Doug Criscitello is the executive director of the Center for USA Lending. He brings extensive experience in the budgeting, design, operation, and oversight of federal credit programs gained through positions in government, the private sector, and academia.
In government, Doug held CFO roles at two of the largest lending agencies – HUD and SBA – and previously worked on credit program budgeting at CBO and OMB. In the private sector, Doug worked at JPMorgan Securities and Grant Thornton in roles aimed at helping federal credit agencies access the capital markets to achieve policy goals. In academia, he served as the executive director of the Golub Center for Finance and Policy at MIT, where he led research and educational initiatives to strengthen public sector financial decision-making, and at Arnold Ventures, where he completed a fellowship focused on identifying and advancing solutions to improve the effective use of taxpayer dollars.
He is a fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and an advisor to government executives at the Partnership for Public Service. Doug earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Rochester.
Doug is supported by a team of strategic advisors who bring senior-level expertise from their broader
careers in federal lending, policy, and operations directly to CUSAL’s mission alongside their other work.
Jay Hurt has more than three decades of leadership in Federal financial management, credit program oversight, and higher education policy. Over his 34year career, he has served as both a senior Federal executive and a trusted advisor to Cabinet level agencies. From 2003 to 2018, he held multiple executive roles at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid, including Chief Financial Officer, where he helped modernize financial operations and strengthen stewardship of one of the
Federal government’s largest credit portfolios. He later served as a Managing Director at Grant Thornton Public Sector and a Partner at Guidehouse, advising agencies on financial integrity, credit program governance, and enterprise transformation.
Today, Jay leads his own consulting practice, providing strategic guidance in higher education
finance, Federal credit management, and government financial operations. He has authored
numerous articles, delivered dozens of presentations, and is widely recognized for translating
complex regulatory and financial frameworks into practical, actionable insights for
policymakers and practitioners. Jay lives in Centreville, Virginia with his wife, Kristine, and
enjoys time with their two adult sons, Jacob and Christopher.
Kate Aaby is the CEO and Co-Founder of KADO Executive Operations, which empowers non-profits and small businesses with fractional finance and operations executive leadership. As the former Chief Financial Officer for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), she has a passion for federal lending, economic development and increasing access to opportunity. Prior to SBA, Kate was the director of public sector financial services for a professional services firm managing large-scale operations and technology projects in both Washington D.C. and India. She also served in the White House Office of Management and Budget and New York City Human Resources Administration where she learned that budgets are actually strategic policy and program execution tools disguised in a spreadsheet.
Kate holds a Masters of Public Administration from NYU, Bachelors in Political Science and Anthropology from UMD, Project Management Professional (PMP) and Scrum Master certifications. She is also an Executive Function coach and loves being in nature with her family.
Kelsey Do is the President and Co-Founder of KADO Executive Operations, where she helps mission-driven organizations scale through fractional finance and operations leadership, and she serves as the President of the AGA Northern Virginia Chapter. With a background in both government and the private sector, she brings a pragmatic approach to strategy, operations, and financial management. Kelsey previously served as Senior Advisor to the Chief Financial Officer at the U.S. Small Business Administration, where she led agency-wide initiatives to improve budget execution, risk management, and operational effectiveness. Prior to SBA, she held leadership roles at several professional services firms, supporting cross-functional teams on technology modernization efforts.
Kelsey holds an MBA and a Masters in Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University, and Bachelors degrees in Business Management and French from Virginia Tech.
Robert Shea is Chief Executive Officer of GovNavigators. Before launching GovNavigators, Robert was National Managing Principal, Public Policy, at Grant Thornton. Robert has a more than 30-year history of working to improve government performance. He served on the Commission for Evidence-based Policymaking. Robert served as associate director for the U. S. Office of Management and Budget, where, among other things, he led the Federal Credit Scorecard. He was also senior management counsel for the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, legislative director for Congressman Pete Sessions, and a Professional Staff Member with the House Committee on Government Reform.
Robert is a Fellow and former Chairman of the Board of the National Academy of Public Administration. He has a J.D. from South Texas College of Law and a B.A. from Connecticut College.
