Voices of Authority
At American Student Assistance®, our professionals have years of experience in higher education financing. So whether you’re planning an industry conference for thousands or an intimate training for immediate staff, our “expert voices” can add tremendous value to your next event.
To learn more about our experts, select a specialty area from the menu below.
Not sure which expert is right for your event? Contact Allesandra Lanza, Corporate Public Relations Manager, lanza@amsa.com, 617.728.463 and she’ll match one of our speakers to your needs.
Industry Policy and Trends
Paul Combe
President & CEO
Paul Combe is the president and CEO of American Student Assistance. Paul came to ASA in May 1996 and has led the organization through a process of strategic change and renewal that refocused the organization on three key quality measures: customer service, data integrity and process integrity. In November 1998, ASA successfully implemented a new, state-of-the-art processing system featuring distributed client server technology and Internet-ready processing features. Paul has also been a strong advocate for guarantor agency reform and is a founding member and president of the National Association of Student Loan Administrators (NASLA). In February 2001, ASA entered into a Voluntary Flexible Agreement (VFA) with the Department of Education, focusing on student loan borrower financial “Wellness” and default prevention. Through the successful implementation of the VFA and Wellness initiatives, ASA has increased the number of loans in good standing in its portfolio, as well as its pre-claims cure rate, and achieved the second lowest cohort default rate of all guarantors. Paul received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Framingham State College.
Grace Bartini
Ombudsman
Grace H. Bartini is Ombudsman at American Student Assistance (ASA®). She joined ASA in September 1995 as Vice President of Guarantee and Origination Services (GOS) Division. She also has worked in student aid administration at Nellie Mae, the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, The College Board, the University of Massachusetts Boston and Simmons College. Grace has participated on numerous industry committees and task forces on a variety of college financing issues, particularly early awareness and financial planning, and debt management. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Simmons College.
Shelley Saunders
Vice President, Strategic Services
Shelley Saunders serves as Vice President of Strategic Services. Central to her duties, Shelley is responsible for government relations for the organization and serves as liaison between American Student Assistance, Congress and the Department of Education. Additionally, she has worked to develop partnerships within the student aid community for the purpose of providing outreach to students and their families. She has been employed by ASA for the past 15 years. Shelley resides in Washington, D.C. and holds a master's degree in Public Administration.
General Federal Family Education Loan Program
Debra Chromy, Ed.D.
Vice President of Business Development
Debra J. Chromy is currently Vice President of Business Development for American Student Assistance® (ASA), a national guarantor of student loans headquartered in Boston, MA. Debra manages ASA’s corporate business development effort that markets to schools and lenders across the country. Debra joined ASA ten years ago and has been an active member of the senior management team responsible for the transition of ASA to its current status as a national guarantor. Debra has more than 20 years’ experience in the student loan industry, having held senior management positions at Key Bank, Knight College Resource Group, and Knight Tuition Payment Plans prior to joining ASA.
Debra is an elected member of the ELM Board of Directors. Debra is also a member of NASFAA as well as a number of state and regional financial aid associations across the country. She has co-chaired the Government Relations Committee of the Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (MASFAA).
Debra received her bachelor’s from Smith College, her master’s from Boston University, and earned her doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania.
Robert Cole
Director of Business Development
Bob Cole has over 10 years of experience in the higher education financing industry. In his current role, he is responsible for generating and fostering relationships with ASA’s school, lender, servicer, guarantor and other financial institution partners. Most recently, Bob served as Education Program Manager of Federal Family Education Loan Programs (FFELP) and State Programs at the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) where he oversaw a student loan portfolio of over $800 million. Prior to joining FAME, he worked for several years at ASA in the areas of business development, training and client management. Bob has an extensive knowledge of the FFEL program and has presented seminars to all members of the financial aid community, ranging from the novice to the veteran level. Bob received his bachelor’s degree from Bates College in Maine.
Nancy Jordan
Manager of Lender Partners
Nancy Jordan has 10 years of proven business and technical management experience in the higher education industry. As a manager of Lender Partners, she is responsible for analyzing new clients’ processes and providing solutions to fit their specific needs. Before joining ASA, Nancy spent several years working at Nellie Mae as their Technical Solutions Manager. In this capacity, she provided specialized training and consulting to clients and implemented successful technological solutions. Nancy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University. She currently belongs to MASFAA (Massachusetts) and EASFAA (Eastern).
Betsy Mayotte
Director of Privacy and Regulatory Compliance
Betsy Mayotte brings eight years of education financing experience to her current role. As Director of Regulatory Compliance and Privacy, she coordinates, facilitates and communicates the implementation of regulations and policies affecting American Student Assistance®. She works with ASA business units to ensure regulatory compliance and leads ASA’s company-wide internal policy and privacy committee. In addition, Betsy conducts regulatory training within the industry. An active National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs member, Betsy represents ASA on NCHELP’s Program Regulations Committee and the Common Manual Governing Board, a national group charged with interpretation of FFELP regulations and maintenance of the unified manual used nationally by all financial aid administrators. In 2004 – 05, she served as Chair for this Governing Board. Betsy also serves on the Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Government Relations Committee and writes a student loan advice column “Ask Betsy,” which appears monthly in the Boston Metro, Washington Post Express and Atlanta’s Creative Loafing. Additionally, she has done multiple radio segments regarding student loans and financial aid. Betsy earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Communications from Bentley College in Massachusetts.
Susan Nathan
Vice President of Lender & School Services
Susan Nathan has put almost 20 years into the financial aid industry. Her ASA career has spanned 16 years, during which time she contributed to the development of our successful disbursement product FASTFUNDSM and oversaw the business plan for our recent system conversion. Formerly a Financial Aid Officer at Lesley College, Susan is now a member of NASFAA (National), EASFAA (Eastern), and MASFAA (Massachusetts), as well as the MASFAA Professional Development and Training Committee. She received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University.
