Jeff Swears serves as Vice President for Finance and CFO at Alma College, a private college located in the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. He is also co-founder and CFO of Essata Technologies Inc., a technology company that develops and markets power and data distribution infrastructure for commercial buildings.

After graduating from Alma College in 1983, Jeff served as a U.S. Army field artillery officer and spent three years deployed in West Germany. In 1987 he began work as an accountant at Dow Corning Corporation, a specialty chemicals manufacturer. During his career Jeff progressed through a variety of financial and business management roles that included overseas assignments in Japan and South Korea and ultimately a stint managing global business operations for a $2 billion division. After retiring from Dow Corning in 2016, Jeff spent one year as the CFO for WVA Manufacturing, a West Virginia-based silicon metal manufacturer.

Jeff joined the Youth Solutions Board of Directors in 2017 and continues as a member because he believes in the power of investing in youth who might otherwise be left behind. Keeping kids in school and giving them the help they need to overcome barriers will pay off for each individual and for our entire economy. Jeff and his wife, Deb, live in Grand Haven and expend great energy keeping up with their seven grandchildren.