2008 EFC Mid-Year Membership Meeting - REGISTRATION IS CLOSED - On site Registration Only
Date: July 10, 2008 - July 11, 2008 CONFERENCE REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Early Registration Discount Expires on June 23, 2008

EFC Member Conference Fees:

• Registration received on or before June 23, 2008: $550.00
• Registration received after June 23, 2008: $600.00

Non-Member Conference Fees:

• Registration received on or before June 23, 2008: $925.00
• Registration received after June 23, 2008: $975.00

Cancellation Policy:


Hotel Information:

1250 South Hayes Street

Arlington. VA 22202
703-415-5000 or 800-241-3333

Attire:
Business Attire

Travel Information:

The Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City is conveniently located just a brief cab ride from the Ronald Reagan National Airport.  You may also take the metro from the Ronald Reagan National Airport by taking the Blue Line or the Yellow Line to the Pentagon City metro stop (second stop).  This will place you right in front of the hotel.

Conference Description:
The EFC Mid-Year Membership Meeting is strategically held in the greater Washington, D.C. area in order to attract key members of Congress and officials from the U.S. Department of Education, the White House, the Treasury Department, the higher education community and other related organizations.  The EFC Mid-Year Membership Meeting focuses on the regulatory and statutory policies that impact the EFC membership, and is recognized for its track record of combining substantive policy with informative political insights from leaders in the nation’s capital.

Conference Agenda:

AGENDA

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Alll sessions will be held in Salon 2

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

EFC CEO Meeting – Voting Members Only

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

EFC Board of Directors Meeting – Open to All

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

EFC Board of Directors Meeting – Executive Session

 

Thursday, July 10, 2008

All sessions to be held in Salon 3 unless otherwise noted

 

8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Registration

 

8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Breakfast Buffet

 

8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Opening Remarks

 

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

U.S. Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA)

Committees: Financial Services; Oversight & Government Reform; Science & Technology

 

Introduction: 

James Preston, President & CEO, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency

 

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

U.S. Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT)

Committees: Financial Services; Homeland Security; Oversight & Government Reform

 

Introduction:   

Mark Valenti, President, Connecticut Student Loan Foundation

 

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

U.S. Department of the Treasury & U.S. Department of Education: View From the Administration

Two senior Administration officials will share their insight as to the process and activities leading up to the implementation of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-227). The discussion will include an overview of where we are today and what may lie ahead.

 

Panelists:      

Sara Martinez Tucker, Under Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education

Steven Shafran, Senior Advisor to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr., U.S. Department of the Treasury

 

Moderator:      

Peter Warren, Executive Vice President, Education Finance Council

 

10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Break

 

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Emerging Markets: A Closer Look at Peer-to-Peer Lending

While the concept of lending money among friends and family is not new, the Internet and the advent of online social networking has allowed companies that facilitate peer-to-peer lending to rapidly emerge. The panel of experts will discuss the business model and the way it differs from traditional approaches to lending and examine some of the legal challenges associated with this new practice. 

 

Panelists:       

Chirag “CC” Chaman, Chief Executive Officer, Fynanz, Inc.

David Tallman, Associate, Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP

 

Moderator:      

Derek Kettel,Vice President - Product Manager, Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.

 

11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Lighthouse for Dreams: The Result of One Woman’s Amazing Journey

A young woman shares her remarkable story as a high school dropout and single mother who fell on hard times and her journey from homelessness to academic and professional success. She will graduate in spring 2009 with two degrees. She has two internships, is starting a nonprofit and recently received the Truman Scholarship for her graduate studies. Her nonprofit, Lighthouse for Dreams is a community outreach program developed and coordinated by the Department of Finance in the University of Central Florida’s College of Business Administration. The mission of Lighthouse for Dreams, is to illuminate pathways to financial empowerment for Florida's citizens by offering flexible, readily accessible financial education at the community level. Ms. Booth will share ideas with the EFC membership on programs and services that would benefit all students, in particular those with the most significant challenges to a higher education.

 

Presenter:      

Lalita Booth, Program Director, Lighthouse for Dreams

 

Introduction:   

Ron Gambill, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Edsouth

 

12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. 

Salons 1& 2

Luncheon with Keynote Speaker – Dr. Robert Payne

An expert in education financing, Dr. Payne is equally well-versed in the culture of Washington, D.C. politics.  Dr. Payne will provide insight into the state of the U.S. higher education system that you won’t want to miss as he takes his audience on a fascinating journey through the unique and often overlooked challenges that families and students face as they finance education from the earliest grade levels through undergraduate and graduate education.  Dr. Payne will also foreshadow what certain demographic and policy trends might mean to the world of education finance in the coming years.  

 

Introduction:  

James T. Farha, President, Oklahoma Student Loan Authority

 

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Presidential Candidates Platform

With the Presidential election less than four months away, speculation abounds as to how each of the major party candidates would attempt to shape education policy from the White House over the next four years.  In this session, insight into the education policy agenda of the candidates will be provided.  

 

Panelist:         

William D. Hansen, Education Advisor, McCain 2008 Campaign

Representative of the Obama ’08 Campaign – (Invited)

 

Moderator:      

Tony Williams, President & CEO, Arkansas Student Loan Authority

 

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Investment Bankers – Question and Answers – An Open Forum Discussion

A panel of the EFC sponsor investment bankers will field a series of questions on a wide range of topics related to student loan finance. This session will provide an open forum to discuss a broad spectrum of issues that are of interest to the EFC membership.

 

Panelists:      

Grant Carwile, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets

Christopher Cronk, Managing Director, Banc of America Securities LLC

Lee Donner, Managing Director, First Southwest Company

Mark Weadick, Managing Director, Student Loan Capital Strategies LLC

Paul Wozniak, Managing Director, UBS Securities LLC

           

Moderator:      

Christopher Chapman,President & CEO, Access Group, Inc.

 

3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Break

 

3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Secondary Markets for Auction Rate Securities

The student loan auction rate securities (ARS) market has been essentially frozen since February.   With investors having fled the primary auction market, those holding these assets have in some cases managed to sell the securities via secondary market trading venues, typically at a discount to par value.  This session will discuss how these secondary markets evolved, how efficiently they operate, and what impact they may be having on student loan issuers and student loan investors.

 

Panelists:       

Elwood G. “Woody” Farber, President, New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation

Barry E. Silbert,Chief Executive Officer, Restricted Securities Trading Network

 

Moderator:      

James A. Stipcich,President & CEO, Student Assistance Foundation

 

4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Higher Education Legislation and Regulations – Collateral Damage / Unintended Consequences

Over the past year, a series of events including but not limited to the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (P.L. 110-84), the New York State Attorney General investigations, negotiated rulemaking, and the capital credit market crisis, has had a tremendous impact on the FFEL program and its participants. This discussion will encompass the unintended consequences and fall-out of these and other events and how they have altered the way EFC members conduct business and their relationships with school partners, as well as the impact on student borrowers, institutions, and the programs that serve students, families, and communities.

 

Panelists:       

Sarah Bauder, Director of Financial Aid, University of Maryland, College Park

Edward Cunningham,Executive Director & CEO, Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation

Michael J. McGraw,Director of Financial Aid, Tompkins Cortland Community College

 

Moderator:      

Sue McMillin, President & CEO, Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation

 

5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

EFC Reception

 

 

Friday, July 11, 2008

All sessions to be held in Salon 3 unless otherwise noted

 

8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Registration

 

8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Breakfast Buffet

 

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Education Finance Council – Year-In-Review

This session will provide a round-up and overview of various legislative and regulatory activities, where the Education Finance Council has been actively involved, and what may be ahead for the remainder of the year.

           

Panelists:       

Kathleen Smith, President, Education Finance Council                                   

Rich Meade, Managing Director, BKSH & Associates

 

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

U.S. Department of Education Update

The past year has been a busy one for the U.S. Department of Education, in particular the Office of Postsecondary Education. This session will discuss several key policy issues that have been addressed by the Department such as the implementation of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-227), and issues that are pending including the implementation of the Higher Education Act. It will provide an overview on the policies and procedures on the Administration’s radar concerning the federal student loan programs. 

 

Presenter:     

Vince Sampson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education

           

Introduction:  

Kathleen Smith, President, Education Finance Council

 

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Congressional Staff Panel Update

A panel of key Congressional staffers from the House and Senate education committees will provide an update on legislation, hearings, and happenings on Capitol Hill impacting higher education.

 

Panelists:       

Jeff Appel, Senior Education Policy Advisor/Investigator, House Education & Labor Committee

David P. Cleary, Republican Staff Director, Subcommittee on Children and Families, Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee

Amy Jones, Esq., Republican Professional Staff, House Education & Labor Committee

Michael Yudin, Senior Counsel, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)

 

Moderator:      

Thomas Graf, Executive Director, Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority

 

10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Break

 

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

A Conversation with Higher Education Colleagues

EFC members work closely with institutions of higher education and their financial aid offices. This session will provide an opportunity to hear from key representatives of the associations that represent the EFC members’ client base. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), the Career College Association (CCA), and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) will discuss areas of particular concern and impact to their respective members.  Issues EFC and its members can work collaboratively on with these associations to improve access and affordability to higher education for students and families will also be discussed.

 

Panelists:       

David Baime, Vice President for Government Relations, American Association of Community Colleges

Harris N. Miller, CEO & President, Career College Association

Larry Zaglaniczny, Vice President for Government Relations, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

 

Moderator:      

David A. Feitz, Executive Director, Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority

 

12:00 p.m.

Adjourn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conference Agenda PDF: Agenda for Web Final_Final.pdf