Teleseminar Bios

Session 4: Bankruptcy and Legal Issues (May 8, 2003)

Michael Richter - Director Loan Servicing Department, Weber State University

Michael Richter is the Director of the Loan Servicing Department on the campus of Weber State University for the last 14 years. Weber State is a four-year public university about 30 minutes north of Salt Lake City, Utah with enrollment at about 18,000 FTE. His office manages all university receivables and loans including; Perkins, Nursing, Grant repayments, Institutional loan programs as well as other campus debts like Housing, Tuition, NSF checks etc.

He originally came to WSU to manage litigation, bankruptcy and coordinate activity between Weber State and the Utah State Attorney General's office. He subsequently assumed the management of the office in 1990.

Michael is currently serving on COHEAO’s Steering Committee and has presented workshop and professional development sessions for PDG and other regional student lending and Banking groups.

Curtis P. Zaun - Associate Attorney, Education Credit Management Corporation (ECMC)

Curtis received his bachelor's degree from Cornell College in 1993, and graduated, cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in 1996, where he was Managing Editor of the Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy. After law school, he clerked for the Minnesota Court of Appeals for one year and then returned to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, where he clerked during law school, as an Assistant Attorney General. In May 1999, Curtis received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Hamline University. Curtis began working at The Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) as an Associate Attorney in September 1999. In this capacity, he is or has been responsible for managing a significant litigation portfolio, providing counsel to numerous departments, and litigating matters at both the trial and appellate level. Curtis has spoken on issues related to student loans at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Annual Meeting, the Bankruptcy Section of the Memphis Bar Association’s Annual Meeting and a Hennepin County Bar Association Section Meeting.

Session 3: FERPA, Privacy, and Social Security Number (SSN) Issues (March 13, 2003)

Ellen Campbell, Deputy Director, Family Policy Compliance Office - U. S. Department of Education.

Ellen Campbell serves as deputy director of the Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) in the U.S. Department of Education. FPCO is responsible for administering the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a comprehensive federal law that affords privacy protections for student education records. All public elementary and secondary schools and virtually all postsecondary institutions are subject to FERPA. In recent years, FPCO has been in the forefront of very high profile issues that have national significance. In particular, during the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, FPCO worked with schools, the INS, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies regarding the applicability of FERPA to institutions disclosing information on students during this national emergency. In October of 2001, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which included an amendment to FERPA. Ellen took the lead in drafting the anti-terrorism guidance that was issued to schools across the country.

Ellen also serves as FPCO’s liaison on military recruiting issues, routinely working with top Department of Defense policy officials on crosscutting issues involving the military and students. A provision in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires secondary schools to provide military recruiters access to and information about students. Although the provision did not amend FERPA or PPRA, the Secretary’s Office tasked FPCO with the responsibility of administering its provisions.

FPCO also administers the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), a federal law that provides parents with privacy rights relative to certain surveys administered to their minor children. Ellen worked closely with Department officials and congressional staffers in drafting legislative changes to PPRA that became a part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Since 1986 when Ellen began her work in the area of student and family privacy issues, she has been instrumental in bringing to the educational establishment a better understanding and appreciation of the rights that parents and students are afforded by FERPA and PPRA. Ellen routinely provides leadership within the Department of Education in the area of privacy rights, often advising senior Department officials on matters involving the applicability of FERPA and PPRA to their programs or to major policy issues facing the Department. Ellen also works closely with other federal agencies to ensure that their programs do not conflict with parents’ and students’ rights under FERPA.

Maria Shanle, University Counsel - Office of the General Counsel, University of California

Maria Shanle has served as a University Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the University of California since 2000. Her primary areas of practice include issues relating to privacy (particularly student privacy), access to public records, electronic communications, campus crime, legislative analysis, student and faculty discipline, and matters related to affirmative action. Ms. Shanle is a graduate of Carleton College in Minnesota and the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall School of Law), where she was an editor of the California Law Review.

David Stocker, Associate General Counsel - Sallie Mae

David Stocker is Associate General Counsel for Sallie Mae Inc. Prior to working with Sallie Mae, Mr. Stocker served for twelve years as Corporate Counsel for General Revenue Corporation. Mr. Stocker jointed GRC as a consultant in 1991 and became the firm’s full-time counsel in January 1993.

Prior to joining GRC, Mr. Stocker served as General Counsel for the Ohio Student Aid Commission and as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio. As General Counsel, Mr. Stocker reorganized the litigation section and established the bankruptcy litigation section of the Ohio Student Aid Commission. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Ohio Parent Loan Program by working closely with the state legislature in drafting the legislation and delivering public testimony.

Mr. Stocker has represented as litigation counsel, all the major colleges and universities in Ohio. He has lectured at numerous seminars on student assistance account receivable management. Some examples include, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kentucky Bursars Association seminars, California College and University Loan Administrators Association, Illinois Student Loan Administrators and the Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations workshops.

Mr. Stocker has a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and a J.D. degree from Ohio Northern University Law School. He has practiced creditor-debtor law for 25 years.

Session 1: How to Prepare for the Auditing Process (September 12, 2002)

Rick Wentzel, Senior Manager - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Rick is a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Not-for-Profit and Higher Education Services Group in the Los Angeles office. He specializes in accounting and auditing services for colleges and universities and not-for-profit organizations and spends all of his time in these industries. Rick began his career with Coopers & Lybrand in Los Angeles, where he was the lead higher education manager and taught many of the courses focusing on higher education issues. Rick then worked as Director of Finance for a large Los Angeles area not-for-profit where he rebuilt the business office and strengthened the internal controls. Before rejoining PwC, Rick served as Controller at Occidental College where again he rebuilt the business office, implemented a set of internal controls, redesigned the financial reporting and implemented SFAS 116 & 117.

Rick received his accounting degree from Claremont McKenna College, where he also majored in religion. Rick regularly teaches several of PwC's courses on auditing standards and accounting principles as well as compliance audits for not-for-profit entities.

Rick's clients include:

Rick is also involved with the Junior League of Pasadena, where he serves as a Community Advisor and is a member of First Baptist Church Temple City.

Rick can be reached at Frederick.g.Wentzel@us.pwcglobal.com.

David Aspling, Special Agent, U. S. , Office of Inspector General - Department of Education

Dave Aspling has been a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Education/Office of Inspector General in Long Beach, California for over four years. As a Special Agent, Dave has investigated various types of fraud including, individual student aid fraud, theft by school employees, vocational school fraud schemes, and other types of non-Title IV grant fraud. Prior to working with the Office of Inspector General, Dave worked as a Customs Inspector for the U.S. Customs Service. When he is not at work, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife and son and taking advantage of the beautiful weather in Southern California by playing outdoor sports.

Scott J. Nicholson, President, Sales and Marketing - Enterprise Recovery Systems

Mr. Nicholson has over sixteen (16) years of direct experience relating to collection, sales and service within the student loan industry. This includes over (13) years of direct involvement with the collection of defaulted student loans, eight (8) of those years with Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc. (ERS). Prior to the collection experience, Mr. Nicholson marketed and serviced financial aid and billing services to colleges, universities and major lenders in FFEL program.

In his present capacity as President of Sales and Marketing at Enterprise Recovery Systems, Mr. Nicholson is responsible for the Sales and Service divisions of the corporation. In addition, he is responsible for the overall management and performance of all contractual agreements requiring service delivery. He supervises Enterprise's compliance with contractual requirements as well as the federal and state regulations that impact the servicing of these contracts

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