The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) announced today that Justin Monk has been named director of student and institutional aid policy. Monk joins NAICU from the KIPP Foundation, where he was the director of government affairs.

“I am pleased to welcome Justin to NAICU where he will be an integral part of our government relations team and an important voice for our members and their students on issues of federal aid,” said NAICU President Barbara K. Mistick, D.M. “Justin brings a very strong and bipartisan set of accomplishments to NAICU and his past advocacy experience and connections on Capitol Hill will be incredibly important to independent higher education.”

As director of student and institutional aid policy, Monk will be the lead policy expert on Title IV federal student assistance programs and the institutional aid programs found in Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act (HEA). He will be responsible for developing NAICU’s policy positions on student and institutional aid, in conjunction with the association’s member college, university, and association presidents. Monk also will represent those positions and NAICU’s viewpoints to Congress, the White House, the Department of Education, and other agencies as warranted.

In his previous position at the KIPP Foundation, Monk was the key advocate advancing the foundation’s policy, legislative and regulatory priorities on Capitol Hill and in the Administration. In this role, he also served as the primary point person for federal stakeholders and helped develop written and verbal communications to advance KIPP’s policy agenda.

Monk also led the foundation’s analysis of policies, legislation and regulations to assess their impact on key KIPP constituencies.

Prior to his work at KIPP, Monk served as the director of policy at Student Veterans of America (SVA). In this role, he focused on the intersection of veterans’ affairs and higher education and helped champion dozens of laws being passed to better serve our nation’s veterans.

“NAICU was fortunate to see Justin’s work up close and in-person as we advocated side-by-side with him and his team at SVA to pass important and sensible amendments to the GI Bill to make benefits more responsive to the real life needs of veterans,” said Sarah Flanagan, NAICU vice president for government relations and policy development. “Justin has years of experience in the legislative and regulatory arenas advocating for proactive and common-sense solutions to improve student outcomes and will be a valuable addition to our team.”

Monk, who will begin in his new position on June 28, earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from Wake Forest University (NC) and a bachelor of science in business administration in economics from Appalachian State University (NC).
 
With more than 1,000 colleges, universities, and associations as members, NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education and reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States. NAICU’s member institutions include major research universities, faith-based colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority-Serving Institutions, art and design colleges, traditional liberal arts and science institutions, women’s colleges, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.