Category: Experts

Ms. Zuzack spent 39 years in active roles in student financial aid administration. She retired in 2017 from her post at the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) where she served as Vice President, State Grant and Special Programs for 11 years. Previous to her years at PHEAA, Ms. Zuzack was a financial aid administrator at the Community College of Allegheny County and financial aid director at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Zuzack served as President of the Pennsylvania Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (PASFAA) from 1994-1995 and as President of the Eastern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (EASFAA) from 2003-2004. Additionally, she was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) from 2003-2005 and served on two NASFAA Executive Committees. She also served on the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA) Higher Education Regulatory Study (HERS) as a panelist. Most recently, Ms. Zuzack served as President of the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP). Recognized for her leadership in financial aid administration, Ms. Zuzack has received both the PASFAA and EASFAA Distinguished Service Awards, PASFAA Lifetime Membership Award, EASFAA Leadership Award, EASFAA Volunteer Award, and NASFAA Leadership Award. Ms. Zuzack holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Grove City College and two Master’s Degrees, one in Clinical/Community Psychology and one in Student Personnel Services in Higher Education, from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has completed her coursework for a doctorate in Adult Education at the Pennsylvania State University and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Administration and Leadership Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Areas of expertise: Student Financial Aid, Strategic Planning, Legislative Advocacy

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Ms. Riley has worked in equal opportunity programs for nearly 20 years.  For the past 14 years, she has worked at Wilkes University in the Act 101 Program as the Assistant Director and Counselor.  She has also served as an Undeclared Major’s Advisor and teaches a career planning course.  In 2011, Karen had the honor of being presented the Academic Support Award from The Teacher Recognition and Effectiveness Committee (TREC) at Wilkes University. While continuing to currently serve Wilkes University students as the Assistant Director and Program Counselor for the Act 101 Program, she has the opportunity to work with many first-generation college students from low-income families who face financial, social, and academic barriers to a college education.  A first generation college student herself, who depended on financial aid and a part-time job, she has the privilege to be in this advisor/counselor role that allows her to get to know the students, their fears about college as well as their talents and strengths. For the past two years, she has also had the opportunity to support students by serving as Secretary of the Act 101 Pennsylvania Association for Educational Opportunity.  She took on this additional commitment because the state was significantly decreasing funding for Pennsylvania student support programs.  In this position, she could be part of a collective voice and work with the Executive Committee to advocate retaining state funding for the support services these students need to achieve their college degrees.  Traveling to Harrisburg and throughout the state to be a strong advocate for the Act 101 Programs and student financial aid has added yet another dimension to the work Karen does to support students.

Areas of Expertise:  Academic Advising, Career Counseling, Student Counseling, Student Financial Aid, Student Development

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Joed Lopez is the founder of PanVisio.org, a tech training start-up aimed at helping non-profit and educational organizations modernize their marketing and technology strategies for greater social change. He has assisted several national and international organizations ranging from the Tri-State Consortium of Opportunity Programs in Higher Education, AIDS Resource Foundation for Children, to the Bring Back Our Girls Campaign based in Nigeria.
Prior to this, he served as the Public Relations Officer for the Educational Opportunity Fund Professional Association (EOFPANJ.org) while working at Caldwell University as the Assistant Director of EOF from 2009-2013. From there he joined the National Society of Leadership and Success, the largest Leadership Society in the country, as Regional Director of Program Development, where he established leadership programs that have impacted over 30,000 students on more than 30 campuses across the country.

He has been featured on WABC 7 (NY) and most recently, part of the founding presenters at the first ever Male Education Network (M.E.N.) based out of Montclair State University.
Additionally, he is the host of the Q2 Podcast, a social change podcast exploring the cross section of social justice, marketing, and technology. With over 50,000 downloads in just under one year, the show breaks down what success looks like in social change by interviewing and showcasing real time solutions from practitioners, experts, and thought leaders from across the country. Some previous guests include Andrew Hewitt (Founder, Game Changers 500), Dr. Guy Generals (President of the Community College of Philadelphia, and Lisa Sharon Harper (Writer for the Huffington Post and Chief Church Engagement Officer for Sojourners). You can subscribe to the podcast and learn more about other free resources by visiting www.panvisio.org.
Joed obtained his degree in Sociology from Montclair State University and is a proud EOF Alumnus. He completed his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Caldwell University.
Areas of Expertise: Increasing student engagement through technology, Social Entrepreneurship as a Model for Job Readiness/Placement. Social Media and Email Marketing Best Practices, and Community Mobilization/Advocacy through Technology and Digital Communications.

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Dr. Glenn Lang is the Assistant Secretary of Higher Education for Academic Affairs and Student Programs (Retired), Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (NJ).  His career in higher education dates back to 1974.  Since 1979 he has served in New Jersey higher education in the former Department of Higher Education, in the Commission on Higher Education and most recently in Office of the Secretary of Higher Education in various roles including Acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education (July 2010 to August 2011), and as Executive Director of the New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund (1992-1012). In his most recent role as the chief academic affairs officer at the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education he oversaw institutional licensure and exceeding mission reviews, managed relations with regional and federal accreditation bodies including Middle States, and represented the agency on the academic issues and transfer articulation committees of the NJ Presidents’ Council and the Higher Education Student assistance Authority and the Educational Facilities Authority.  He also oversaw the statewide student programs including the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF), Minority Academic Careers Programs, the NJ State GEAR UP project, the Federal College Access Challenge Grant which accounted for over 85% of the agency’s annual budget.  He was the principal author of NJ’s recent successful GEAR UP application resulting in a 6-year $24 million grant from the USDOE and the co-author of the original NJ GEARUP application in 1999.

He is the immediate past-president of Tri-State Consortium of Opportunity Programs in Higher Education.  He served as a member of the Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholars Advisory Board and the Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel national training team on student retention and graduation strategies.  He has also served as a reviewer for the CAS Standards for TRIO and Other Opportunity Programs and a member of the TRIO Clearinghouse which led to the development of the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity and Education. His recognitions include New Jersey Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators – Thomas C. Scott Distinguished Service Award (2014)the Proclamation from the New Jersey Assembly Recognizing Service to NJ (2013), and New Jersey Senate Recognizing Service to NJ (2012).

Areas of Expertise: Strategic Planning, Student Financial Aid, Program Development and Evaluations, Government Policy and Advocacy, Accreditation and Licensure

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