Serving as Chief Financial Officer for an organization as diverse and active as NASFAA would be a big job for anyone. But Jim N. May, NASFAA's new Chief Financial Officer, clearly has the background he needs to excel.

May is a certified public accountant with more than 20 years of financial management experience. Most recently, he worked as CFO for the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), a 25,000 professional membership association.

May expressed excitement about his new position at an association with such worthy objectives.

"Making financial aid available to all students that need it is a worthwhile goal. There is no better return on investment than higher education," May said. "My job will be to maximize the resources available to NASFAA and to see these resources are used in the most efficient and effective manner to accomplish the Association's goals."

NASFAA President and CEO Dr. Philip Day said that May will be a great asset to NASFAA and will make the association stronger.

"NASFAA will benefit greatly from Jim's experience and expertise," Day said. "A successful association must be financially secure and efficient, and I'm confident that Jim will help ensure NASFAA has these vital attributes."

May said that the NASFAA CFO position and the challenges it presents are a great fit for his skill set. He has held the CFO position with several for-profits as well as non-profits over the last several decades. These experiences have given him perspective that he believes will be valuable to NASFAA.

"I enjoy being part of a team that takes an organization to the next level," May said. "Although growth requires increased mindfulness and lots of effort, it can also be fun."

Specifically, May enjoys organizing financial operations and data, and reporting financial results in a transparent manner so that those with little financial experience can easily understand financial information and its importance to the ongoing success of NASFAA.

While it is still too early to get into specifics, May outlined some of the areas he would like to address as NASFAA's new CFO. A few of his plans include:

• Reorganizing NASFAA's budgeting effort and how the association holds various projects/departments accountable to the budget

• Reviewing all NASFAA contracts to make sure the association is getting the most "bang for the buck"

• Reviewing and considering changes to NASFAA's investment and reserve policies

May has extensive hands-on experience in building strategic plans, negotiating joint venture and key banking relationships, managing contracts, and designing and implementing financial systems. He earned his master's degree in accounting at Georgetown University and a bachelor's in liberal arts from John Hopkins University. He is married and - as the father of three kids who have all completed college - knows a bit about financing a higher education in addition to keeping a higher education association's finances on track. He strongly admires NASFAA's accomplishments and its goals.

"I look forward to working with our new President and CEO Dr. Phil Day, the entire NASFAA staff, the volunteer leadership, and NASFAA members to make NASFAA grow and continue to be the pre-eminent organization in the field," May said. "We should all be proud to be associated with NASFAA."

By Haley Chitty
NASFAA Assistant Director of Communications

Posted 04/24/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.