UMUC Asia - Staff Biographies

CARMEN TASSONE Associate Director, I.T.
Carmen Tassone holds a B.A. degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland University College. He joined the staff of UMUC Asia in August 1998 as a systems programmer for UMUC at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo. At UMUC Asia, Mr. Tassone has focused on the student and payroll programs and databases, as well as, the Distance Education system and UMUC Asia websites.

ROBERT THOMAS Degree Auditor
Bob Thomas holds an A.S. in liberal arts from the City College of San Francisco and a B.A. in Asian studies from UMUC. Having grown up near San Francisco's Chinatown, and also in Japan, he is comfortable in both Cantonese and Japanese. Mr. Thomas served for three years in the UMUC Asia Textbook Office at Yokota before becoming an Academic Advisor in 1992.

TYSHA TOLEFREE Comptroller
Tysha Tolefree earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Accounting from Saint Leo University and her MBA from Troy State University while serving in the U.S. Air Force. Ms. Tolefree is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Public Administration. Prior to joining UMUC-Asia, she was employed as an auditor for the state of Virginia, a senior accountant for a large non-profit organization in the healthcare industry and a tax analyst. In 2005, Ms. Tolefree joined UMUC-Asia as a staff accountant responsible for managing student collections. In 2006, Ms. Tolefree accepted a promotion to become UMUC-Asias first Bursar. In that role she has worked hard to build and lead the student financials section, often excelling despite having to do more with less. In July of 2009, Ms. Tolefree was promoted to the position of Comptroller for UMUC-Asia