2025-26 CASFAA President’s Message

It is with great excitement and humility that I post this first message as the new president of the association for the 2025-26 year. I look forward to working closely with our new board and hope to have many opportunities to exchange with members of the association in the coming year.

My main objective for this year is to increase member participation and reflect our deep passion for student access and perseverance in all our activities. I truly believe that cooperative and collective action is our best way forward and that one of our central values, collaboration, is the key to our success.

As in previous years, our aim is to continue to concretize our six strategic goals, as outlined in our 2024-2029 Strategic Plan and to make sure that our association remain strong and vibrant. This year, as per our new bylaws adopted in 2024-25, we will be integrating new and revamped positions within our board to allow us to further some of our central interests. This will allow us to, among other things, increase our ability to provide professional development opportunities to our members, become an even more data-driven organization and further integrate the area of scholarships and awards within our scope of work.

We will also continue to maintain active partnerships with our key stakeholders and colleagues to ensure that the expertise of our members, and ultimately the needs of our students, is reflected within policies and practices. Recognizing that we bring critical perspectives to the larger context, our input has the power to shift understanding and reflect the emerging trends and evolution of our landscape.

Finally, as always, the association will continue to operate in a responsible and transparent manner, adhering to best-practices of good governance. This will serve to ensure our long-term viability and health as an organization and secure our position as a value-added entity within the student financial aid and wellness arena.

I look forward to an exciting year of collaborative work!

Elizabeth Perez

CASFAA President 2025-26