Who Is Behind Nitro?

Jim co-founded Nitro with the goal of creating better opportunities for student loan borrowers. Jim has a history of helping young adults advance their careers. One example is his creation of one of the first nonprofit coding schools in the country, Zip Code Wilmington. A second is his experience as a board member at the Delaware State University.

Ben is president of Nitro. With over 25 years of financial services experience and nearly a decade of working with students from financially distressed communities, he’s dedicated to ensuring that student loan borrowers have access to the best options in the marketplace.

Justin is Chief Digital Officer for Nitro.  Justin has over 15 years of experience in financial services and is passionate about using digital tools to help people make better financial decisions.  Having volunteered as a mentor in his local community, he also understands the impact that access to high quality education can have.  His goal with Nitro is to help as many students and parents as possible navigate the complexities of paying for college.    

Jon is marketer for Nitro and is responsible for all digital operations. He also just recently refinanced his student loans which will allow him to pay them off 5 years faster and save an additional $152/month. While he continues to pay them off himself, he strives to help others do the same. In his work for Nitro, Jon is continuing his career trajectory of connecting people with educational opportunities to help them improve their careers and personal finances. In his free time you can find him reading travel blogs and researching destinations around the world in search of his next adventure.

Eric leads the digital marketing strategy and execution for Nitro. He has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry – building and scaling digital businesses across a number of consumer finance products. Through disciplined saving and investing, Eric was able to pay off his student loans within five years.

Carol Katarsky is a contributing writer for Nitro. She is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience writing about both finance and education. Her corporate and non-profit clients include AIG, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Project Management Institute. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, son, and one cat more than she should.

Julissa Treviño is a writer and journalist covering finance, science and health. In addition to writing about student loans and millennial finance for Nitro and Nitro, she has written for Barclays, GM Financial, Smithsonian and Popular Science. 

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Katie Taylor is a content writer and strategist. She specializes in finance and tech, working with innovative companies that handle every aspect of financial life — including student loans, billing and accounting, blockchain, and the financial ramifications of a loved one's death.  She is a cofounder of BlockchainVT, an online publication about blockchain business in the Green Mountain State. 

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Jen Williamson has been a freelance writer in the finance space for over 12 years, with a special focus on student debt. Prior to that, she worked for several years as a teacher and counselor at an adult literacy nonprofit, where she helped nontraditional students from all walks of life pass the GED test, strengthen their financial literacy, and navigate their college options. Her passion is helping people with student loans pay off those loans faster - and achieve big dreams despite debt. She covers other areas of expertise as a freelance copywriter, including tech, business, education, and health.  

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Sara Lindberg, B.S., M.Ed., is a freelance writer specializing in business, finance, health, and wellness. She holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Exercise Science and a Master's Degree in Counseling. When she’s not writing, Sara can be found at the gym lifting weights, running the back roads to train for her next half-marathon, and spending time with her husband and two children.

Sheryl Nance-Nash is a freelance writer based in New York City. She specializes in personal finance, business, small business, and travel topics. Her articles have appeared in Money, Newsday, The New York Times, DailyFinance.com, ABCNews.com, Forbes.com, TheFiscalTimes.com, among others. When she's not writing about retirement, taxes, student loans, credit, debt, and everything under the personal finance umbrella, she writes about businesses—big and small—their victories and the challenges they face. Sheryl is married with a grown daughter. Her favorite pasttime is traveling. She loves chronicling her adventures and exploring new places and cultures.

Kat Tretina is a freelance writer based in Orlando. Specializing in personal finance, she is focused on helping people pay down their debt and boost their incomes. Her work has been feature din publications like The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and U.S. News.

Trish is a writer for Nitro. Her work has appeared in Woman’s Day, Redbook, Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and Forbes. She has also written for various corporate clients, including the tech giant SAP, The Franklin Institute, and PSE&G. When Trish isn’t busy acting as a writing ninja for other people, you can find her … well, writing about other stuff, like divorce and blended family life. She lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband, their combined brood, and the world’s laziest dog.