By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter

NASFAA's Board of Directors recently named Melanie Storey as the new president and CEO of NASFAA. As she begins her tenure, Melanie took some time to discuss with Today's News her goals for the association, challenges facing the profession, and more. 

Melanie brings decades of experience in federal higher education policy, financial aid operations, and organizational leadership, most recently serving as director of policy implementation and oversight at the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). 

Before FSA, Melanie led policy and strategy work at the College Board, served as director of national initiatives at the American Council on Education (ACE), and was a policy analyst at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).

Melanie is a proud first-generation college graduate and financial aid recipient, and is dedicated to advancing access and equity in higher education. Join us in welcoming Melanie to the NASFAA team!

Want to hear more from Melanie? Listen to our recent episode of “Off the Cuff” where Melanie answered pressing questions from NASFAA members. 

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

So, for those who haven't had a chance to meet me or read any of the very kind things that NASFAA has published since my announcement, I come most recently from FSA, where I was the director of policy implementation and oversight. Many of you saw me in various iterations, either on webinars or at the NASFAA conference, talking about FAFSA simplification. I did also work at the College Board in their policy office, always with an eye to students, affordability, and access. I also worked for ACE and NAICU. 

My work, regardless of the organization, always included financial aid, if not focused, adjacent. My very first job out of college was working for what was then called the Central Processor, which was the organization that calculated Pell Grants. When you say I have decades of experience, it's true, but it makes me feel old. I've seen a lot of the transformations and changes, and I'm excited to continue to help navigate them. 

I was a financial aid recipient. I'm a true believer in the power of postsecondary education. I'm a first-generation student. My mom was a receptionist. My dad worked in a box factory, which made moving to college a lot easier. I'd always had the best boxes. I'm a native New Englander, transplanted to Washington, D.C., for all of my career, with a short stint in Austin, Texas. I love good food and travel. But really, I believe in the power of people — I think it's the power of NASFAA.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the federal aid programs right now?

Significant changes to FSA programs being considered under reconciliation is one of the biggest issues we'll have to address in the short term. Reconciliation is a long process, but it's important to see the larger messaging coming out of the House. They are looking to make really dramatic changes in how students repay, who and how much can be borrowed, as well as institutional skin in the game. It’s a fundamental change to the programs and could have more implementation challenges for our institutions. At least in the short term, I think that is one of the biggest issues facing the programs. 

What are your top three goals of your presidency?

It is important that we pay attention to the state of the profession. We need to continue to build on the importance of financial aid professionals as part of the larger ecosystem of higher education access. The conversation tends to focus on academics and admissions, but financial aid is at least the third leg of that stool. It is an equal leg. We must make sure that that is recognized both internally by the institutions in terms of valuing and compensating the staff and in a broader strategic sense. Financial aid is essential to the processes of accessing and completing higher education. It makes our work easier if we feel respected, valued, and resourced in doing that work. 

If I had a magic wand, I would seek policy and political stability around the FSA programs. For the last 20 years and changes of administration, we've seen however many iterations of gainful employment, Return of Title IV funds (R2T4), and numerous other iterations of policy. That just makes our jobs unnecessarily difficult. It causes burnout, and it's frustrating. So, finding a way to minimize that is a big goal and not one we have control over. It's important to keep it in our sights and to work toward it, but know that a lot of this sometimes can be out of our hands. 

While it is important for NASFAA to focus on the core work of financial aid, given the messaging around the importance of financial aid to the broader ecosystem of higher education, it is also important that we engage with our other higher education colleagues. We need to continue to engage in broader discussions around opportunity. We need to collaborate with our admissions colleagues, our development colleagues, our bursar colleagues, and our finance colleagues. 

I have a personal goal to ensure that NASFAA is part of coalitions that may not be bullseye focused on financial aid, but have a significant impact on it. 

What do you see as NASFAA’s biggest priorities in the next year? 

We will be engaging in a strategic planning activity over the course of the next year, so I think there's a lot of opportunity for the membership to weigh in on what they are seeing as priorities, as well as the NASFAA leadership.

I am focusing on making sure our policy priorities are well-represented and heard here in Washington. I’m also focusing on the state of the financial aid profession and professional development. I want to make sure we are providing training and support in a myriad of ways for the NASFAA membership. I also think technological innovation is a place where we can and should lean in to deliver on the promise of simplification or eliminating complexity. Those are big pictures, and there's a lot that falls underneath each of them, but I think those are three key areas to look forward to. 

How do you see NASFAA effectively advocating for the needs of our members in an increasingly volatile political context?

That's my lived experience, certainly for the last five years. I feel like I have both the battle scars and the victories from that. What does advocacy come down to in terms of the really partisan politics that we've been experiencing? In many ways, the pendulum has swung over the last five years. 

For me, it is focused on our core values. When your core values are around supporting economic opportunity and supporting students, I think you can be steady and firm in those and find common ground across the political spectrum.  

When I was in grad school, one of the greatest experiences I had was taking an ethics course with former Rep. Barbara Jordan, a very well-known, respected member of Congress. She used to tell us frequently that the imperative is to define what is right and do it. If you are aware and always have your end goal and values in mind, that will strengthen your advocacy. 

But tactically, what does that mean? Well, I think it means data. We have to demonstrate value. It's always good to focus on policy versus politics. You can find common ground in policy and hopefully avoid some of the slings and arrows of politics. We have to build coalitions. We are already part of a lot of great organizations, coalitions, and groups that work on behalf of students, but as we move forward and as things change, who else should we be partnering with to talk about the value of higher education?

The other plea I will make to our members is that everyone is an advocate for financial aid — how you talk about the power of it to your neighbors, your local politicians, your presidents, and your institutional leaders. It is important to leverage every voice. It can be hard sometimes when we're feeling really burned out and worn down, but at the end of the day, what we do is incredibly valuable. Use your voice. And part of getting out of the political infighting is to talk about those larger goals and the broader policy. Everyone can be an advocate for that. 

How will you make sure that, despite not having served directly as a financial aid administrator, you consistently represent the day-to-day concerns and perspectives of aid professionals and keep NASFAA’s goals firmly aligned with the needs of those practitioners? 

You. You’re the solution. All of the financial aid administrators out there. It's about listening to you, visiting with you, seeking your input, and building a relationship of trust and candor. Say the hard things and tell me the hard things. Tell NASFAA the hard things so that we can be full-throated advocates. 

We need to focus on the issues core to financial aid. We need to lead on that, but remember that the skill set we use at NASFAA to impact the broader world of financial aid is really policy and advocacy, training, and professional development. Those are tangential, but different skills from being a financial aid professional. NASFAA's role is really to bring together all of the financial aid professionals’ experiences and expertise, with the other extraordinary talents and disciplines that NASFAA brings to make sure that all of your day-to-day challenges are heard, considered, and hopefully mitigated. 

It's important that we recognize that there are different disciplines here, and so while I don't have the direct day-to-day experience, I have been very adjacent to that work for a long time. I think you'll find that I'm open to hearing what your day-to-day challenges are, and working with you to convert that into what we need to tell policymakers, legislators, and campus leaders. 

Do you have any recommendations for people just getting started in higher education and the financial aid field?

Mentors and community. We are stronger together. I do think we are fundamentally an optimistic set of hardworking individuals, but the work is difficult. It can be frustrating, with burnout and disappointment, because we can't always deliver for everyone. We have constraints and that is emotionally draining when we have personal values and goals to support students and families. 

This isn't unique to financial aid, but I've had tremendous leaders, managers, mentors, and colleagues, and those are the people who carry you when the days are hard. This was demonstrated fully over the last couple of years around FAFSA.

If you're entering into higher education and financial aid, find your people and hold them close. It’s also important to know what your core values are. Why are you in higher education and financial aid? It is nourishing to see and to feel that we are helping our nation, we are helping our communities, and we are helping individuals. Do what you can. Set time aside to remind yourself of that, particularly when the days are difficult.

What's something you couldn't function without?

I think my family would say my phone, but that is no credit to myself, because we’ve become addicted to that. 

I guess I would also say regular proximity to water. I love being near the ocean, by a lake, a brook, or a creek. I like to lose myself in nature every once in a while. It's a great, big, beautiful world out there. And sometimes our vision can be very narrow. It's not a day-to-day thing. Otherwise, day-to-day, yeah, it's sadly my phone. 

Can attendees expect to see you at the National Conference in Anaheim this summer and our virtual conference in July?

All the things that I've been talking about are going to manifest in Anaheim and the virtual conference. We will have opportunities to be together as a community. Some of them will be fun, like the Charity 5K run/walk, Silent Disco, and places where we can just connect as humans, which I think is so important. It's about building that community, mentors and mentees, and support. 

This is also an amazing opportunity to have face time with those of us who are really close to the policy discussions going on in Washington, and issues happening on your campuses and in states. There are extraordinary professional development opportunities. It is a big commitment of time to come out to Anaheim, and we are going to deliver on the things that we hear from you that you need to be better at your work. The virtual conference, of course, gives us an opportunity to have a broader exchange and audience for this work. 

I joke that you'll probably see too much of me. I do feel like connecting with the membership is essential, particularly in this first year, but it's always what I liked about coming to NASFAA, even when I was at FSA. It is the conversations in the hallway. It is the conversations in the exhibit hall. I will have obligations, but when I do not have scheduled obligations, it is my intention to spend time listening and hearing from everyone who is there. So I'll be exhausted Saturday, but that'll be good! 

If you were not working in financial aid, what career would you pursue? 

I would either like to be a personal chef or caterer. Food is my love language. I like to bake and cook. I like to experiment, and I like to share it with people. I think food is communal. And if I could pair it with some sort of bed and breakfast near the ocean, then that would be a double bonus. Sharing a meal, sitting down, and having a conversation with people is one of life's great joys. If I could make a career out of doing that, I would enjoy that.

Publication Date: 5/13/2025

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