NASFAA's Diversity Officer is a Board-appointed volunteer charged with overseeing the organization's diversity and inclusion efforts. The Diversity Officer is responsible for guiding efforts to conceptualize, define, assess, nurture, and cultivate diversity as an institutional and educational resource. This individual is responsible for monitoring the board-sponsored strategic plan for diversity-building opportunities, for providing key input to the board on issues related to diversity and inclusivity, and for reporting on these efforts to the membership.

Meet NASFAA's Diversity Officer, Dr. Sharon Oliver

Appointment and Tenure

The NASFAA National Chair in office appoints the Diversity Officer in advance of the position becoming vacant (some overlap is recommended), and the Diversity Officer is then confirmed by the Board of Directors. As of June 2018, this individual serves a two-year term.

Responsibilities & Oversight

The Diversity Officer reports to the Board on the execution of NASFAA's diversity goals, and participates in Board meetings. They also:

• Report annually to the membership on NASFAA's past 12-month diversity efforts.
• Are a voting member of the Board of Directors.
• Are a member of the Association Governance Committee.
• Participate on other committees/task forces as deemed necessary by the National Chair.
• Consult and advise on conference programming related to diversity, such as a pre-conference speaker or diversity-related sessions and content.
• Chair the annually-recurring Diversity Leadership Program (DLP) Selection Committee; serves in an advisory capacity to the DLP Mentors Group.
• Monitor and report to the board whether the association is adhering to the Diversity Statement.
• Periodically review the demographic information collected through NASFAA member profiles and consider possible additions, including disability status, sexual orientation, and other questions that can be indicators of diversity and might allow NASFAA to anticipate and prepare for any special accommodations as the association plans activities.
• Ensure that NASFAA uses research to determine how the association can better engage minority-serving institutions, and better identify the most prominent issues affecting institutions in relation to providing financial aid-related services to minority student populations. Once these types of issues are identified, the association can then work to develop materials that will assist our membership in both navigating areas of difficulty and creating best practices in serving minority populations.

Adopted by the Board of Directors July 2015 and updated June 2018 and December 2023

Send your thoughts, questions, and comments regarding this position, or any of NASFAA's Diversity & Inclusion efforts. We'd love to hear what you think.