Sessions & Speakers

Tamy Abernathy is the director of the Policy Coordination Group in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE). In her role, Abernathy leads a team that informs all federal loan program policy issues from negotiated rulemaking to issuing subregulatory guidance. In 2013, Tammy began her higher education career with the office of Federal Student Aid as a program specialist focused on policy implementation. She transitioned to OPE in 2020. She previously worked at the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, the University of South Carolina, and a national federal student loan guaranty agency—TG—before joining ED. With a master's degree in management from Southern Wesleyan University and a bachelor’s degree in communication from Lee College, Tamy has dedicated her career to helping students, parents, and institutions of higher education understand and navigate the federal student aid process and the federal student loan programs.

David Musser is the acting director of the Policy Implementation Division for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). He began his federal career as a program reviewer and later became a subject matter expert in Title IV. In his current role, Musser advises FSA’s chief operating officer and other senior leaders about operational impacts of existing and proposed Title IV legislation, regulations, policies, and procedures. Musser also serves as a liaison with leaders across ED, as well as with other federal and state agencies and higher education stakeholders. Musser joined FSA in 2011. Prior to his federal service, Musser worked in the undergraduate financial aid office at Northwestern University and at Career Education Corporation.