Association News (Current Chair: Crystal Tangsrud, North Dakota University System)
What does the Association News Committee do? You’re reading it! Our purpose is to connect to our membership by bringing you news, fun, and other happenings around our region. We do this through running the RMASFAA blog, Instagram, and Slack. Committee members help collect content and generate ideas from the comfort of their campuses. This committee requires no travel but reaches some of the largest audiences in our association through the entire year.
Conference (Current Co-Chairs: Crystal DeLong, Citizens Bank and Jillian Palan, Johnson County Community College)
Your Mission: Join the Conference Planning Committee. This is no ordinary assignment. As a member of the elite Conference Planning Committee, you’ll help craft an unforgettable event—one covert operation at a time. From logistics to marketing, programming to hospitality, we divide and conquer to get the job done. Why join? Because it takes a village to pull off something this epic—and your unique skills are the missing piece. Expectations: A few short meetings, creative collaboration, and a license to plan. No tuxedo required—just your time, ideas, and commitment. 🕵️♂️ Please note: This year’s committee is fully engaged in the operation—but we’re recruiting now for the 2026 mission.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Current Chair: Chico Dimas)
RMASFAA’s commitment to diversity stems from our understanding that to thrive we must embrace our differences. The work of the DEI Committee is to examine and address the issues of our diverse community. The responsibilities of this committee include: engaging members of diverse background to participate in RMASFAA, providing scholarships to members, and enhancing awareness of diversity topics.
Electronic Initiatives (Current Chair: Matt Hinze, Colorado State University)
The “Electronic Initiatives Committee”, known as the EIC, is responsible for all things going on within the RMASFAA website. That can sound quite intimidating, but thanks to the tools the site provides, managing content is user friendly and requires no technical background at all! The website has a lot going on year round, from conference registration to summer institute, to miscellaneous needs of the board and other committees, and the EIC plays a vital role in helping it all run smoothly.
Leadership Pipeline (Current Chair: Valerie Curtin, Helena College)
The Leadership Pipeline is a yearlong program focused on developing leadership skills specific to financial aid administration. Through mentor-mentee pairings, group discussions, and one-on-one meetings, participants gain insight into association leadership, governance, and professional growth. Beginning after the RMASFAA conference and concluding at the following year’s event, the program fosters meaningful connections and prepares participants to support the continued success of RMASFAA and the financial aid community.
Membership (Current Chair: Shelby Garner)
The Membership Committee works to recruit and retain members by promoting the benefits of RMASFAA membership to institutions and agencies in its member states. The committee maintains records of membership and provides membership data to the association.
Summer Institute (Current Chair: Judy Hager, University of Jamestown)
Summer Institute (SI) is soooo much fun! Committee members include SI chair/vice-chair/past chair, faculty dean/vice-dean, who finds instructors for SI; and entertainment and registration chairs and vice-chairs. The entertainment chair creates and arranges activities and entertainment for participants to enjoy throughout the week. The registration chair tracks and communicates information from attendees, instructors, and committee members who will be attending. The committee works hard to make SI an exciting and invigorating training program and it is an experience you will not regret and will never forget.
Training (Current Chair: Chelsea Springer, University of Utah)
The Training Committee plays a key role in organizing the regional CFAA courses and creating valuable training resources for the association. If you’re looking to make a difference and contribute to the professional development of our members, this is a great opportunity! We meet virtually once a month, and we’re always excited to welcome new volunteers. Come be a part of this fun and impactful committee—your involvement helps strengthen RMASFAA’s mission and community! Reach out today if you’re interested in joining!