Sallie Mae Appoints New Members to National Sales Team

NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Sallie Mae, the nation's saving, planning and paying for college company, today announced the appointment of several new members to its national sales team. Made up of seasoned higher education and financial aid professionals, the Sallie Mae sales team is a liaison and resource for colleges and universities on a multitude of higher education topics.

Sallie Mae is pleased to announce the following additions to the team:

David Long joins Sallie Mae as vice president and head of the company's South Region. Long comes to Sallie Mae after spending the last four years at USA Funds where he was Vice President of Sales managing the national sales and consulting teams. Long is a graduate of the University of South Alabama and holds a master's degree from Samford University.

Nicki Bucceri returns to Sallie Mae as director of business development for North Carolina. Bucceri brings more than eight years of experience in higher education, including previous roles at Sallie Mae and most recently with Higher One, Inc. Bucceri is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

Chris Earnshaw brings more than 12 year of higher education and financial experience to his new role as director of business development for New York. Prior to joining Sallie Mae, Earnshaw held positions at Nelnet Diversified Solutions, Key Bank and Chase Education Finance. He is a graduate of Rhode Island College and earned a master's degree from Providence College.

Melony Ohalek returns to Sallie Mae as director of business development for Western Pennsylvania. Ohalek brings more than 15 years of higher education and financial aid experience most recently at Apollo Education Group and previously at Sallie Mae. She is a graduate of Ohio State University.

Brad Riebel comes to Sallie Mae with more than 20 years of experience in higher education finance and banking, most recently at US Bank. Riebel will serve as director of business development for Minnesota. He is a graduate of St. John's University.

Shawn Murphy brings more than 18 years of higher education and financial aid experience to his new role as director of business development for Colorado. Murphy most recently served as interim Director of Financial Aid at the University of Denver and previously held positions at Rider University, the New Jersey Higher Education Assistance Authority and Citigroup Student Loan Corporation. He is a graduate of Rider University.

"Bringing in top talent is a priority for Sallie Mae as we continue to enhance our customer experience," said Kelly Christiano, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. "The newest members of our industry- leading sales team bring a depth and breadth of higher education and financial aid knowledge that will be an asset and resource for our school customers across the country."

Sallie Mae offers responsible private education loans, saving products and insurance options to students and families to facilitate their investment in higher education. Its Smart Option Student Loan rewards customers by minimizing loan costs and includes consumer safeguards such as cosigner participation, disciplined underwriting, school certification, in-school payments and proactive customer contact. In addition, the company offers free planning for college tools and resources, including the College Planning Calculator, Sallie Mae Scholarship Search and the College Ahead Mobile App and saving for college resources through Upromise by Sallie Mae. For more information, visit www.SallieMae.com.

Sallie Mae SLM is the nation's saving, planning, and paying for college company. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that promote responsible personal finance including private education loans, Upromise rewards, scholarship search, college financial planning tools, insurance, and online retail banking. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.