Leadership

 

Brenda Wright
Vice President of Financial Aid Operations

Brenda has served in numerous financial aid executive roles at major institutions. Prior to joining FA Solutions, she served as the Chief Operations Officer at University Financial Aid solutions. Brenda also served as the Assistant Vice President of Student Financial Services at Saint Leo University, and the Director of Student Financial Services at the State University of New York at Albany. She has extensive experience overseeing student financial services for an array of students and locations, including traditional undergraduate and graduate students and non-traditional students online and at off-campus locations. Brenda holds a B.S. in Accounting, a B.S. in Economics from Mansfield University (NY), and an MBA in Management from St. John Fisher College (NY). Brenda’s core strengths are in financial aid include compliance, process automation, and leadership.

Brenda’s interests outside of work include training for and running marathons. She is also a foodie at heart, and enjoys both cooking in, and dining out. She loves to vacation including cruising, the beach, and Napa Valley. She absolutely adores animals, and loves pampering her two “kids”, Lexie and Anchor. Lexie is a six pound Havanese with just one eye, and Anchor is a six pound Shih Tzu that was rescued from the streets of Miami. Without question, what she likes most about working at FA Solutions are the people that she has the pleasure of meeting, and ultimately the friendships that form — not only internally at our company, but also with the school partners that we serve.

Sharon M. Miller
Executive Director of Systems Operations and Implementation

Sharon brings 25 years of experience to FA Solutions with her work as a financial aid consultant, performing assessments at small technical schools to large state universities.  She has extensive experience with regulation compliance for TIV and State aid including all aspects of financial aid compliance and administration, administrator of TIV aid, reconciliation, and implementation of multiple software systems. At FA Solutions Sharon implements all new credit hour and clock hour clients into the company’s SIS,  maximizes staff efficiency by restructuring processes to increase use of technology, and updates policies yearly to ensure compliance across all TIV aid. She also has experience  in streamlining the reconciliation process for a $124 million Direct Loan program. Sharon holds a B.A. in Telecommunication from Michigan State University and an MBA from Saint Leo University.

Sharon loves traveling and has been to 46 of 50 states. She has most recently been to Poland and Italy. She also enjoys reading action/adventure, spy novels and spending time with family and friends. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I like the challenge of working with so many different schools.”

Pamela Notemyer Rogers
Vice President of Business Development / Senior Consultant

Pam comes to FA Solutions with over 25 years of experience in admissions and student services.  In her consulting work for some of our school partners, she focuses on enrollment best practices and supporting schools as they work with students throughout their lifecycle. Pam started her career in higher education at Bay State College in Boston, MA. where she served as a faculty member and advisor and also worked in financial planning and student accounts.  She quickly moved throughout the organization to work in all facets of the college – including serving in the role of Vice President and Dean of Admissions.  After 14 years, Pam relocated to Charlotte, NC with her growing family to work with Johnson & Wales University and then moved on to The Art Institute of Charlotte. She served in admissions and student service leadership roles at both institutions.  Pam then transitioned to a consulting firm where she spent seven years as the Senior Vice President of Client Services working with a variety of schools and universities to assist them in process improvement, staff development and training, as well as serving as a trusted advisor to executive leadership at the schools.  Pam earned an A.A.S. in General Studies and a B.S. in Psychology and Women’s Studies at Bay State College in Boston, MA. She also completed graduate coursework at the College in Gender Cultural Studies.

Pam and her husband live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their three children and their beloved pet dog.  She enjoys spending time with her family and traveling with them and loves to run marathons and trail races. Pam is active in her community and at her church as well.  She has served as a board member at Pine Lake Preparatory School to help write their strategic plan and was instrumental in vetting new leadership at the school. Pam enjoys working with FA Solutions because she knows the team of professionals are the best in the financial aid and student services business. Her ability to really enhance the student and school partners’ experience is what she is most proud of in her consulting work.

Bridget McGuire
Vice President of Operations

Bridget brings more than 22 years of financial aid experience to FA Solutions.  She has served in several financial aid executive roles at large, growing institutions.  She has extensive experience in all aspects of financial aid from audit and compliance, production management, organizational efficiencies and customer service.  At FA Solutions Bridget’s role involves ensuring accountability through each step of the process to create a seamless financial aid experience for the student and client school at every turn.  Bridget holds a B.A in Communications from Elon University and a M.S. in Education Administration from Capella University.

Bridget enjoys socializing with her friends, reading and spending time with her husband and 3 children.  What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I love the dedication each employee brings to the job and the uniqueness each school brings with the variety of programs, systems and students.”

Andrew Weaver
Account Manager and Financial Aid Consultant

Andrew is a 30+ year veteran of the student financial aid delivery profession. He has developed an extensive knowledge base through direct experience and collaboration that includes effective administration of federal, state and institutional student aid programs. At FA Solutions Andrew has assisted numerous post-secondary institutions with internal assessment, compliance analysis, and innovative solutions for student communication and leveraged financial aid enrollment management practices. Through his various leadership roles in professional associations, including president of the Alabama Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Andrew takes a proactive approach to ensuring the primary goal of serving students through effective financial aid delivery. He was awarded the M. Cecil Padgett Outstanding Achievement Award for service to the financial aid profession, the highest honor given by the state professional association. Andrew holds a B.A. in Business Administration from The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Andrew enjoys hiking, gardening, taking trips on his motorcycle and spending time with his wife, Karen, and two sons, Austin and Luke. What he likes best about working with FA Solutions: “The most satisfying part of my job with FA Solutions is knowing that I have had a positive impact in assisting students pursuing post-secondary education. It’s also gratifying when our school partners share how FA Solutions has made their jobs less stressful.”

Sean M. Collum
Associate Director of FA Operations

Sean Collum brings over 25 years of higher education experience to FA Solutions. Sean works with our Operations Team implementing new accounts, conducts staff training and is always looking for solutions to streamline processing while complying with federal regulations. Sean’s financial aid professional career includes working in public colleges as well as private universities and third party service organizations. His experience covers multiple facets of higher education administration, streamlining financial aid and scholarship processing, and implementing policies and procedures to ensure compliance with Title IV aid regulations. Sean holds a B.A. in Business Management / Marketing from Charleston Southern University. Sean enjoys traveling, running and bringing old neglected houses back to life. What he likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I’m excited to be working with various types of institutions at FA Solutions.”

Lisa Stone
Director of Compliance

Lisa Stone has worked in the proprietary higher education sector for 23 years – which included a 10 year stint working for another major third-party financial aid servicer as a refund analyst and manager of refunds. In the last 10 years Lisa served as a compliance auditor and also as a compliance manager for Corinthian Colleges. At FA Solutions Lisa serves as the Director of Compliance, and in this role functions as an independent and objective body that reviews and evaluates compliance issues/concerns within the organization. Lisa also serves as the liaison between the Department of Education and Independent Auditors. Lisa’s husband is a major in the USAF and will be promoted to LT. Colonel in the coming months. They have three children – including two grown daughters and one son who is ten years old. Lisa enjoys running and hiking. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I love the teamwork mentality.  Every team member is brilliant and quick to help each other out when needed.  Most of the time, they do not have to be asked to help, they volunteer freely.”

Trudy M. Plunkett
Financial Aid Processing Manager

Trudy brings more than 14 years of experience to FA Solutions, including all aspects of federal, state, and institutional financial aid compliance and administration, student services, admissions, enrollment management, document management, research and training, supervision and evaluation, auditing and preparation of audits, and recruitment and retention of students from small private colleges to large private colleges. Her accomplishments include streamlining financial aid and scholarship processing while increasing enrollment and implementing policies and procedures to ensure compliance among all applicable entities. At FA Solutions Trudy provides daily direction and communication to a financial aid processing team to ensure clients receive timely, effective, and knowledgeable services. She also processes financial aid, packages students, reviews documents, communicates with clients, researches regulations, provides training and feedback, and conducts audits and reviews files to ensure accuracy. Trudy holds an A.A. in Business Management from Everest College in Phoenix, Arizona.

Trudy enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I like working for owners that genuinely care about their employees and clients and always want to do the right thing. I also appreciate the teamwork, communication, and cooperation between departments.”

Laura Selvey
Director of Financial Aid

Laura brings 14 years of financial aid experience to FA Solutions. She has served in leadership and executive roles at both for-profit and not-for-profit institutions. In those settings she managed all aspects of federal, state, and institutional financial aid compliance and administration and had oversight over the Financial Aid, Bursar, and Financial Literacy Departments. Her focus in these roles was working together with student services, admissions, academics, and career placement to facilitate student success and provide a seamless, exceptional customer experience. She also developed and implemented staff training and professional development plans. Additionally, she restructured workflow and departmental organization to improve accuracy and timeliness. Her oversight also encompassed compliance and strategic planning and management of 90/10 tracking and calculation, Gainful Employment requirements, and Default Prevention. At FA Solutions, she provides daily direction and support to members of the processing team to ensure the highest level of client satisfaction and care. Laura has a B.A. in Business from Ball State University and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Laura and her husband have 3 young children, including a set of twins, and together they love outdoor activities such as running, biking, boating, camping and fishing.  What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I love working for a high-quality organization with strong values and great people. I really enjoy working to support schools and helping them overcome challenges and meet their goals. It’s a great feeling to be able to assist in their success.”

Lorell M. Bradley
Senior Campus Director

Lorell brings more than seven years of financial aid experience to FA solutions where she assists with new employee training and works with all aspects of financial aid – including file processing, student financial aid interviews, file processing, completing SSCRs, Return of Title IV, file auditing. She has also provided assistance with streamlining the file review process, implementing audit procedures, keeping statistical data to ensure teams are meeting accuracy goals and has managed multiple file processing teams.

Lorell enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children and has recently taken up a new hobby — event planning. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I love the fast paced, interactive, team based environment and that no two days are ever the same when servicing multiple types of client schools. I feel empowered knowing that FA Solutions has knowledgeable and experienced FA professionals on our team.”

Stephanie Miller
Financial Aid Processing Manager

Stephanie brings more than 15 years of experience to FA Solutions. She began as a financial aid work study student at a four-year public institution.  Her love of students and financial aid brought her back to her roots four years later as a Financial Aid Loan/Grant Processor after teaching and coaching at a high school.  She has been in the financial aid world of regulations ever since as an assistant director and interim director.  At FA Solutions Stephanie provides onsite leadership for some of the company’s partner schools for reporting, high level and daily financial aid processing, student communications and staff training.

Stephanie has earned various credentials from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) and been active in various professional organizations. She has served as President and Secretary for the Alabama Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (AASFAA) and on the executive board of her regional association, Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SASFAA).  She has also been a panelist on the 2014 R2T4 webinar series for NASFAA. As part of her involvement with that organization, she has also had the opportunity to go to Washington DC to address legislators on the state of federal student aid programs and higher education. Stephanie holds a B.S. in Exercise Science and Wellness, a M.S. in Education, and a MPA from Jacksonville State University. Stephanie enjoys spending time with her family, working with the youth at her church, reading, traveling, and new adventures. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I love that we are more than a team, we are a family.  Our family is ALL IN for the success of our clients, our students, each other, and our company.”

Mariel Lee
Director of Audit

Mariel brings almost a decade of financial aid experience to FA Solutions. She has extensive experience in processing verification, awarding federal funding, auditing files, student communication, account management, and other various aspects of financial aid. Mariel also has a background in employee management/relations. Some of her accomplishments include streamlining financial aid processes and performing audits to ensure that they are within the schools and Department of Education’s compliance expectations. At FA Solutions she has implemented and supported multiple client accounts. Mariel holds a B.A. in Criminology from the University of South Florida and her M.S. in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo University. Mariel enjoys going to the movies, trying new local restaurants, and couponing. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I enjoy the teamwork.”

Erica M. Micel
File Processing Team Lead 

Erica brings multiple years of Financial Aid expertise to FA Solutions. She is experienced in reconstructing, auditing and overseeing all aspects of compliance within the Financial Aid office and in working with modular, clock hour and credit hour schools. She previously spent nearly a decade providing payroll administration, accounting and auditing work. Erica oversees the implementation of new accounts for credit hour and clock hour schools at FA Solutions. She holds an A.S. in Business Administration from Davis Business College.

Erica enjoys running, playing tennis and spending time with her family. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “Within my position I am able to learn something new everyday. The field of financial aid is ever changing and this gives me a daily challenge to learn more and develop as a FA professional. I enjoy working with clients to help them establish an efficient financial aid process within their school. FA Solutions also has a great team of staff members that are always willing to jump in and work together. The teamwork and positive culture within the company is wonderful.”

Diana Speegle
File Processing Manager 

Diana brings more than six years of financial aid experience to FA Solutions and has had extensive training in all aspects of business management, customer service and financial aid compliance. Her experience includes student services, all aspects of compliance, creating policy and procedures, processing aid, auditing, and reconciliation for clock hour, credit hour and modular schools. Diana also has 20 years of experience in management and training, having built successful teams with an emphasis on excellent customer service and a proven record of client satisfaction. At FA Solutions, Diana oversees the implementation of new accounts for credit hour and clock hour schools and assists with training employees on the servicing of new school partners as they are implemented.

Diana enjoys sewing, crocheting, reading and riding bikes with her husband. She also likes to spend as much time as possible with her seven grandchildren. What she likes best about working for FA Solutions: “I love the 100% team effort that everyone gives in order to provide the best customer service possible. I also appreciate the kindness and encouragement that Rob and Brenda show to all of their employees.” 

Tiffany Badgero
Director of Human Resources & Accounting Management 

Tiffany brings over 11 years experience in the Human Resources field, including Employee Relations, Recruitment and Staffing, Training and Employee Development, Benefits Administration and Payroll. At FA Solutions Tiffany handles all aspects of human resources and accounts receivable and is also responsible for SAIG Enrollment, and G5 processing. Tiffany holds a B.A. in Human Resource Development from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Tiffany enjoys running, spending time with her family and two dogs, watching Michigan State football, and serving as Treasurer of the PTA at her children’s elementary school. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I appreciate the team atmosphere.”

Areen Brown
Financial Aid Processing Manager

Areen brings 10 years of Higher Education experience to FA Solutions. She provides daily direction and communication to the Credit Hour financial aid processing team to ensure clients receive timely, effective, and knowledgeable services.  In addition, she processes financial aid, packages students, reviews documents, provides training and feedback, and conducts audits and reviews files to ensure accuracy. Areen began her higher education career as an Admissions Advisor. She then crossed over to the financial aid arena and held several positions including Financial Aid Director and FSA Compliance Auditor.  She brings all aspects of financial aid compliance, enrollment management, research and training, supervision and evaluation, auditing and preparation of audits to the team at FA Solutions. Areen holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of South Florida.

Areen enjoys spending time with her husband and their beautiful baby girl, as well as outdoor activities, which includes running and a little golf.  What she likes best about working for FA Solutions: “I love the team environment, dedication to excellence of everyone that works here, and strong integrity of the company.”

Melissa Juliano
Campus Director/Lead

Melissa brings over 14 years of financial aid expertise to FA Solutions. She is experienced in the entire financial aid process-from beginning to end — including processing, facilitating audits, and knowledge of Title IV regulations and meeting with prospective students/students and their families.  At FA Solutions she has drawn upon that knowledge base to assist our school partners – including processing financial aide using CAMS and other processing platforms. Melissa has a B.A. in Literary Studies from the State University of New York at Oswego.

In her spare time, Melissa enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, as well as reading and serving as a first vice president of a charter woman’s club. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I enjoy the people I am working with and the professional, yet friendly, environment that has been created.  I also appreciate the opportunities that the company gives me to challenge myself professionally.”

Nydia Willard
Director of Student Experience

Nydia brings more than 15 years of experience in contact center management and client services.  She worked at Nelnet supervising agents for loan processing and managed a team of over 150 agents both within a center and remotely. Nydia is a team-builder, dedicated to high level service for her clients and works to customize their solutions.  In her prior role as a provider for remote student services, Nydia and her teams would answer student questions for schools ranging in size from 1,000-65,000 working with the Community College market and flagship public 4-year Universities.  Nydia takes great pride in providing school partners with exceptional service and helping them solve problems. “I enjoy working together with schools to help them resolve challenges.  I can also analyze a school’s business cycle and help them predict what they might need to better serve their students.  The school partners that I have worked with become like family and trust me. This means the world to me.”

Nydia enjoys spending time with her family on their farm in Texas and watching her son play football and baseball. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “The company’s overall reputation for providing excellent service is what drew me in. The atmosphere of professionalism is remarkable within the team. I love being in a place that demands excellence while still allowing a healthy and positive work environment.”

Mariaestella Cuara
University Account Manager

At FA Solutions Mariaestella facilitates communications between our operational teams and our client schools and offers support on new account implementation. She brings a wealth of higher education expertise from her prior work at a consulting firm where she served as Vice President of Higher Education Solutions and from her former admissions officer role at Scripps College, Harvey Mudd College and at the Claremont Graduate University. As a consultant, Mariaestella offered expertise to universities and colleges in many areas, including, but not limited to: admissions, enrollment management, and recruitment strategies for traditional and nontraditional students in undergraduate and graduate programs.  She also recruited students for some of her clients.  Mariaestella has a professional background in state and local government administration and public policy as well.

Mariaestella earned her B.A in American Studies from Scripps College and has served her alma mater in various volunteer capacities. She recently completed service on the College’s Ad-hoc Committee on Alumnae Engagement and has been selected as the school’s Alumna Volunteer of the Year for 2017. She is currently serving on the College’s Committee for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity and Alumnae Leadership Council.

Mariaestella enjoys spending time with family, friends and doing volunteer work for her alma mater. What she likes best about working with FA Solutions: “I appreciate the team environment and the commitment to excellence that every staff member demonstrates each day. I also value Rob and Brenda’s integrity and their support of work-life balance for their employees.”