Helen Faith joined UW-Madison as the Director of the Office of Student Financial Aid in August 2020. Faith has twenty-two years of financial aid, student affairs, and enrollment management experience at both public and private, 2- and 4-year institutions. Her extensive knowledge of policy and regulations has led her to be a trusted resource for colleagues and policy advocates alike. She has been a key negotiator in the federal negotiated rule-making process for the U.S. Department of Education, and has served state, regional, and national student financial aid associations in various capacities, including President of the Oregon Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA), President of the Western Association of Student financial Aid Administrators, and Chair-Elect of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
Faith is a Certified Financial Aid Administrator and has been admitted to the PhD program in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a master’s degree in Educational Policy, Foundations, and Administration from Portland State University and a bachelor’s degree with honors in Literature from the University of California-Santa Cruz.
She is the fifth Director of Student Financial Aid at UW-Madison and is proud to share the University’s deep and sincere commitment to equity, inclusion, and transformative social change. Faith believes that college affordability and access are critical factors in enabling progress toward these worthy goals, and she pursues them wholeheartedly with vision, drive, and joy.