Jane L. Stewart, distinguished expert in policy, legislative and regulatory issues, appointed Senior Vice President for Government and Industry Relations

For Immediate Release: 06/12/2001

Phoenix, AZ – Southwest Student Services Corporation (Southwest), a nationally recognized nonprofit education finance company headquartered in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, today announced the appointment of Jane L. Stewart as Senior Vice President for Government and Industry Relations.

Stewart will represent the interests of the Corporation before Members of Congress, senior representatives of the U.S. Department of Education, the Treasury Department, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Economic Council, and other federal entities, including the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accounting Office, and government advisory committees and commissions. She also will serve as Southwest's liaison to associations and organizations of relevance, such as the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, the Education Finance Council as well as state, regional and national student financial aid organizations.

Stewart will report directly to Vince Roig, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Southwest Student Services Corporation and will work closely with other senior officers and staff to create, advance and direct the legislative agenda for Southwest.

Roig said, "Jane Stewart brings us an incredible expertise earned over twenty-four years of progressively responsible leadership in the management of student financial assistance programs. She is a distinguished expert in policy, legislative and regulatory issues, with proven, strategic management skills that will add significantly to our productivity, performance and service. We are excited and pleased that she has joined our team as we continue our mission of leadership in the development and delivery of lending, servicing and community service programs that support education."

Stewart served most recently as Director of Federal Relations and Loan Policy for the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, where she has been in positions of leadership since 1981. There, she functioned as agency liaison to Members of Congress and federal officials. Stewart also developed and maintained strategic relationships with clients on behalf of the agency, and directed its marketing strategies and activities.

Stewart achieved notoriety as the first woman to become Chairperson of the Board of Directors, National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) and was the first non-CEO elected in twenty-three years. She has held a variety of seats on that Board and its Legislative Task Force, and Training and Program Regulation Committees. Stewart was a lead negotiator for NCHELP during the USDE Negotiated Rulemaking process on the Higher Education Amendments.

Stewart also previously served as Chair of the Legislative Advocacy Committee, Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators; as Chair of the Federal Legislative Committee, Alabama Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators; and on the Legislative Committee, of the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Stewart testified before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training and Lifelong Learning on issues relating to regulatory reform. She also testified before the Congressionally-chartered Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance regarding reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Stewart holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Kentucky.