Provide strategic leadership of the Financial Aid Operations team, coordinating and overseeing all related operations to ensure the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. Hired, trained and continue to manage a team of 9 through effective coaching, guidance and direction. Hold direct accountability for cash management oversight, account management, reporting, strategic planning and regulatory compliance. Perform all cash management and accounting functions, including processing fund transfer requests for federal loans and grants, performing wire and account transfers and posting daily journal entries. Conduct monthly reconciliations of US Department of Education accounts, as well as internal systems, identifying and resolving discrepancies to ensure data accuracy. Prepare and submit various documentation and reports to support federal and state regulations. Partner with internal and external auditors to facilitate audits, preparing required documentation and reports. Facilitate internal risk assessments to identify potential faults and eliminate all risks. Identify and implement training programs for staff as needed to support changes with financial aid regulations. Introduced cross-training initiatives for all financial aid team members to ensure that are educated in the entire financial aid process from beginning to end; new program increased service levels and improved efficiency. Oversaw the implementation of a new financial aid system that provided automation, reducing workforce and labor costs.

Directed the processing and management of financial aid services for high-volume student population, coordinating and leading all daily operations to ensure attainment of established goals. Hired, trained and managed a team of up to 125 employees responsible for performing all processing functions. Partnered with cross-functional teams in the development and implementation of best practices, process improvements and new programs that aligned with University of Phoenix goals. Prepared and maintained all required documentation and reports to ensure overall compliance with state and federal regulations and reporting requirements. Developed and implemented training and development programs for team members that focused on changes to financial aid regulations and policies. Facilitated performance evaluations for all team members to identify and resolve inefficiencies, introducing additional training and coaching as needed. Directed financial aid processing for student populations ranging from 122K to 250K students for a total of up to $5B in financial aid. Achieved 95% quality standard for each student and increased steadily to 99% throughout tenure by providing training and development for employees. Recruited by executive leadership to oversee various projects, including implementing new regulatory standards and processes. Directed the transition from PeopleSoft to Vocado financial aid system; led the project, wrote business/system requirements and supported the system build. Oversaw annual testing of regulatory updates and process changes; selected staff to participate in system testing and assisted in preparing documentation/training materials for new standards. Recipient of Outstanding Achievement Award.

Managed all aspects of the administration of financial aid services, coordinating the processing and management of financial aid for student populations. Built and managed a team of up to 21, providing training and professional development to ensure optimal performance. Restructured staff, downsizing from 21 to 12, which led to significant reduction of labor costs while simultaneously improving productivity. Handled the implementation of regulatory updates, system updates and system testing. Partnered with regulatory and compliance departments to create training program from scratch, creating all documentation and materials that aligned with WIU standards. Participated in Program Integrity Teams to ensure WEST Processing Team was in compliance with new financial aid regulations. Received Outstanding Leader Award.

Built and led a team of ~20 responsible for the development and processing of financial aid services for WIU students. Managed daily workflow, developing strategies to attain quality and productivity goals. Monitored operations to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Identified and researched process gaps, introducing new strategies to eliminate operational issues. Developed, tracked and monitored team metrics, operational flow charts and procedures, focused on quality, productivity and performance. Worked closely with campus relations leads to resolve student issues related to financial aid. Selected to take on additional role of Certification Integration Analyst (2007 – 2008); partnered with training and regulatory departments to implement process for monitoring work quality. Managed loan limit increase projects and annual reporting. Handled all lender inquiries and system issues.