ABOUT HIGHER ED STRATEGIES

Higher Ed Strategies, LLC consultants have more than 50 years of combined financial aid and admissions experience. The firm uses both full-time consultants and current practitioners to bring high quality consulting services to clients.

Philip T. Malinoski, owner and President of the firm, has more than 25 years of financial aid and enrollment management experience. As a consultant, Phil has worked with over 100 institutions including traditional colleges and universities and for-profit career and vocational schools. He has held the positions of Director of Financial Aid, Director of Student Financial Services and Enrollment Research. He has also provided consulting services to private scholarship foundations, agencies and trusts. He has been employed by Northeastern University, Yale University and Saint Joseph College. Phil holds a M.Ed. in College Student Personnel from Northeastern University, a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Higher Education Administration, and earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation in 1993. He has presented at numerous professional conferences on a wide range of topics such as tuition discounting and net revenue, integrating financial planning and financial aid, conducting financial aid research to improve market position, cross training for the financial aid professional as well as many financial aid regulatory related topics.

Contact Info: email: phil@higheredstrategies.com, cell: 860.989.8210, toll free: 1.888.940.8881

Nitajsha D. Edwards, Director of Client Services, has over 12 years of direct financial aid experience in both traditional and for-profit post-secondary settings. Nitajsha oversees the firm’s operational support services and assists in operational assessments and compliance audits. She started her financial aid career in the vocational for-profit school market and then moved to a traditional college setting. She has worked at National College, Saint Joseph College and Albertus Magnus College. As a consultant, Nitajsha has worked with a broad array of institutions providing our clients interim leadership and as well as assessment services and federal and state regulatory compliance support. Nitajsha’s areas of expertise are in the development of policies and procedures to provide adequate internal controls. In addition, she has systems experience in PowerFaids, Banner, Datatel, Campus Vue and the federal systems.

Contact Info: email: nitajsha@higheredstrategies.com, cell: 860.539.9268, toll free: 1.888.940.8881

Amanda Z. Cicciarella, Consulting Associate, has 12 years of direct financial aid administration experience. She has held the positions of Director of Student Financial Services, Associate Director of Financial Aid and Assistant Director of Financial Aid. She also worked as a financial aid consultant for Henry Miller & Associates. Amanda holds a Bachelor of Arts from Salve Regina University and a Master’s of Education from Springfield College. She has worked at Quinnipiac University, Saint Joseph College, Roger Williams University and the New England Conservatory of Music. Amanda offers clients interim leadership and operational support. She has experience with the overall management of financial aid operations including various tuition discounting and financial aid leveraging systems, regulatory compliance, the development of internal controls, and Direct Loan reconciliation. Her systems experience includes PowerFAIDS, Jenzabar EX, Datatel, EDConnect, COD, Crystal Reports, SSCR, AS4000, and Ceridian.

Contact Info: email: amanda@higheredstrategies.com, cell: 860.386.6729, toll free: 1.888.940.8881.

Mary C. (Tina) Demo, Senior Consulting Associate, has more than 30 years of senior level higher education leadership experience in the areas of enrollment management and student affairs. As Dean of Enrollment Management and Director of Admissions, she spearheaded initiatives that resulted in increased enrollment and improved academic quality. She developed multi-year financial aid planning models and developed numerous controls to improve financial aid operations. As Dean of Student Affairs, she designed and implemented first-year transition and peer-mentoring programs that improved retention and provided for and increased student leadership opportunities. Tina holds bachelors and master’s degrees from Saint Joseph College, CT. Tina heads Higher Ed Strategies professional search services specializing in admissions and financial aid positions.

Contact Info: email: tina@higheredstrategies.com, cell: 860.989.6642, toll free: 1.888.940.8881.

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