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Are Your Automated Records in Compliance?
Marjorie Arrington is a professional with the Higher Education Group of Dow Lohnes, LLC. Ms. Arrington in her role as Senior Manager of Higher Education Services assists the firm’s lawyers and their clients; school, colleges, and universities with matters relating to the management and administration of federal, state, and private student financial assistance programs. Ms. Arrington is also actively involved in transactional matters such as the acquisition and sale of postsecondary institutions, where she applies her expertise and experience to conduct due diligence respecting compliance with regulatory obligations. Immediately prior to joining Dow Lohnes, Ms. Arrington had been a financial aid consultant to the firm.
Ms. Arrington has a long career as a financial aid professional. For over twenty years she served as Corporate Director of Financial Aid and Title IV Compliance for Strayer University, during which time the University grew from two to nearly sixty campuses. In addition to leading the administration of the University’s student financial aid programs, Ms. Arrington spearheaded the development and implementation of Strayer’s student loan default management plan and built internal compliance controls which helped Strayer achieve annual Title IV compliance audits with only minimal findings. While at Strayer, Ms. Arrington coordinated the design and implementation of an online financial aid management system that has now been adopted by more than 90 institutions.
Ms. Arrington has been an active member in student financial aid professional organizations for many years. She is Past President of the Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, past member of the Executive Council of the Eastern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and has been a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and the Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators where she served as Co-Chair of VASFAA’s Minority Affairs Committee. She has been a speaker on various topics relating to the administration of financial aid programs at the national, regional and state levels.
Ms. Arrington received her B. A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Nicholas Janiga specializes in providing regulatory guidance to higher education institutions regarding federal, state and accrediting agency issues. He has particular experience in issues relating to institutional eligibility for the Title IV federal student aid programs, state change of ownership and distance education licensure requirements, as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Mr. Janiga frequently performs regulatory due diligence and transactional negotiations in connection with the sales and acquisitions of postsecondary institutions.
Mr. Janiga regularly represents institutions in proceedings before the U.S. Department of Education’s regional case teams with respect to institutional eligibility matters as well as program review and audit resolutions. He has successfully guided numerous institutions through the U.S. Department of Education’s initial eligibility, reinstatement, and change of ownership review processes.
College.gov: A Demonstration
Tina Pemberton served as the Design Lead for college.gov from the project's inception through this past year. She now works in Federal Student Aid's Student Aid Awareness and Outreach division which is focused on providing information and resources to all potential postsecondary students. She has worked at Federal Student Aid for nine years.
Mindy Zeidman has been a part of the college.gov project since it's initiation and continues to be actively involved in project management and support. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 2007 and has worked at Federal Student Aid for 3 years.
Customer Service, Confidentiality and Security
Allene Begley Curto is the Associate Director of Financial Aid at Springfield College. She administers financial aid for the School of Human Services which offers bachelors and masters degrees to adult students at eleven campuses in nine states. Allene has been in financial aid for over 20 years and at Springfield College for 15 years. Allene is a frequent presenter of "fun" financial aid topics like SAP, R2T4 and NSLDS issues. Allene is a "regulatory/compliance geek" who tries to find out how to make those regulations come at least a bit closer to actually helping students!
The Dangers of Fraud: How to Identify and Prevent and the Proper Procedures for Reporting
Steven D. Anderson is the Special Agent in Charge for Washington Field Office, Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General. In this capacity, he is responsible for supervising the investigative efforts of 16 Special Agents that cover a five state area. He began his federal law enforcement career in 1989 as a Special Agent with U.S. Air Force, Office of Special Investigations. He was a Senior Special Agent with the General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General for eight years prior to joining the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General in September 2001. He served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Dallas Office from 2001 to 2008.
Federal Loan Forgiveness Program
Stephen Brown is currently the Assistant Dean for Enrollment at Fordham Law School. He works with Admissions, Financial Aid and the Registrar's Office in providing superior administrative services. Prior to that, he spent twelve years at NYU School of Law, most recently as Director of Student Finance, Planning and Institutional Research. His roots are in financial aid, where, in addition to providing funding, he made financial education and decision-making a primary role for aid administrators. He reports that his first career, mental health counselor, has prepared him well for the challenges of law school administration.
Stephen is a frequent presenter at many admissions, financial aid and student services conferences, including NASFAA, NYSFAAA, NJASFAA, LSAC, ABA Section Meetings, ABA Tax Law meetings, AALS, NAPIL. He takes special interest in introducing financial aid and finance topics to new professionals, having served on NYSFAAA's Novice Training staff and the faculty of the LSAC Newcomers and NAGAP Professional Development workshops. Steve had served on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid, and the AALS Section on Student Services, and is currently serving on the New York State Bar Association Special Committee on Student Loan Assistance for the Public Interest. He has consulted to several law school admissions and financial aid offices, and non-profit LRAP Programs. Stephen received his B.S. in Psychology and Philosophy and M.S.Ed. in Student Services from Fordham University, and an Ed.M. in Counseling from Teachers' College, Columbia University, and will eventually finish his dissertation on, "New models for financing law school" at NYU.
Financial Literacy
John Brown is the Senior Accounts Receivable Specialist at Boston College. John spent 4 years in the U.S. Navy, 18 years in banking (teller and branch manager), and has spent the last 32 years at Boston College in various capacities all within the Student Financial Services area.
Financing Higher Education with AmeriCorps Education Awards
Peg Rosenberry is currently the Director of the Office of Grants Management at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Her first position in the Corporation was Director of Planning and Program Development. That unit was responsible for issuing all AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve Application instructions and managing the annual grant review and decision-making processes. She also served as Senior Advisor to the COO before becoming Director of Grants Management.
Her division is responsible for awarding all grants to states, national organizations and Indian Tribes under the National and Community Service Act of 1993. This includes AmeriCorps programs and service-learning programs that operate through state education agencies, colleges and universities and local school districts.
She came to the Corporation from the Commission on National and Community Service. She was the founder and first executive director of the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps and has been an advocate of national and community service since 1983. In the mid 1980's, she was the executive director of the Human Environment Center where she led a large coalition of conservation and social justice organizations promoting the passage of conservation and service corps and national service legislation.
How to Position Yourself and Financial Aid in the Priorities of Your Dean
Glenda Palmer, PhD, is Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Financial Aid at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. She has been in university administration for more than 25 years and medical school administration for the past twelve years. Dean Palmer holds a doctorate in psychology and has been instrumental in researching, rewriting, securing approval, and implementing new policies for areas where financial aid interfaces with other administrative areas. In addition to her duties in Financial Aid and Student Affairs she currently serves on the Admissions Committee and teaches a section of VCU-SOM's Project Heart, a course that runs throughout M1 and M2 addressing student issues and how to become a compassionate doctor. She has presented at numerous professional conferences and served on several national and regional professional advisory boards and as a prior Chair of the Access Group Conference.
Institutional Eligibility Issues Every Aid Administrator Should Know About
Blain Butner joined Dow Lohnes in 1980 and became a Member of the Firm in 1989. He is Co-Leader of the firm's Education Practice Group, and has a broad practice in the field of legal issues of higher education institutions. His primary area of specialty is federal grant programs, with a particular emphasis on the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education. He regularly advises clients with respect to institutional eligibility matters, program review and audit resolutions, preventive legal strategies, transactional matters and many other aspects of complying with federal and other regulatory requirements.
Mr. Butner has handled Title IV and related regulatory matters for more than 200 institutions. His clients include public and not-for-profit colleges and universities, proprietary career colleges, publicly traded school groups, education associations and investment firms. He has also counseled numerous educational organizations as they convert to, and subsequently operate as, publicly traded companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Butner has represented many colleges, universities and schools in matters before the U.S. Department of Education, state education agencies, accrediting bodies, student loan guaranty agencies, and other regulatory entities. He has conducted confidential internal reviews and investigations involving a myriad of regulatory issues for many of his educational clients.
Prior to joining Dow Lohnes, Mr. Butner was on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. While at Dow Lohnes, he has conducted numerous training programs and seminars and written articles on student aid management and legal issues for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the College Board, and other national, regional and state higher education organizations and associations.
Aaron Lacey counsels institutions of higher education regarding compliance with a broad array of federal, state and accrediting agency regulations. He has particular experience in issues relating to preferred lender arrangements, prohibited inducements and related codes of conduct, and distance learning and the exercise of federal and state jurisdiction.
Aaron represents institutions in proceedings before the U.S. Department of Education's case teams and administrative law judges, as well as accrediting agencies, and frequently advises institutions regarding the ever-changing regulatory requirements that apply to sales and acquisitions and the recertification process. Aaron also performs regulatory due diligence in connection with the sale of postsecondary institutions.
Finally, Aaron works extensively with institutions on matters involving the education of non-immigrant students and the administration of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and has successfully represented institutions facing denial or withdrawal of SEVIS eligibility.
Prior to joining the firm, Aaron attended the Vanderbilt University Law School. While at Vanderbilt, he served two years on the executive board of the Vanderbilt Legal Aid Society and worked with the Nashville Pro Bono Clinic and the Nashville Legal Aid Office. Aaron also spent three months in Merced, California as a NAPIL/VISTA Summer Fellow, participating extensively in the direct representation of clients with landlord/tenant concerns and working as part of a statewide consortium reviewing the activities of various California Public Housing Authorities.
Making the Magical 7%
Heather Ball is the Associate Director for Student Employment Programs in the Office of Student Financial Services at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Heather has over 10 years experience in Student Employment. She is a past president of both the National Student Employment Association (NSEA) and Northeast Association of Student Employment Administrators (NEASEA). Prior to her current position, Heather oversaw the Off Campus Community Service Program at American University in Washington, DC.
Nurse Faculty Loan Program, Nursing Student Loan Programs, and Other HHS Campus Based Branch Programs
Jim Essel is currently the Acting Branch Chief for the Campus Based Branch (CBB) in the Bureau of Health Professions. Prior to this appointment he was a Public Health Analyst for the Division of Student Loans and Scholarships (DSLS), and project officer for the Primary Care Loan Program. Mr. Essel has been with the DSLS for five years. Prior to coming to DSLS, Mr. Essel worked as Management Analyst and assistant to the Associate Administrator of Health Professions. He started his career with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2002.
Denise Thompson is a Public Health Analyst in charge of the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) and is the Loan Close-out Team leader. Prior to coming to DSLS she worked with the Division of Nursing on NFLP and nurse traineeship grant programs. Ms. Thompson has been with the Department of Health and Human Services for 11 years.
Christine Brazell is a Public Health Analyst in charge of the Nursing Student Loan Program and is the Annual Operating Report Reconciliation Team leader. Prior to coming to Health Resources and Services Administration, Ms. Brazell worked with the District of Columbia Department of Health where she managed a Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She also served as regional representative for RPE programs in six states and the District of Columbia.
Lesa Bandy is managing the Loans for Disadvantaged Students Program, and works with the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program. Ms. Bandy is also the write-off specialist for CBB. Ms. Bandy has worked with the Campus Based Branch programs for 11 years.
Cynthia Johnson is helping manage the Health Professions Student Loan program and is part of the team that audit and reconciles Annual Operating Reports. Ms. Johnson has worked in DSLS for 9 years.
Policy Potpourri
Kelly Kaelin, TG Senior Policy Advisor, has over 13 years of experience in the financial aid industry. She started her career as a financial aid officer at the University of Texas at Austin in 1995. In 2000, Kelly came to TG as a member of its Policy and Regulatory Affairs team. Among her job duties at TG, Kelly reviews changes in statute, regulations, and policy; completes policy inquiries and analysis; and provides training on a wide variety of financial aid industry topics.
Professional Judgment
Carney McCullough is the Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education. She began her career as an admissions counselor, then as an associate director of financial aid before joining the Department of Education, where she has served in many capacities for the last 25 years.
Ms. McCullough received her B.A. from Hanover College and her M.S. from Monmouth College. She is married and has a fourteen year old son.
Rising Debt – Is Graduate Education Worth the Money?
Heather Boushey is senior economist at the Center for American Progress. Prior to joining the Center she was a senior economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. She was formerly a senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Dr. Boushey studies working families and trends in the U.S. labor market. She has written extensively on labor issues, including tracking the recession and its impact on workers and their families, women’s labor force participation, trends in income inequality, and work/life policy issues. Her work is important to understanding how women have fared in recent recessions.
She has testified before Congress and given lectures nationwide. Dr. Boushey’s research has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, as well as many regional papers, television and radio. Previously, Dr. Boushey worked at the Economic Policy Institute, where she co-authored The State of Working America 2002-3 and Hardships in America: The Real Story of Working Families.
Boushey received her Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research and her B.A. from Hampshire College.
Leon Johnson, Jr., is a leader in access to education and health care who has more than 25 years of experience in education finance, financial aid and the foundation, association, and business arena. He earned his B.A. from Howard University, an MBA from the Wharton School and his D.Ed. from Penn State University. Johnson is president and CEO of EAS Group, LLC, an education finance specialty firm that provides objective unbiased comprehensive "paying for higher education and beyond" financing solutions, education programs and related endorsed services to professional associations, colleges, universities and their members and students.
Concerned by increasing student loan debt and the knowledge disconnect between "financial aid" and "financial planning" EAS founded MEDebt Solutions in 2007. MEDebt Solutions is a comprehensive personal and education finance information resource and consulting services firm offering "education" debt and money management seminars, workshops and consultations as well as personalized debt evaluation and budget affordability assessments, designed to improve the entire financial life and protect the value of the degree and future earnings of students and graduates.
Dr. Johnson has served as a consultant to NIH, a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), an 18-year member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Committee on Student Financial Aid (COSFA) and its Sub Committee on Student Loan Default Prevention. Currently he serves as a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Summer Medical Dental Education Program (SMDEP) National Advisory Committee and vice president of the board of directors of the American College Student Association (ACSA).
James G. Leipold is the Executive Director of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). Prior to joining NALP, he worked at the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for five and a half years as the assistant director for education and prelaw programs. Prior to joining LSAC in 1998, he was the director of admission at Temple University School of Law, where he was also an instructor in legal writing and research.
He is a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University and Temple University School of Law. He has also worked as a legal writing instructor in the paralegal program at the Community College of Philadelphia, as an undergraduate admission officer at the University of Vermont, and as a high school English teacher in both Michigan and Alaska.
Same old, Same Old! No, It's Not!
Crystal Finefrock is the Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She has been a member of the PSU Financial Aid Team for almost 9 years. Within her office, Crystal is responsible for technology, office operations and staff supervision. She is active in NHASAFAA and current serves as the NH Representative on the New England College Board Financial Aid Advisory Committee. And, she is happy to be in Washington DC for EASFAA 2009.
Tackling the Community College Default Issues
Lynn Lee is the Director of Financial Aid at Harford Community College. Lynn has worked in community college financial aid since 1975 and has served on various college committees, including a committee to study retention issues in community colleges. Lynn has presented for the DE-DC-MD-ASFAA on various topics having chaired the Professional Development and Training Committee for DE-DC-MD ASFAA and chaired the DE-DC-MD-ASFAA. Lynn has other committee experience as well having served on various community boards, such as the Board of Directors for Family Services in Cecil County, Maryland, the Board of Directors of Open Doors in Bel Air, Maryland and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Harford County Department of Social Services.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill
Patrick "Shawn" Casey has been working for the Department of Veteran Affairs for nine years. He began his career with VA in May 2000 at the Muskogee, OK Regional Processing Office. In July 2003 moved to VA Central Office and is currently on the Outreach and Training staff. Mr. Casey is a disabled veteran having served in both the Marines and the Air Force. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has two wonderful kids.
Title IV Funding: How To's of New Program Approval
Melissa Gregory is the College Director of Student Financial Aid for Montgomery College in Maryland, a multi-campus community college serving over 33,000 credit students each year. She is also a graduate of MC, with Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the George Washington University.
Ms. Gregory has worked as a financial aid administrator in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan region for 29 years at schools including George Washington University, University of Maryland College Park, Frederick Community College, and Montgomery College. She is active in financial aid legislative issues and testified on both the federal and state level supporting financial aid application simplification and increased access to college for all students.
Ms. Gregory looks forward to putting her own two sons through college in the near future.
Treatment of Unaccompanied Homeless Youth on the FAFSA
Barbara Duffield is Policy Director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (“NAEHCY”). NAEHCY, a national membership association, serves as the voice and the social conscience for the education of children and youth in homeless situations.
Ms. Duffield’s involvement in homeless issues began in 1990 as a tutor for homeless children in Washington, D.C. She subsequently joined the National Coalition for the Homeless (“NCH”) and served as Director of Education for NCH from 1994-2003, working closely with educators, service providers, federal agencies and Congressional offices to strengthen policy and practice on children’s issues. Ms. Duffield has conducted hundreds of trainings around the United States for school districts, community organizations, and local, state, and national groups to assist in the implementation of the Act. In addition, she has published several academic articles on policy and advocacy issues relating to the education of homeless children and youth.
In addition to her work with NAEHCY and NCH, Barbara is a founding and continuing Advisory Committee member for the LeTendre Education Fund for Homeless Children, which provides scholarships for homeless and formerly homeless young people who wish to pursue post-secondary education. Barbara also serves on the Board of the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness.
Ms. Duffield was born and raised in Michigan, and she received her Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Johnavae Campbell is the Deputy Director of College Goal Sunday Operations responsible for ensuring proper communication and management of 37 state programs. Mrs. Campbell works to increase the effectiveness of the College Goal Sunday program through the development of training opportunities and partnership development with national and state organizations with similar missions to increase the number of low income, underrepresented potential college students who enter and succeed in postsecondary education.
Prior to joining NASFAA, Mrs. Campbell (Quinn) was the Director of Public/Private Partnerships of National and International Programs at the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) where she worked to raise the visibility of TRIO programs on a state-level through advocacy and coalition building. In addition, She served as a Teacher for Africa participant in Guinea, West-Africa, where she taught English as a Second Language to high school students and worked with Peace Corps volunteers on the empowerment of girls in education.
Ms. Campbell holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master’s of Science in Educational Policy from the University of Kentucky.
Understanding the Student Loan Funding Mechanism (Federal and Private Student Loans)
Barbara Thomas is the Executive Director, Head of Student Loan Group at Morgan Stanley. Barbara joined Morgan Stanley in 2004 to head the Student Loan Group within the Fixed Income Division of the Firm with over 23 years of experience in the investment banking business. Barbara serves as the Firm's lead banker to the student loan industry. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Ms. Thomas was at Deutsche Bank in the Corporate Investment Banking Division, where she led the Bank's efforts in building the structured finance business for global corporate clients, primarily in Europe. While at Deutsche Bank, she developed innovative solutions and structured debt and equity products, most notably in the telecommunications and technology and business services outsourcing industries. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Ms. Thomas served as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs for twelve years. As a primary relationship banker, she cultivated and maintained a national client base in the utility sector, both public and private. Ms. Thomas has been at the forefront of student loan industry developments and was an integral member of the Department of Education’s ABCP Conduit structuring team for which Morgan Stanley served as co structuring lead advisor. Ms. Thomas has an MBA in finance from New York University Stern School of Business.
Veterans' Affairs
Matt Camardese received his MSW from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2006 with a concentration in Mental Health. He has been working with the Baltimore VA Medical Center’s Returning Veterans Outreach, Education and Care (RVOEC) Program since August 2006. In this role, Matt provides individual and group psychotherapy to returning veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), in addition to providing family interventions. Matt serves as the mental health liaison and clinician for the newly-created OEF/OIF Primary Care Clinic at the Baltimore VA to assist veterans with addressing biopsychosocial needs in a primary care setting to ensure that veterans are thoroughly screened by numerous healthcare providers. His work also includes outreach to veterans, their loved ones and community groups on military installations and in the community.