Training & Professional Development

Heather's bio: 

Dr. Heather Boutell, FAAC, is the Director of Financial Aid at Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville, TN. Heather has worked in the field of financial aid for 35 years, spending the almost 8 years at Vanderbilt. The rest of her career was spent in Kentucky at Bellarmine University, the University of Louisville, and KHEAA. Heather has been active in professional organizations and served as the President of the Kentucky Association of Student Aid Administrators in 2004-2005 and President of the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in 2008-2009.  She has served on the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Board of Directors several times in appointed and elected positions and currently serves as the NASFAA Secretary.  She has received the AlabamaASFAA, KentuckyASFAA, and SASFAA Distinguished Service Awards, and the NASFAA Regional Leadership and Meritorious Achievement Awards for her contributions to the profession.  Heather earned her Bachelor of Music Education at Kentucky Wesleyan College and her Master of Education in College Student Personnel Services and College Counseling at the University of Louisville. She earned her Ed.D. at Lipscomb University in 2024. Heather, her husband Steve, and cat Crouton reside in Lebanon, TN. They have two adult sons who both live in Chicago. She will soon be a grandma, with her first grandchild (a boy!) due very soon – December 8!  For fun, Heather loves reality TV competition shows – ask her about Survivor, Top Chef, or Amazing Race!

 Bruce's bio: 

Bruce Blackmon is Director of Financial Aid at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he has served since 2014. With nearly four decades of financial aid experience, he oversees federal, state, and institutional aid programs, regulatory compliance, and office operations.

Presenter Bio: Since 2014, Robert Weinerman has been offering training to financial aid administrators about everything an FAA needs to know about taxes. including verification, resolving conflicting information, income adjustment professional judgments, splitting an individual's information out of a joint tax return, and for schools that go beyond the federal methodology, how to use person and business tax returns to convert taxable income into available income. Prior to his current role as the Director of Training at Iron Bridge Resources, Robert spend over a decade as a financial aid officer at schools like MIT and Babson College, and another decade working with families as the planned to save for, or pay for, their children's education at College Coach.