MASFAA Conference

Agenda

Check out our exciting (tentative) Conference Agenda.

Join us for sessions like:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): Financial Aid Office Friend or Foe?
Working With Your Legal Team
Demystifying Veterans Education Benefits
A Novel Idea: Struggle With Fit Book Club Discussion
Financial Literacy 101 Tools and Resources for Your Students
Helping Tackle the Unknown of Your Annual Audit
…and much more!

Registration

Cost to Attend

Both days: $325

Single day (Thursday or Friday): $185

Pre-Conference NASFAA Credential Training: Professional Judgement (included with registration for one or both days)

Click here to register for the conference

Hotel Accommodations

The Westin, Waltham, MA

Click here or paste https://book.passkey.com/e/50545972 into your browser to book a room using the discounted rate for the MASFAA Conference.

Estimated nightly rate: $189

About the hotel:
Bright, traditional rooms feature flat-screen TVs, WiFi access (fee) and coffeemakers. Amenities include a heated indoor pool, free WiFi in the lobby, fitness facilities and a cocktail lounge. Dining options include a casual restaurant serving American cuisine and a coffee shop. 

Keynote Speakers

Betsy Mayotte

Betsy is the President and Founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA). She has been working in the student loan industry doing compliance and advocacy work for over 20 years and has helped thousands of borrowers with their student loans.

Betsy has served as a primary negotiator for several federal Title IV negotiated rulemaking sessions on topics such as the use of student loans at foreign schools, loan rehabilitation and borrower defense to repayment. In addition, Mayotte frequently conducts regulatory trainings for the higher education financing industry both in the United States and as far away as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. She is regularly quoted in the media on student loan issues including the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.  She was recently featured in Money magazine as one of the top 50 influential Changemakers in America’s finances.  Betsy was born and raised in Lowell, MA and currently lives in Plymouth, MA.

Robert Weinerman

Robert Weinerman began his financial aid career in 1993 and spent over a decade as a financial aid officer at MIT, Babson college, and a consultant at several smaller schools in new England. He left the aid office in 2003 to work for College Coach, where he assembled a team of financial aid officers who would provide parents with guidance on how to save for or pay for college, through their employer’s benefits program. Robert started training financial aid officers on all things tax-related in 2014 and was selected by Jim Briggs to take over Jim’s business when Jim retired from tax training in 2015.

Clantha McCurdy

Clantha is the Senior Deputy Commissioner and is currently appointed to serve as the Interim Chief Academic Officer. She has responsibility for the agency’s division of Academic Affairs and Student Success, and the Office of Student Financial Assistance. With extensive higher education experience in student success and financial aid policy, Clantha oversees DHE’s divisional staffing initiatives that include Workforce Development, Veterans Education, academic program review and approval, Strategic Planning, GEAR UP, and managing the Commonwealth’s annual budget for student financial aid. She represents the DHE on numerous national, regional, and state boards and committees and has received numerous citations and awards for her leadership and service to include the 2022 David L. Wright Memorial Award from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), the University of Kansas 2021 Mike and Joyce Shinn Leaders and Innovators Award, and MASFAA’s 2022 Edward M. Kennedy Public Service Award. Clantha holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Florida and a doctorate in Higher Education Policy, Leadership and Administration from the University of Kansas.

Fun Fact: Clantha is an avid sports fan, collegiate and professional. She enjoys travel, great movies and television series. All-time favorite: Game of Thrones and The Godfather series.

Charity

MASFAA is pleased to announce our sponsored charity for the 2023 MASFAA Conference in Waltham! MASFAA members at the conference will be able to help us raise money for The Wily Network, which is a nonprofit organization located in Newton, MA.

Their Mission: Wily works to ensure Scholars have the tools and networks necessary to thrive in four-year residential colleges and transition successfully into post-college life. The Wily Network partners with college students in the greater Boston area who are working towards their degrees without emotional or financial support from family. Wily provides a critical safety net for Scholars as they navigate college independently.

Wily Scholars bring unique experiences, challenges, strengths, and goals to the college journey. Some have experienced homelessness or foster care, some have been denied family support due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, some have lost their parents, and some have family members dealing with addiction, mental illness, or incarceration. All are talented and motivated, and all are braving college on their own. Their program offers weekly clinical coaching, financial assistance, community-building support, and networking opportunities to help Scholars move from surviving to thriving.

Where Our Funds Can Help: Wily hires therapists and retrains them as coaches to go to campus and visit the students once a week. They provide support to the students at any hour of the day; they are only a text or call away. Wily provides supplemental support and builds a community for these students so they can succeed in college and in life. Wily is a growing organization and they are helping 90 students in 2023-24 (and growing).

Sponsors

Click here to view Sponsorship Opportunities