Sessions & Speakers

Helen Faith, FAAC®, is the director of student financial aid at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has 22 years of financial aid and higher education experience, and has previously worked at Lane Community College, the University of Western States, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland State University, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. She earned her bachelor's degree in literature at UC Santa Cruz and a master's degree in education: policy, foundations, and administration at Portland State University, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has served in a number of elected and volunteer roles at the state, regional, and national level, and is a past president of Western Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (WASFAA) and OASFAA (Oregon) . She has served on NASFAA's Board of Directors as WASFAA regional representative and representative-at-large. She has also participated in negotiated rulemaking with the U.S. Department of Education and has collaborated with several higher education associations on financial aid research and analysis projects. Helen is passionate about financial aid and higher education as critical engines for social change with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prior to joining Federal Student Aid in May 2022, Linnea worked at an educational technology and research firm, where she served as a strategy consultant to universities across the globe. She previously held financial aid administrator roles at several universities and colleges in Washington State, served in leadership roles with WASFAA and WFAA, and brings more than 15 years of higher ed experience to her role at FSA. Linnea’s current portfolio of work includes FAFSA Simplification, Campus-Based Programs and cybersecurity compliance.

Kerri Moseley-Hobbs works for the U.S Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) where she continues a more than 20-year career in postsecondary education and federal student aid. She has held positions as a Technical Specialist, Financial Aid Director, Policy Specialist, and now as the Director of the Policy, Implementation, and Liaison Group. Her focus and subject matter expertise are the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®️), student eligibility, verification, needs analysis, homeless youth, foster youth, incarcerated students, community outreach, and the Experimental Sites Initiative. Kerri has contributed to guidance and outreach in FSA areas including FAFSA design and completion, verification selection and guidance, EFC/Needs Analysis formulas, student eligibility, and the design and administration of experiments under the Experimental Sites Initiative, while collaborating in these areas with the Office of Postsecondary Education, the Undersecretary’s office, the General Counsel’s office, and other subject matter related federal agencies including the IRS, HHS, and DOJ.

Karen currently works in NASFAA's division of policy and federal relations, providing a financial aid administrator's "on the ground" perspective to federal student aid policy discussions and debates. She began her career in student aid working in the financial aid offices at several large, four-year institutions, including Boston University, Miami University of Ohio, and The Ohio State University. She began work in NASFAA's training department in 1999 before joining NASFAA's policy team in 2010.