing educational session for VGM’s annual Heartland Conference, and she administers several interoffice procedures. In addition, Bridget works closely with the Vice President of Education in assisting with various project planning and development.

A graduate from Hawkeye Community College, Bridget brings previous working experience as a Home Medical Billing/Insurance Specialist, Medical Equipment Customer Account Rep., and Administrative Assistant.

Jill Blaser is the Technical Writer for VGM Education. She joined VGM in the spring of 2010. Jill is responsible for writing blog and social media posts as well as the VGM Education newsletter. She assists in the development and design of VGMU courses and coordinates course curriculum with various authors in the field.

Jill is a graduate of Western Michigan University and brings with her experience as a writing consultant, as well as advanced writing and research experience.

Eric Halton is the Sales Representative for VGM Education. He started with VGM in 2011, where he worked as the lead associate for Utility Sales, VGM's own focused marketing group. Eric joined the VGM Education team in March 2012. His primary responsibilities include developing and maintaining the e-learning relationships with current and potential customers, giving live-demos, and most importantly quality customer service. Eric is a graduate of St. Ambrose University.