This session provide will information on student loans and repayment options for both Federal and Private, NYS loan forgiveness program, major regulations and guidance on defining a semester and SULA.  We will also review and discuss the new version of Studentaid.gov and the Informed Borrower Tool.

Locations

Region 1 - D'Youville College

Region 2 - Roberts Wesleyan College

Region 3 - Le Moyne College

Region 4 - Empire State College

Region 5 - TBD

Region 6 - CUNY City College

Region 7 - NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine

Region 8 - Clarkson University

*Additional information will be provide to you by your Regional Representatives.  That information may or may not include additional training and/or meals being provided.

Presenters:

Louise Biron

Thomas Kokis

Tom Kokis has over thirty years of experience in higher education financing with a focus on financial literacy and loan repayment management. Tom has a broad student loan background, having worked for lenders, servicers, guaranty agencies and colleges. Currently, Tom is the Default Prevention and Loan Specialist at the City University of New York, Baruch College. Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York, College at New Paltz and a Master’s degree in Information Science from Saint John’s University.

Jeanne McCarthy

Jeanne joined Sallie Mae in 2004 and has over 20 years of experience in the financial aid industry. She was the Associate Director of Student Financial Services at Adelphi University, a Regional Marketing Manager at Chase Education First and eventually joined the East sales team. Jeanne is an active member of the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association and was selected to the position of Co-Chairperson for NYSFAAA 2020 Statewide annual Conference. She manages colleges/universities and high school organizations in New York.  Jeanne earned a B.A. from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and an MBA from Adelphi University.

Stephanie Stock

Stephanie has worked in the financial aid industry for 28 years starting at Northeastern University in Boston, followed by Barry University in Miami.  Prior to joining Sallie Mae 15 years ago, Stephanie was the Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Utica College overseeing federal and private loans as well as graduate financial aid.  At Sallie Mae, she is responsible managing relationships with colleges/universities and high school organizations in upstate New York.   She is an active member of NYSFAAA and SUNYFAP and serves on various committees within the associations.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. from Hamilton College and an M.S. from Northeastern University.

Howard Leslie

Howard Leslie, celebrating over 41 years in Financial Aid, is currently the Vice President of Financial Aid at Berkeley College in New York and New Jersey and is the current President of the New York State Association of Financial Aid Administrators Association.

Prior to Berkeley, Howard was Dean of Student Financial Services at Monroe College for 10 years and, before that, Director of Student Financial Services at School of Arts for 20 years.

During those years, Howard has performed consulting for several institutions, worked with the Department of Education as a federal trainer, served on the original NSLDS Project, and participated in several other high-level initiatives for the department and NYS Higher Education Services Corporation. He has been a very active member of NYSFAAA, and when it was legal, served on a multitude of advisory boards including the original ELM board. It was his initiative that resulted in the first lender focus, to be followed by the Department of Education, on Student Financial Literacy. This goes back to the 1980s with Nellie MAE.

Prior to his presidency Howard was 2^nd VP of NYSFAAA, an office he was elected to 4 times. Over the last 10 years, he has revived NYSFAAA training using video conferencing and webinars. Under his watch, NYSFAAA has trained over 7,000 people each year providing 12 – 13 webinars during the academic seasons.

Some of Howard’s accomplishments include being the first person to certify an electronic student loan in the nation. This was part of a NYS/Federal partnership to implement electronic loans. Howard also originated the concept of PLUS Pre-approvals and beta tested it with Chase and the School of Visual Arts. It didn’t take long for all lenders and schools to adopt the practice.

Howard will be happily married 41 years, next month, to his lovely wife Lisa; has one son and three grandchildren and his poodle Rory.