Conference

Conference Information

Dates: May 22-23, 2023

Start Time: 7:30 am PDT/10:30 am EDT
End Time: approx. 3:00/6:00 pm

Format: Virtual

Registration Fees

Member:  $199
Non-member:  $225 prior to 4/23
     with code: NCAG2023
Non-member $249 after 4/23

Be sure to LOG IN as a member to receive member discount


 
Need more Information?
Info@NCAGonline.org

Change is coming 2023

 

NCAG CONFERENCE |May 22-23, 2023

Virtual Conference

Registration Opens

 

March 31, 2023

 
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Conference Highlights

Nationally Ranked Speakers 
Financial Aid Topics | Real Life Case Studies 
Roundtable Discussions  

NCAG's exclusive CCA program, covering both academic and financial aspects of college planning

 

NCAG Virtual Conference Agenda

Monday, May 227:30-3:00 PST  | 10:30-6:00  EST
Welcome
Steven Sirot, NCAG President
Coming in 24-25: The New FAFSABrad Barnett, MS, AFC, CPFM, FAAC
Assoc VP for Enrollment Management, FA Director James Madison U
NASFAA National Chair
The Future of college FinancingDaniel Kahn, COO Sparrow
FAFSA change examplesPaula Bishop, CPA - Financial Aid for College Advisor
Declutter your Digital LifeAlex Brzozowski, Founder/CEO - Be Organizing
How to Borrow Smarter for CollegeMeagan McGuire, CSLP - StudentLoanPlanner.com
College finance discussion-
Integrating College Funding & Admissions
Todd Weaver, President - Strategies for College
Lance Morgan, Legetty / College Funding Secrets      
   
Tuesday,May 237:30 -3:00 PST  | 10:30-6:00  EST
Welcome Back
 
CCA: The Gold Standard for College Planning
NCAG's exclusive CCA designation 
Al Hoffman & Ryan Clark - NCAG Board Members
New Developments with 529 plans
Mark Kantrowitz, President, Cerebly, Inc.
Leading National Expert on student financial aid
College financial aid case studies
Cyndy McDonald, CEP/MA/PPS, NCAG Committee Chair
Business Succession Planning
Daniel Koven, FA & Jay Clark, FA - Corio & Associates
A Student is NOT a Statistic!
Wendy Nelson, Director of Data - College Aid Pro
College Finance DiscussionStuart Siegel, FAFSAssist.com
 
 

Featured KEYNOTE Speakers

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Changes and updates with 529 plans
Mark Kantrowitz
President, Cerebly Inc.

Mark Kantrowitz is a nationally-recognized expert on student financial aid, scholarships, student loans, college savings plans and education tax benefits. His mission is to deliver practical information, advice and tools to students and their families so they can make informed decisions about planning and paying for college.

Mark writes extensively about student financial aid policy. He has testified before Congress and federal/state agencies about student aid on several occasions.

Mark has been quoted in more than 10,000 newspaper and magazine articles. He has written for the New York TimesWall Street JournalWashington PostReutersHuffington PostU.S. News & World ReportMoney Magazine,

ForbesNewsweek and Time Magazine. He was named a Money Hero by Money Magazine and a College Financing Ace by Investment Advisor Magazine. He is the author of five bestselling books about scholarships and financial aid, including How to Appeal for More College Financial AidTwisdoms about Paying for CollegeFiling the FAFSA and Secrets to Winning a Scholarship.

Mark is currently Publisher of PrivateStudentLoans.guru, a web site that provides students with smart borrowing tips about private student loans.Mark is ABD on a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He has Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and philosophy from MIT and a Master of Science degree in computer science from CMU.

Brad Head Shot Small File
Coming in 2024-2025: The New FAFSA
Brad Barnett, MS, AFC®, CPFM, FAAC®
Associate Vice President for Access and Enrollment Management/
Financial Aid Director, James Madison University
NASFAA National Chair
 
Brad Barnett is an Accredited Financial Counselor, Certified Personal Financial Manager, and Certified Financial Aid Administrator who works as the Associate Vice President for Access and Enrollment Management/Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships at James Madison University. Closing in on three decades of experience in the financial aid profession, Brad has been active in state, regional, and national financial aid associations as a presenter, committee member/chair, and elected officer. 

A past president of VASFAA and SASFAA, he has also served NASFAA on the Financial Affairs Committee, as Treasurer, as Conference Chair, as a Standards of Excellence (SOE) Reviewer/Team Lead, and as a SOE Assessment Leader. Currently, Brad is serving on the NASFAA Board of Directors and holds the position of NASFAA National Chair.

Brad received the VAFSAA Excellence Award, VASFAA Life Membership Award, SASFAA Distinguished Service Award, and NASFAA Regional Leadership Award.  In addition to these activities, he teaches personal finance courses (on-line and in person) at JMU and provides financial counseling services on a professional basis outside of his role with JMU.
Declutter your digital life!
Alex Brzozowski
Be Organizing

Alex is a digital organizer, productivity specialist, and founder of Be Organizing. Be was born because she believes there's a better way to manage our digital lives-- by creating systems and processes that maximize productivity for businesses and create lasting memories.

Alex is a sought-after keynote speaker, podcast guest, and author. She has been featured on Better Homes and Gardens, HP's Garage, Stay Savvy San Diego, Peaceful Living Wellness,  MissOrganized, Balanced Millionaire podcast, Quantum Revenue Expansion podcast, and many more. She is an active member and past Chapter President of the San Diego Chapter of NAPO where she has served on the board for eight years.

How to borrow smarter for college!
Meagan McGuire, CSLP
Financial Coach Meagan

Meagan McGuire is a Certified Student Loan Professional™ at Student Loan Planner and has helped over 2,500 households with their ~500 million in student loan debt.

Meagan is an expert in student loan repayment strategy, which also helps her advise folks before  they borrow student loans. She believes student loans do not have to hold one back in pursuing their career and financial goals. Meagan resides in North Georgia with her husband and springer spaniel puppy, Boone. 
The future of college financing
Daniel Kahn
COO and Co-Founder Sparrow

Daniel is the co-founder and COO at Sparrow, a platform that allows borrowers to search and compare personalized student loan offers through a single application, bringing simplicity, choice, and transparency to the private lending process. Since launching ago, Sparrow has:

  • Saved borrowers an average of $9.6k per student loan refinancing
  • Integrated 20 lenders to the platform
Daniel was a 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 lister under the Education category.  Daniel was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina and graduated from Duke University in 2020.  Daniel and the Sparrow team are headquartered in New York City.
Business Succession Planning
Daniel Koven
Financial Advisor, Corio & Associates
Jay Clark
Financial Advisor, Corio & Associates

Succession planning is not always something we want to think about, but as many of us work independently, we should have a contingency plan. The plan can be creative and usually involves what will happen if you want to retire, become disabled, or worse. Don't leave the details to loved ones. Daniel has worked with many IECS to help them financially and understand the nuances of owning your own business. 

A Student is NOT a statistic! Why using general aid percentages is not enough.
Wendy Nelson
Director of Data, College Aid Pro, Inc.

Wendy Nelson started My Kid's College Choice in 2012 to help families through the college search process. She developed a passion for finding merit scholarships to make college more affordable. In 2014, she launched the Full Scholarship List listing of full ride and full tuition scholarships offered by colleges. Sensing a need for more complete scholarship data, she developed meritscholarshiplist.com, a searchable database of all merit scholarships offered by colleges around the U.S. In 2020, Wendy joined College Aid Pro to bring her data expertise to a wider audience. As Director of Data, Wendy finds opportunities to refine college cost projections and provide additional information to help families find the most affordable colleges.

Financial Aid Case Studies
Cyndy McDonald, CEP/MA/PPS
CyndyMcDonald.com
The College Counselor's Coach
NCAG Education Chair

Cyndy McDonald is a recognized leader in both college counseling and in business. She has over thirty years of experience as a college advisor. She has trained many advisors when they were starting college consulting firms. Currently, Cyndy teaches in the UCLA online college counseling certificate program and serves as an active member of several professional organizations: NCAG, AICEP, NACAC, IECA, WACAC and HECA.

Integrating College Admissions and Funding
Lance Morgan
College Funding Specialist, Legetty

For more than 15 years now I have been teaching families how to save and pay for college without sacrificing your retirement. It's hard to believe that we can go all the way through school without learning basic financial strategies.  Most of us didn't learn from our parents and the financial industry just wants to sell products.Helping your kids pay for college could be one of your biggest expenses in life.  How you pay for college is 10x more important than how much you pay.Our goal is to help you reduce the cost of college and pay for it without sacrificing your retirement.

Integrating College Admissions and Funding
Todd Weaver
President, Strategies for College

Todd is an Independent Educational Counselor who specializes in integrating the college selection process within cost management parameters for the families he works with. Todd received his B.A. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University in 1990 and his M.B.A. from Northeastern University in 1997, where he worked in the Financial Aid department. 

For more than 20 years, Strategies For College, Inc. has taught Certified Public Accountants 4 and 8‐hour CPE courses on college planning at the Boston Tax Institute and is also a Certified Financial Planner Board Registered provider of professional continuing education. 

Since 1990, Strategies For College, Inc. has assisted more than 6,000 families 

FAFSA 2024-2025
Paula Bishop, CPA
PaulaBishop.com

Ms. Bishop is a Certified Public Accountant and Financial Aid for College Advisor. Her expertise is working with families to develop strategies on how to pay for college, and to find the best college for their student at the lowest cost to the family.  Paula has been a practicing CPA for the past 35 years which allows her to combine her tax knowledge with the complexities of the financial aid system. Paula holds a Finance Degree from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. She was part of a panel on NPR discussing the 2018 tax changes as they relate to college. 

three key strategies that eliminate cost as the deciding factor and also help build your business/practice.
Stuart Siegel
Financial Aid Now, Founder, NCAG Board Member

For 25 years, I've helped tens of thousands of families navigate the financial aid process and access millions of dollars in free aid. I created a home version of my FAFSAsoft EZ File System used by top college consultants.  It's that same passion for helping families that led me to create software platforms, like Financial AID Now™, that are used by global enterprises, banks, and credit unions all over the country. College financesisn't easy even with the help we give. I didn't invent the rainy day. I just own the best umbrella.

Become a Certified College Advisor (CCA)
with NCAG's exclusive CCA program. 
Ryan Clark, MBA, CCPS
Clark College Consulting, NCAG Board Member

As founder and CEO of Clark College Consulting and Clark College Funding, Ryan has extensive experience in working with over a thousand families throughout the United States in helping them through the entire college planning process. Ryan visits colleges throughout the year, attending conferences, and staying up to date on changes and new strategies in his profession.

Ryan holds an MBA from Queens University in Charlotte and is an alumnus of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. At USMMA, he earned an ABET-accredited Bachelors Degree in Marine Systems Engineering. He is also a retired Lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve and has a U.S. Coast Guard License as a Third Asst. Engineer (unlimited tonnage). Before starting Clark College Consulting, Ryan worked for two Fortune 500 Companies, SeaLand and General Electric.

Become a Certified College Advisor (CCA)
with NCAG's exclusive CCA program. 
Al Hoffman
, NCAG Board Member

Al currently is the director of the College Funding Service Center (CFSC) which was started on September 26th 2001.  Prior to September of 2001 Al had four years of experience in helping a student/family navigate the college bound process.  Al's mission statement was simple.  Help students get into college.  He started out in a home office by himself.  The College Funding Service Center now has seventeen employees and nine additional counselors that assist the college process.  Since the beginning Al and the team of servicers and counselors has helped over 26,000 families on the college process. Al is a founding member of NCAG!