MASFAA Financial Aid Winter Institute January 6, 2010 at Bowdoin College

Institute faculty are drawn from the ranks of college financial aid administrators currently practicing at private, public university system and community colleges in Maine. In all cases, they are veteran practitioners with over 110 years of working financial aid experience managing programs and counseling students and parents.

Meet this year's faculty... 

Andrea Cross

Associate Dean for Financial Aid

St. Joseph's College, Standish, Maine

     B.Ed., McGill University

     C.A.S, M.S., Springfield College

A well-known trainer and presenter in Maine for many years, Andrea has been involved with financial aid program administration since her graduate school days at Springfield in 1984. She has worked at Country Schools, Inc., BayPath College in Longmeadow, MA,  and for the last twenty years at St. Joseph's College here in Maine.

Andrea has twice served on the College Board's Financial Aid Division Advisory Committee and presented at annual New England regional meetings. She was an EASFAA Council member from 1993-1995 and received the EASFAA President's Award for her service. She has also served on the Maine State Scholarhip Advisory Committee administared by the Finance Authority of Maine.

She is a former MASFAA president (1993-94) and currently provides financial aid counseling services for students and parents at Sacopee Valley High School.

You can reach Andrea at across@sjcme.edu.

Jennifer Hutchinson                                                     

Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid

University of Maine, Farmington, Maine

     B.S., University of Southern Maine

Jennifer began her financial aid career as a work-study student in the USM financial aid office. After graduation, she began her professional career in the UMF financial aid office, where she is now the Senior Associate Director. She has been a financial aid practitioner for twenty-five years.

Jennifer has served the Maine Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (MASFAA) as Secretary and Outreach Committee chair. She wrote the first MASFAA Outreach grant to receive funding from the MELMAC Foundation and co-authored the successful MASFAA School Support Initiative (MSSI) grant. As a MSSI volunteer, she provides counseling services to Mt. Blue abd Mountain Valkley high school students and parents.

Jennifer represents MASFAA on FAME's Higher Education Aadvisory Council and hosts College Goal Sunday at UMF each year.

You may contact Jennifer at jferr@maine,edu.

Stephen Joyce    

Director of Student Aid

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine 

     B.A., Williams College

     M.Ed., Harvard University

Steve Joyce has worked in the financial aid office at Bowdoin College since 1991 and has served as Director of Student Aid since 1999. He is experienced in Federal and Institutional Need Analysis, federal and state regulations, and the Federal Work Study Program. He regularly counsels Bowdoin students and parents about financial aid policies and paying college costs.

Before Bowdoin, Steve was the high school principal and director of college counseling at Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA, and previously was the college counselor and a biology teacher at the Rivers School in Weston, MA. He has an M.Ed in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University.

Currently, Steve is a member of the Financial Aid Advisory Committee of the New England Region of the College Board and is a past-President and active member of the Maine Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. His volunteer activities include: speaking at high school financial aid nights, presenting on College Goal Sunday, offering tax preparation at the Midcoast Maine CA$H Coalition and providing financial aid c

ounsel for students and parents at South Portland High School.

Steve can be reached at sjoyce@bowdoin.edu.

Ron Milliken                                                                              

Director of Financial Aid

University of Maine, Farmington, Maine

Gary Weaver

Associate Director of Student Aid

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine

            B.A., Colby College

            M.A., University of New Hampshire

            M.B.A., University of New Hampshire

            Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

            Before joining Bowdoin College in 2002, Gary Weaver was Assistant Director and Director of Financial Aid at Colby College from 1974 to 1984. While at Colby, he served on College Board committees and was a CSS Financial Aid Institute faculty member. He also served as MASFAA president in 1984.

            After leaving Colby, Gary joined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith as a licensed securities broker and Certified Financial Planner. He earned his M.B.A. from the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics. Following business school, he was the business manager for a ten person orthopedic surgical practice in Portland, Maine.

           While at Bowdoin, Gary has presented at workshops for the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), College Board Annual Tax Worshop, EASFAA and NASFAA annual conferences and has been a frequent panelist at the College Board New England Regional Forum each February. He is active in MASFAA business and outreach initiatives, including the creation of the innovative MASFAA Audio Files. He volunteers to do individual financial aid counseling for Mt. Ararat high school students and parents.

          Gary can be reached at gweaver@bowdoin.edu.

Lucia Whittelsey

Director of Financial Aid

Colby College, Waterville, Maine

      B.A., Colby College

 Lucia Whittelsey, an alumna of Colby College, has been a financial aid administrator for nearly 30 years.  Prior to becoming Director of Financial Aid at Colby, she worked in financial aid at Brown University, Notre Dame College (NH) and Wellesley College.  She has also participated in the financial aid process as a parent.

Lucia recently completed a term on the Financial Aid Standards and Services Advisory Committee of the College Scholarship Service (CEEB). She also served on the regional Council and FADEC of the College Board, the Maine Education Assistance Division Advisory Board of FAME, and is a former MASFAA president.

Lucia has presented on countless College Board and regional association panels over the years and currently works with college-bound students and parents at Winslow High School.

You can reach Lucia at lwwhitte@colby.edu.