Bios
Below is information about the fabulous presenters we have joining us at the conference this year. Please stop by and greet them with a warm Virginia welcome
Lee Andes
Interim Dir. of Finance Policy & Innovation /Associate Director for Financial Aid
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)
Lee Andes has served at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) for over 26 years and has worked in higher education for over 35 years. Mr. Andes’ primary responsibility as Associate Director for Financial Aid is oversight of the state’s financial aid programs and the Domicile Guidelines which are used by the institutions to determine eligibility for in-state tuition. Lee is a founding member and initial President of the Virginia College Access Network (VirginiaCAN), has served as President of the National Association of State Student Grant & Aid Programs (NASSGAP), and is currently serving as chair of the College Board’s Southern Regional Council.
Michael D. Morgan
Director of Student Financial Aid
Rhodes College
Michael D. Morgan, is the Director of Student Financial Aid at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. Michael started in financial aid the summer of 1990 as a senior at the University of Kentucky, a temporary position until he could pursue his desire to be a fashion designer. The temporary position became a lifelong passion. He has had eclectic career in financial having worked at a four year public, community college, state agency, private lender, systems office and private four year college. This variety has provided Michael with a unique perspective of financial aid. Michael has recently served as SASFAA President in 2022-23. During his year as president, Michael’s primary theme was “Breathe” in which financial aid administrators were challenged to focus on being present and in the moment in order to best serve their students. And reminded the attendees by paraphrasing a song by Ante Clemons “There is always light at the end of the tunnel as long as we keep our eyes on the road ahead. Though we may find ourselves lost and sometimes even frustrated. It will be OK as long as we remember to breathe.”
Kris Park
Special Agent
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
Kris Park has been a Special Agent for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General in Washington, DC for the past five years.
In her position, she investigates allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse of ED funding in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington DC.
Prior to joining ED OIG, Kris was a Postal Inspector for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in New York for 15 years.
For the presentation, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General, Investigation Services, will provide an overview of ED OIG and discuss sources of allegations, indicators of fraud, examples of Title IV fraud schemes, best practices to reduce the risk of fraud, and how to contact ED OIG.
Dr. Jim Purcell
Executive Director
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Dr. Jim Purcell has served as the Executive Director for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education since 2017. His tenure in Alabama, combined with Arkansas, Louisiana and Rhode Island, makes him the longest serving active State Higher Education Executive Officer in the country. He has served in cabinet positions of four governors which include one Republican (LA), two Democrats (AR, RI) and one Independent (RI).
During his career, he has served as chief higher education planning and research officer at public, private two- and four-year institutions, as well as at the state level. Improving student access to success is his life work. He is a strong advocate for planning, the fidelity of implementation of strategic initiatives and ongoing assessment.
He earned a B.S. in Public Administration from Auburn University, M.Ed. in Counseling from the University of Montevallo and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Alabama.
Barry W. Simmons Sr.
Program Administrator/Financial Aid Associate
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)
Barry W. Simmons Sr was raised in rural Southside Virginia where he attended public schools. He holds degrees from Elon University and the University of North Carolina in Greensboro with additional studies at Middle Tennessee State University and Southside Virginia Community College. Dr. Simmons has practiced financial aid since 1972 at independent, HBCU, public colleges and universities. Upon retirement as Assistant Provost for Special Projects at Virginia Tech, he has continued his consulting career at various institutions including Excelsior University, Henderson State University, Johns Hopkins University and numerous other institutions. Currently, he is a part-time SCHEV employee as the Program Administrator/Financial Aid Associate, Pell Initiative for Virginia. Simmons served as VASFAA president, NASFAA National Chair and chaired various committees in NCASFAA, VASFAA, SASFAA and NASFAA. He is a founding board member and former president of VCAN and is the founding director of the SASFAA Leadership Symposium. He now resides in the suburbs of Baskerville, VA.
Tierney Jackson
Sr. Associate for Financial Aid
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)
Tierney has worked at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) for almost 17 years.
Her primary responsibilities as Senior Associate for Financial Aid are managing the Virginia Alternative State Aid (VASA) Application and the GEAR UP Virginia Scholarship.
Brad Barnett, M.S., AFC, CPFM, FAAC
Associate Vice President for Access and Enrollment Management\
Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships
James Madison University
Brad Barnett is an Accredited Financial Counselor, Certified Personal Financial Manager, and Certified Financial Aid Administrator who works as the Associate Vice President for Access and Enrollment Management/Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships at James Madison University. Closing in on three decades of experience in the financial aid profession, Brad has been active in state, regional, and national financial aid associations as a presenter, committee member/chair, and elected officer.
A past president of VASFAA and SASFAA, he has also served NASFAA on the Board of Directors, Financial Affairs Committee, Association Governance Committee, as Treasurer, as Conference Chair, and as a Standards of Excellence (SOE) Reviewer. This culminated with his service as the 2022-23 NASFAA National Chair.
Brad received the VAFSAA Excellence Award, VASFAA Life Membership Award, SASFAA Distinguished Service Award, NASFAA Regional Leadership Award, and NASFAA Allan W. Purdy Distinguished Service Award. In addition to these activities, he teaches personal finance courses (on-line and in person) at JMU.
Brad and his wife, Sara, have two sons. The oldest graduated from the University of Mary Washington and the youngest graduated from James Madison University. This has given him the unique perspective of going through the “college process” as a parent, as well as an administrator.
Joe Dobrota
Director of Financial Aid
William & Mary
Joe Dobrota is the Director of Financial Aid at William & Mary as well as current VASFAA Past-President. Joe has worked in financial aid for 30 years. He started his career at Regent University in 1994 as a student employee in the financial aid office. As Director at W&M he oversees the office of Financial Aid. Joe serves on the 2024 NASFAA Conference Task Force and has served in various positions within both the VASFAA and SASFAA associations. He has previous worked in various capacities at Regent University, Ellucian Banner, and The Catholic University of America
Shannon Eskam
Director of Financial Aid
Virginia Military Institute
Shannon has 12 years of higher education experience, almost all of which is within financial aid and enrollment services. She started at the Virginia Military Institute in 2022 as the director of financial aid and currently serves as the Acting Assistant Superintendent of Enrollment Management and Director of Financial Aid. She comes to VMI directly from Casper, Wyoming where she served as the director of financial aid, deputy Title IX coordinator, enrollment services supervisor, and Veterans Affairs certifying official at Casper College. During her time at Casper College, she helped with the implantation of the campus strategic enrollment plan, served as the project owner for enrollment management, and helped to manage recruitment and retention initiatives. Prior to Casper College, she worked at Gillette College in Gillette, Wyoming as the assistant director of financial aid services. Shannon earned her doctorate in higher education administration and a bachelor's degree in communication with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. She holds a master’s degree in organizational management from Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. Shannon is a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SASFAA), Virginia Association of Financial Aid Administrators (VASFAA), National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), and Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA). She has served as the state president of the Wyoming Association of Financial Aid Administrators (WyASFAA), Vice President and Vice President-elect of RMASFAA, was an educator during the RMASFAA Summer Institute program, served on multiple conference planning committees and has also served as a mentor in various leadership training programs. Eskam and her husband live in Lexington, Virginia with their two children and three dogs.
Kelley A. Florian
Director of Financial Aid
Bon Secours Richmond Higher Education Institutions
Kelley A. Florian is currently the Director of Financial Aid for Bon Secours Richmond Higher Education Institutions. She has a bachelor’s degree from Liberty University. She served as VASFAA Treasurer-elect for 2021-22 and Treasurer for 2022-23. She has advised on several committees for Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and is currently serving as Chairman of two VDH Advisory Boards: Mary Marshall Scholarship and Virginia-Student Loan Repayment Program (VA-SLRP). She began her career in financial aid in 2001 as a financial aid counselor and has been working in college leadership since 2003. Her expertise in Financial Aid is attributed to working with various type of colleges: traditional 4-year, 2-year, and for-profit colleges. She and her family live in Henrico, VA.
Harold T. (Tom) Kinback
Associate Director of Financial Aid for Campus Operations
Northern Virginia Community College
Harold T. (Tom) Kinback has been in the financial aid field for over 30 years at both private and public institutions in Virginia where he has managed financial aid offices, business offices and a private, institutional loan program for a private, for-profit institution. Tom began working at NOVA in July 2009 as Associate Director of Financial Aid for Campus Operations where he oversees the operations of six campus financial aid offices. In his position as Associate Director, Tom oversees the review and processing of all SAP appeals and Professional Judgments.
Tom has a BA degree in Management from George Mason University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Strayer University.
Shannon Martinez
Financial Aid Analyst
Northern Virginia Community College
Shannon Martinez is a VASFAA Rep At Large and has been a member of VASFAA since 2017. Previously, she has served on the VASFAA conference committee from 2019-2023, she served as the social media chair and created the social media policies and procedures from 2019-2023, additionally she has assisted with VASFAA non-conferences and trainings. She received the VASFAA Buddy Award in 2018 as well as the VASFAA Financial Aid Leadership Development Award in 2019. She is currently employed at Northern Virginia Community College as a Financial Aid Analyst and has enjoyed working in financial aid for over 6 years. She is passionate about helping students understand the financial aid process so that they may achieve their educational goals. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering at her church, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Ryan McNamara
Coordinator of Financial Aid
Central Virginia Community College
Ryan McNamara brings 19 years of financial aid experience to VASFAA. Those 19 years comprise of Clearwater Christian College, Florida Southern College, Randolph College, and currently Coordinator of Financial Aid at Central Virginia Community College. Heavily involved in his previous Florida State Association included being secretary for six years, as well as President of FASFAA in 2015. Now he serves as President for VASFAA.
Training and involvement are two things that he truly believes in. Early in his career, he was at a small liberal arts college with a staff of 3, then 2, then only him, so the State Association was pivotal to his success. Access to good training is a must.
Ryan is married to Veronica and has three children- Elizabeth who is 21, Alexa is a high school senior, and Wade is in 5th. In his free time, he is President of the Appomattox Soccer Association and coaches his sons’ U12 soccer team. Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Master of Education in Educational Leadership both from Clearwater Christian College.
Miriam Tice
Undergraduate Financial Aid Administrator
University of Virginia
Miriam Tice works at the University of Virginia as an Undergraduate Financial Administrator. In that role, she reviews CSS profile data and FAFSA data to determine if there is conflicting information and reviews documentation needed before financial aid can be awarded. She previously worked at Virginia Commonwealth University as a Financial Counselor. Prior to that, Miriam worked for the Great Aspirations Scholarship Program (GRASP) for 14 years as an advisor assisting high school students and their families with financial aid matters. Miriam holds NASFAA credentials in five areas. She has a B.S. degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.
In her spare time, Miriam enjoys time with family, her book club, involvement in neighborhood activities, and Barre exercise classes.
Andrew Quinn, FAAC
Interim Associate Vice President of Learning and Student Success/
Director of Financial Aid
Brightpoint Community College
Andrew Quinn has worked in higher education for 12 years: in a private 4-year, public 4-year, and now in a public 2-year community college. He is currently the Director of Financial Aid at Brightpoint Community College and is serving as the 2023-24 President-Elect on the VASFAA board. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his puppy Arrow, focusing on health/fitness, trying new restaurants, traveling, and seeing live music!”
Cary G. Wright
Associate Director for Compliance, Reporting, Training and Projects
University Scholarships and Financial Aid
Virginia Tech
Cary G. Wright currently serves as the Associate Director for Compliance, Reporting, and Training at Virginia Tech. She oversees the compliance, training, and reporting within the Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid. This includes constructing, documenting, and distributing the COA. She completes both the Federal and State reporting, including the FISAP. She also currently oversees the FWS program at VT and facilitates training within the office.
Previously the Director of Financial Aid at Bluefield University, she has over 10 years of experience in the field. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bluefield University. When she isn't working, she is thinking about work, and not relaxing."
Lori Auxier
Director of Outreach
ECMC
Lori Auxier, Educational Credit Management Corporation’s (ECMC) Director of Outreach, has 30 years of higher education experience and possesses an in-depth knowledge of college access, financial aid and financial literacy on both secondary and postsecondary campuses. As a first-generation student who earned her MBA from St. Leo University, Lori is passionate about helping others pursue their higher education goals and dreams. Lori is also an Accredited Financial Counselor® through AFCPE® and loves volunteering with her Church and local pet rescue.
Chansone Durden
Sr. Account Executive, Campus Partnerships
Earnest Student Loans
Chansone Durden graduated from the University of Florida in Economics. She started working in financial aid as a student worker, then after graduation worked at UF professionally. She has worked at the Florida Department of Education, California State Education Commission/EdFund, and Texas Guaranty now Trellis. She has also worked with other lending companies before her current position with Earnest Private Student Loans. She is passionate about access to higher education, especially for underserved students, being first-generation herself.
She loves the quote from her friend "Education is an equalizer and travel is the best education". She loves learning about other cultures and believes that the best way to learn about a culture is through appreciating their food and the history behind the food.
Ben Kennedy
Founder and CEO
Kennedy and Company
Ben Kennedy is the CEO and Founder of Kenney & Company, a national higher-education focused consulting firm with headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia. Prior to founding the firm, Ben served as a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees, a Strategic Advisor for the Chief Financial Officer at the University of South Carolina, a consultant with Bain & Company, and a former director of Huron Education’s enrollment services division.
In all, Ben has worked with more than 100 colleges and universities on issues ranging from online strategy, student retention, strategic planning, enrollment management, and university budgeting and planning. He is a regular speaker at higher education conferences and symposiums like NACUBO, ACE, UPCEA, and ACHE on issues regarding tuition discounting, student success, and online education strategy.
A two-time graduate of Duke University with degrees in Public Policy and Business, Ben lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife and three children and enjoys soccer, running, cycling and travel.
Janee Knippenberg
Relationship Manager
PNC Bank Student Lending
Janee Knippenberg currently serves as your VASFAA Development Partner Chair. She has been employed with PNC Bank since 2007 as a Business Development Officer. Janee works with the colleges and universities in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Prior to joining PNC Bank she worked at University Maryland Baltimore and Frederick Community College. Janee completed her undergraduate degree from Frostburg State University. She also holds a Master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. You can find her out on walks with her three German Shorthaired Pointers or listening to her record collection.
Patty Peterson
Vice President, Student Lending
Citizens Bank
Patty Peterson is a Relationship Manager with Citizens with over 20 years of industry experience, including 8 years as a Director. Patty serves on numerous committees in state organizations from conference committees to Leadership Development initiatives. With a Masters in Organizational Leadership she often presents on the topics of organizational culture and leadership because she loves to see people grow and take next steps in their development. Patty has been married to her sweetheart, Paul, for 40 years this year and they have 3 children, 5 grandchildren, and 1 particularly spoiled pooch, Amos.
Robert Weinerman
Director of Training
Iron Bridge Resources, LLC
Robert Weinerman started his higher education career in 1987, working for two years in the Admissions Office at MIT. After a brief four-year stint as a victim advocate working with LGBT victims of hate crimes and domestic violence, Robert went back to MIT as a financial aid officer. After ten years at MIT and smaller tenures at Babson College and other schools in the Boston area as a consultant, Robert stepped away from colleges to work directly with families as they planned their college savings plan, their college payment strategy, and their plan to repay their own educational debt. In 2014, the New Hampshire Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators asked Robert to deliver a day-long training on Verification and Taxes. After that successful program and similar programs in Connecticut and Massachusetts, Jim Briggs, the former tax detective and trainer for financial aid officers for 30 years, asked Robert to take over his training business. This is Robert’s ninth year in a career focused on training financial aid administrators about taxes, need analysis, verification, and conflicting information.
Tim Young
Tim Young is the former Director of Campus Partnerships at Earnest Student Loans. He is a veteran with over 20 years of experience directing new product development and management within the education finance and financial services industries. He is the first in his family to earn a college degree having an undergraduate and MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. He has previously worked in product development with both Navient and Sallie Mae. Tim has three children, all grown. His most recent youngest child is a four-legged rescue named Emma.