Guest Speakers

More Information Coming Soon

June Cline, Keynote Speaker

June Cline is humanizing organizations that want their people to "Lead, Laugh…Or Get Out of The Way!" She is a Certified Speaking Professional and Six Advisors Facilitator and Coach. June helps people, teams and companies name and tame the noise inside their heads with the time-tested principles of the Og Mandino Success System.

She is an inspirational humorist and President of her company, Open Heart Communications. Her philosophy of "Fun Works!" has been implemented in many major companies, such as Toyota, BellSouth, Siemens, and a slew of other names you’d recognize. All have benefited from her unique ability to teach them the difference between fun and frivolity. She teaches how to "Lead, Laugh, Or Get Out of The Way" by getting to the H.E.A.R.T. of the matter. And, how to raise productivity and profits by simply bringing more H.E.A.R.T. and humor to the workplace.

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Billy Buchanan, Entertainment

Jacksonville based Billy Buchanan mixes the influences of the rural soul of Otis Redding, the funkiness of Prince, the Euro grit of Seal, the witty songwriting of John Mayer, and the social consciousness of Stevie Wonder. On Buchanan’s latest album, The Music Man, he unapologetically wears his influences on his sleeve, Buchanan borrows from the best, all the while creating his own unique brand of urban folk. With help from his band, Free Avenue, Buchanan takes you on a fun filled musical journey that chronicles the experiences of a life long musician.

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Justin Draeger, President NASFAA

Justin Draeger is president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), the largest postsecondary education association with institutional membership in Washington, D.C. and the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators. NASFAA represents more than 20,000 financial aid professionals at nearly 3,000 colleges, universities and career schools across the country.

In his prior role as Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy for NASFAA, Mr. Draeger acted as a senior association spokesperson to the media and policymakers, with responsibility for developing and advancing the Association's public policy and advocacy goals. Mr. Draeger has been featured on NBC's Today Show, National Public Radio, CNBC, ABC World News, and Fox Business News. He has been quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Kiplinger.

Mr. Draeger knows the concerns of NASFAA's membership first-hand, having served as a financial aid administrator on campus, as a lead analyst for a guaranty agency helping schools resolve regulatory issues, in NASFAA's communications and policy departments. He earned a B.S. in Resource Management and Planning from Brigham Young University and M.B.A.in Finance from Baker College. While still in college, Mr. Draeger spent two years working with Latino populations in the California Ventura Mission, participating in barrio rehabilitation and community service projects, English as Second Language programs, and ultimately coordinating the efforts of 200 full-time volunteers.

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Brenda Hicks, RMASFAA President Elect

Brenda Hicks has served 19 years in the field of higher education. The last 9 have been in the field of financial aid. She has been active in KASFAA, RMASFAA and NASFAA. She currently serves as President Elect of RMASFAA and Vice President of KASFAA. She has presented sessions at KASFAA, RMASFAA and NASFAA conferences and served as the NASFAA Fall trainer in 2008. She has been a frequent presence on the RMASFAA Summer Institute committee as chair and as faculty. She has also helped with the annual KASFAA High School Counselor training, represented KASFAA at college fairs and assisted with College Goal Sunday. Most importantly, she is married to a wonderful man and "Mom" to two boys. When not at work, she is involved with her son’s activities in church, school, 4-H and sports.

Biography

Jeff Baker, Director of the Policy Liaison and Implementation, US Department of Education

Jeff Baker is no stranger to financial aid. He has been a student aid professional for more than 35 years, starting at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and including almost 20 years at San Francisco State University. Prior to entering the field of financial aid, Jeff was a high school teacher in Port Washington Wisconsin. For the past 16 years Jeff has been at the Department of Education where he is currently the Director of the Policy Liaison and Implementation Staff for the Department’s Federal Student Aid office. In that capacity he advises senior FSA management on all statutory, regulatory, and policy matters that relate to the Title IV Federal student aid programs.

Jeff holds a B.S. in Management from Northeastern University, an M.S. in Education from the University of Wisconsin and has done postgraduate work in higher education administration at the University of Southern California.

Throughout his financial aid career, Jeff has been an active member of NASFAA serving as a committee chair, trainer and twice as a Commission Director. He is a past member of the WASFAA Executive Council and a Past President of the California association.

Jeff is the recipient of numerous awards, including NASFAA’s Meritorious Achievement Award and Regional and State Leadership Award. He has been honored by WASFAA with their Creative Leadership Award and Lifetime Membership Award and is the recipient of a Distinguished Service Award, President’s Award and Lifetime Membership Award from the California association. Jeff is also the recipient of a Distinguished Service Award from The College Board.

David Bartnicki, Federal Training Office, US Department of Education

David has worked for the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Office for 16 years. He has served as an Institutional Review Specialist, Institutional Eligibility Specialist, Institutional Improvement Specialist (IIS), Branch Chief for Contract Compliance and is currently a Federal Training Officer.

David’s entire government career has been in the Atlanta Regional Office where he currently works directly with over 1,000 postsecondary schools in the Southeast Region. As a training officer, David provides training and technical assistance on a wide variety of federal student aid topics to schools, state agencies, accreditation bodies, and guaranty agencies David also works closely with state, regional, and national school associations and participates in U.S. Department of Education conferences and workshops.

While in FSA, David helped redesign the FSA Assessment Modules, developed the popular "Ask A FED" booth at the annual FSA Conferences, and developed the Department’s compliance review process for ED’s private collection agencies. David currently serves on the Legislative Update Team, the Fundamentals Redesign Team, ED Webinar recording program and the Fiscal Officer’s training development team. And most recently, David help develop training materials and provide TIV training to ED’s foreign schools throughout Europe, Canada, and the Southern Hemisphere.

In addition, David has received several financial aid awards including the 2010 FSA Award for Best Mission Results working with foreign schools, 2010 AASFAA’s Honorary Membership Award, the 2005 Florida Public Votech System Merit Award, the 2003 SCASFAA Distinguished Service Award, the 2003 AASFAA Award of Merit and the 2001 NCASFAA Award of Merit.

When not working, David enjoys spending time with his wife, Christy, and sons Luke (10), Adam (10), and Ethan (6).

Larry Chambers, Director of Financial Aid, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Larry Chambers has 30 years of experience in financial aid. This past September 2010, he became Director of Financial Aid at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Prior to that he was Director of Student Financial Services at Ithaca College. His career encompasses public, proprietary, and private higher education institutions. He is active in both regional (EASFAA) and national (NASFAA) financial aid associations. He has been a past president, treasurer, and training chair within EASFAA. He currently sits on the NASFAA Board of Directors as Representative-At-Large. He has been active in his church, serving on its Parish Council. When not being driven insane by financial aid he enjoys riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, reading and writing comic books.

Dr. Laurie A. Wolf, Executive Dean, Student Services, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, Iowa

Dr. Wolf is currently the Executive Dean of Student Services at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) in Ankeny, Iowa. In this position, Laurie is responsible for district-wide student services overseeing 18 different departments, including Financial Aid, Veterans Affairs, and Student Advising/ Counseling. She is also responsible for the interpretation and implementation of federal and state legislation, regulations, and other policies which affect students enrolled at DMACC.

Prior to joining DMACC Laurie was on staff at the Iowa College Student Aid Commission (Iowa’s grant, scholarship and guarantee agency), and the Director of Admissions at Iowa Wesleyan College. Laurie holds a B.A. in English from Iowa Wesleyan College, an M.A. in Student Development from The University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Iowa State University. Her dissertation topic: A Mixed Method Study of Rural Iowa Latino High School Students to Determine Barriers to Access.

Throughout her higher education career, Dr. Wolf has been active in advancing student access and choice to higher education. She has been active in the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) currently serving as the National Chair. She has also served as the Chair of the most recent NASFAA Higher Education Act Reauthorization Task Force, committee member for Association & Governance; student access, finance, needs analysis, and leadership. She is a Past President of the Iowa Association and has served on the Midwest Association Board. In addition, Laurie was a member of the GAO/DE Task Force on Market Mechanisms (1999-2001), has been a student financial aid trainer for the U.S. Department of Education, and served on the Nation Council for Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) regulatory committee, and assisted in developing financial aid policy positions for the American Association of Community College (AACC).