The National College Advocacy Group (NCAG) is a non profit organization responding to the myriad of challenges facing college bound students and their families. The NCAG is a membership organization offering advocacy for college bound families at all levels, individual, local, state and national. The NCAG collects and disseminates information needed to make informed decisions on all areas related to higher education.

Contact information: 

Gary E. Carpenter, CPA – Gary is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York.   He is the co-founder of the CollegeLOAN Evaluator and owner of College Planning Services.  Mr. Carpenter has also provided continuing education courses in the area of college planning and financial aid for the New York, Connecticut, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Missouri, Georgia, California, Oregon, and Washington State Societies of CPAs, the New York State Bar Association and the Financial Planning Association of New York.  He is co-author of “College Financial Planning for Any Income Level” and has been quoted in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, MONEY, Financial Advisor, AARP Magazine and on MSNBC and CNBC.  He has had over thirty years experience in tax and financing and has spent the past ten years in college planning and consulting.  He is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a co-founder and the Executive Director of the National College Advocacy Group.  He is active in committee service for the New York State Society of CPAs and serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations.

 

Michael C. Davila - Mike is a 1994 graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. After graduation, he served on active duty as a surface warfare officer for 6.5 years.  His tours of duty included time aboard a guided missile cruiser, an aircraft carrier, and a final tour of duty on faculty at Annapolis teaching Naval Strategy and Tactics.  He left active duty in 2000, and founded College Inroads, LLC, an education consulting firm based in Austin, Texas.  Additionally, he serves as the director of operations and Regional Vice President for The College Authority, LLC. and The College Funding Service Center.  He is a member of the Higher Education Consultants of America (HECA), National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), and is an associate member of the Independent Educational Consultants of America (IECA).  He is also currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Education at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in College and University Student Personnel Administration.  He was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education, in 2007.  He has been invited to speak at national conferences, seminars, and web events regarding his study focus, strategic enrollment management in higher education.

 

Al Hoffman - Al is the president and founder of The College Funding Service Center.  His company provides support for financial service companies across the nation.  Originally from Kansas, Al joined the military in 1969 and is a ten year veteran of the Naval Submarine Program.  He has worked in the financial services arena since 1989 when he founded his first company, specializing in ERISA.  His work in the financial arena made him aware of the Higher Education Act and its affect on family’s financial goals.  His own family’s questions on college lead to a time of intense research.  In 1993, he founded College Service Center which provides support for firms that help families reach their higher education goals.  He has conducted seminars across the country training others on the effects of the Higher Education Act on a family’s budget.  He is active in his community as an educational consultant.  Al is a co-founder of the National College Advocacy Group (NCAG).

 

Joseph P. Nagy, MS, CPA, PFS - Joe is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York and has an MS in Taxation.  He is the founder of Comprehensive College Resources which provides resources to educational and financial advisors.  He has over thirty years of experience in taxes and over ten years in college planning.  He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, EASFAA, HECA, NYSACAC and NYSFAAA.  Joe is a co-founder of the National College Advocacy Group (NCAG). 

 

Fred Amrein - Fred is the founding principal of Amrein Financial, an independent, fee-only financial advisory firm in Pennsylvania.  Fred earned an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor of Science degree with dual majors in Accounting and Marketing from St. Joseph’s University.  He attained the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation from the American College in Bryn Mawr.  Fred is also a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).
Mr. Amrein has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek and other national publications.  In addition, he appears on various Philadelphia media programs speaking about personal financial topics, mostly educational funding issues.  Fred has also developed several software programs that analyze college costs and financing options and he is involved with student financial literacy programs.

Brooke Daly - Brooke is the founder of College Advantage, LLC, an independent educational consulting business.  She assists with all facets of college planning:  identifying good fit colleges, navigating the admissions process and maximizing financial aid opportunities.  The inspiration behind her work grew out of Brooke’s personal experience and being firsthand witness to the struggles of students and parents strapped with student loan debt.  Brooke’s focus is to help families properly plan for college and financial aid, taking the stress out of the process, and ultimately making college affordable. 
She is currently the Community Representative and active member of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA).  She also holds membership in the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC).

 

James C. Lundgren II - Jim has been a financial counselor since 1999 and has focused on the College Planning/Funding specialty since 2001. He is a founding partner of College Planning Solutions.  Jim has also provided presentations for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Annual Cash4College community education program.  Topics include “Financial Aid 101”, “Completing the FAFSA”, and “Cal Grants”.  Jim is also a multi-year member of LAUSD’s annual “Ask the Experts” panel.  He has presented at school districts throughout Southern California and also provides workshops for high school PTSAs and other civic organizations.  Jim is a member of the California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (CASFAA) and a representative with CASFAA’s High School Counselor Outreach Committee. Since the fall of 2009 and the winter of 2010 Jim has worked with the Southern California College Access Network and the Los Angeles Educational Partnership to provide both train-the-trainer and student/parent instructional presentations of the FAFSA, Cal Grant, Financial Aid, AB540 and Financial Literacy Processes. Jim is the Southern California Regional Representative of the American College Planning Foundation and is a member of the American School Counselor Association.
 

Thomas Perham - is a program manager at Microsoft who has 25 years expereince in the high tech industry in positions from technical writer, quality assurance engineer, test engineer, manager and program management. Tom is also a former elementary school teacher who has a lot of passion for introducing technology within education and making it easier for students to learn using technology.