LaKesha Page
Director, College Savings and ABLE Tennessee
LaKesha Page is the Director of College Savings and ABLE Tennessee for the Tennessee Department of Treasury. Under her leadership, Tennessee launched the TNStars® College Savings 529 Program in 2012.
TNStars is designed to give Tennessee families high quality investment options at a low cost to help them put aside money for higher education expenses. Tennesseans can invest directly with the program and money can be withdrawn tax-free when used for qualified education expenses. The program has been ranked nationally for its investment performance and has a 4 1/2 out of 5 Cap rating by SavingforCollege.com. At December 31, 2017, TNStars held $118.5 million in assets.
One of the nation’s first Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) programs to launch, ABLE TN has provided a valuable resource to help over 1,500 individuals with disabilities save for qualified expenses. Since June 2016, more than $8.2 million has been saved through the plan.
LaKesha has been with the Tennessee Department of Treasury since 2001 and has spent thirteen years working in the department’s college savings programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Administration from Fisk University. She is a 2008 graduate of the State of the State’s Tennessee Government Management Institute (TGMI), and a 2013 graduate of the State’s Tennessee Government Executive Institute (TGEI).