Vanessa Thompson
Senior Associate Consultant
Vanessa has over seven years of student financial aid experience. Vanessa started at FAS in 2023. Vanessa brings consulting experience serving institutions across the country. As a consultant, she supports and provides financial aid offices with interim staffing, training, and assessments to optimize effectiveness in their financial aid office.
Vanessa’s career started as a work-study student in the financial aid office. She has worked her way to the role of Director of Financial Aid at Washington Adventist University and administered federal and state financial aid for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Vanessa is experienced with financial aid software systems, including Ellucian Colleague and the Department of Education’s applications and websites for administering Federal Student Aid. She participated in the implementation of Ellucian Colleague’s Self-Service module at Washington Adventist University and has assisted institutions with her technical knowledge of Colleague. She has many years of experience with administering state financial assistance under Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC).
Her professional memberships include the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), DE-DC-MD Association of Financial Aid Administrators and Eastern Association of Financial Aid Administrators (EASFAA).
She received her Bachelor of Science at Washington Adventist University.