Officers - Voting

Jessica Flogaites, University of Pittsburgh, Commission Chair, Eastern Representative 

Jessica Flogaites has worked in higher education since 2007 and currently serves as the associate director of financial aid strategic initiatives and partnerships at the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining Pitt, Jessica held financial aid positions at Western Illinois University and Hastings College in Nebraska, where she was an active member of NeASFAA. Jessica holds the FAAC^® designation and earned a Ph.D. in educational studies with an emphasis in leadership and higher education from the University of Nebraska. Jessica's research publications include "Financial Aid Director: Educator, Leader, or Manager" (Doctoral Dissertation, 2019). 

Brian Drabik, Northwestern University, Commission Chair-Elect, MASFAA Representative

Brian Drabik is the senior associate director of financial aid at Northwestern University. He received his bachelor's degree in arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is currently pursuing his master's degree in information design and strategy at Northwestern. Brian has been working in financial aid since 1998 and has experience at both public and private institutions. Brian is an active member of ILASFAA (Illinois), MASFAA (Midwest), and NASFAA. Brian was fortunate to participate in NASFAA's Diversity Leadership Program in 2019-20, which he found to be a tremendously valuable experience. In his current role at Northwestern, he oversees loan processing and compliance, as well as the aid office's communication functions, particularly with first-generation, low-income students. He is always looking for improvements in the way his office serves and communicates with its students, as well as how staff communicate and share information with one another. Besides his financial aid role at Northwestern, Brian has also built a financial wellness program for students, including a website and programming throughout the academic year. Brian also serves as a NASFAA Standards of Excellence reviewer and has performed work for NASFAA's Blue Icon Advisors consulting service. Financial aid is something of a "family business" for Brian, as his mother was also a financial aid administrator!

Craig Slaughter, Kenyon College, Commission Past Chair, Midwest Representative

In 2017, Craig Slaughter returned to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio to serve as director of financial aid. He previously worked for Kenyon as an associate director from 2000-05. During the intervening years, Craig served as director of financial aid for the University of Redlands, in Redlands, California, and also in the same role at DePauw University. Craig currently serves as president-elect for MASFAA (Midwest) and has also served previously as MASFAA's vice president and secretary. He has held various volunteer and presenter roles with College Board, MASFAA, ISFAA (Indiana), WASFAA (Western), and NASFAA — including serving on the NASFAA Board of Directors as a representative-at-large and also as the 2018-20 diversity officer. A former member of College Board's Financial Aid Standards and Services Committee (FASSAC), Craig is passionate about college access and affordability, using technology to gather data, and streamlining processes that enable college staff to better focus on counseling. He received a bachelor's degree in music from the Eastman School of Music and a master's degree in higher education (college student personnel administration) from Indiana University. In his free time, Craig enjoys rehearsing and performing in the tenor section with symphony choruses. One particular highlight was being part of the choir that performed with Madonna in the 2012 Superbowl halftime show —  a truly memorable experience!

Regional Representatives

Lacey Ledwich, Wichita State University Tech , Rocky Mountain Representative 

Lacey Ledwich is currently the senior director of financial aid at Wichita State University-Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech) in Wichita, KS. Lacey earned her FAAC^® designation through NASFAA in July 2020, and has earned 9 of NASFAA's professional credentials. She has been in her position at WSU Tech for over 10 years and in financial aid almost 20 years. Lacey started her financial aid professional career as a Federal Work-Study student at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS. It is then when she found her passion for helping others pursue their dreams. She earned her bachelor's degree in business management and marketing from Pittsburg State University and her Master of Business Administration from Friends University in Wichita, KS. Prior to becoming director of financial aid, Lacey worked as a financial aid counselor at Newman University in Wichita, KS and financial aid specialist at her current institution. Lacey has served on KASFAA's Conference Planning committee and also has earned recognition from the Wichita Business Journal as a '2021 Women Who Lead in Education' recipient. In her free time, you will find Lacey on a soccer pitch or basketball court with her husband as they support their two children.

Bretta Carithers, Kennesaw State University, Southern Representative 

Bretta Carithers has worked in higher education since 2007 and currently serves as the director of processing and scholarships at Kennesaw State University. Bretta began her career in financial aid as an intake specialist at her alma mater in the office of financial aid at the University of South Florida. She has bachelor’s degrees in finance and management and a master’s degree in business administration. She earned her FAAC^® designation in January 2024 and has earned 12 NASFAA professional credentials. Bretta is an active member of her state and regional associations of student financial aid administrators, where she has served on committees, presented on special topics, and served as an instructor at the SASFAA New Aid Officer Workshop.

Bretta has a passion for serving and educating students and her community. In her free time, she actively volunteers in the community, engaging with at-risk youth and those facing housing insecurities. Through service and advocacy, Bretta continuously strives to be a source of hope for her community.

Elizabeth Amador, University of New Mexico, Southwestern Representative 

Elizabeth Jacquez-Amador is the director of student financial aid at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. She holds the FAAC^® designation and she has a master's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in organizational leadership. Elizabeth began in financial aid as a work-study student in 2007 and has made a career, working her way through various roles, and overseeing different areas, such as scholarships/funds and student employment. Since 2015, Elizabeth has been actively involved with NMASFAA (New Mexico), SWASFAA (Southwest) and NASFAA. She will be serving as the SWASFAA President in 2025 and was part of the 2021-22 NASFAA Diversity Leadership Program. Outside of the financial aid world, Elizabeth enjoys traveling with her son and husband.

Shawn Domingo, San Joaquin Delta College, Western Representative 

Shawn is the Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships at San Joaquin Delta College. Shawn holds the FAAC^® designation, an associate's degree in ethnic studies and political science, a bachelor's degree in psychology, and is currently working toward his master's degree in educational leadership. He has been in financial aid for 20 years and worked for various segments, from proprietary 2 year, to 4-year public, 4-year private, and community college. Shawn has served CASFAA as the segmental representative for Community College, as well as a trainer for both the CASFAA and WASFAA training committees. He has also served as a faculty member for the WASFAA Sister Dale Brown Summer Institute. He has co-chaired the CASFAA Emerging Leaders Academy, which is a week-long academy dedicated to the development of future leaders in the state of California.

As a member of the LGBTQ community, first generation college student, as well as coming from a low-income family, Shawn believes attention and focus on DEI initiatives is more important now than ever in higher education.

Commissioners-At-Large

Melet Leafgreen, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Commissioner-At-Large

Melet Leafgreen has worked in financial aid for 23 years. The first 16 years, she held various positions at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, then moved to University of Texas at Arlington. Since 2017, she has been the director of student financial aid at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. She has served TASFAA as a board member, committee chair, and president. Melet holds the FAAC^® designation and nine of NASFAA's professional credentials. She has been a NASFAA credential test content editor, and currently serves on the NASFAA Ethics Commission, as chair of the Graduate Professional Issues Caucus, a SWASFAA board member, and a member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Financial Aid Advisory Committee. She has two dogs, one husband, and one fantastic 9-year-old son.

Public Representative

April E. Bell, Ph.D., National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP), Public Representative 

Bringing over twenty-five years of experience within the education sector, Dr. Bell is the director of constituent relations at the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP). In this role, Dr. Bell focuses on growing NCCEP's professional learning community, enhancing engagement with GEAR UP sites, and expanding professional development opportunities to increase programmatic and student impact.

From 2007 to 2014, Dr. Bell served in multiple leadership roles at the College Board, including director of membership mobilization and engagement, where she was responsible for organizational outreach and promoting professional development opportunities for the college access and success sector. While at the College Board, Dr. Bell also served as director of college and career planning for BigFuture and director within the National Office for School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA). This work allowed her to lead international, national, state, district, and building-level training for education, business, and community stakeholders. Dr. Bell was a middle school teacher, high school college advisor, and scholarship administrator early in her career.

Dr. Bell holds a Ph.D., with distinction, in instructional leadership for changing populations and master's degree in nonprofit management, both from Notre Dame of Maryland University. She is a graduate of Morgan State University with a bachelor's degree in education.

Officers - Nonvoting

Dana Kelly, NASFAA, Fiscal Officer (nonvoting member)

Dana has over 20 years of experience working in the higher education community and has been active in multiple state and regional associations. She is a former president of NCASFAA and has been an active member of SASFAA. Prior to joining us, Dana served as the director of financial planning at High Point University in North Carolina for 12 years. She has also worked on both the lender and servicer side of student aid, most recently for Nelnet. She received her bachelor's degree from Guilford College and she holds a master's degree in public administration and a master's degree in organizational management. Dana has daughter, Sloane. She is by far her greatest accomplishment. 

Susan Shogren, NASFAA, Director of Certification and Credentialing   (nonvoting member)

Susan Shogren is the director of certification and credentialing for NASFAA. Her passion is helping financial aid professionals gain the recognition they deserve for the work they do supporting the dreams and aspirations of college students across the country. Susan has worked in financial aid for over 30 years, including at the University of Portland and the University of Maine. Prior to joining NASFAA, she provided Title IV regulatory compliance training to schools across the country on behalf of NELA and USA Funds. She has been recognized for her contributions over the years by both the Oregon Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA) and the Western Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (WASFAA).

Susan graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and holds the Association for Talent Development's Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) certification, as well as the Certified Credentialing Professional (ICE-CCP) certification from the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. She works remotely from Portland, Oregon.

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