September 9, 2010

Who's Who at OGSLP?

Name: Liz Brandon
Department: Oklahoma Money Matters
Title: Outreach Coordinator
Tenure with OGSLP: 4 years

How do your daily duties directly impact OGSLP's customers?
OKMM offers a wide range of services to help OGSLP’s customers integrate personal finance education into the work they already do. By coming out and doing workshops, facilitating planning meetings or helping with brainstorming or marketing, I give our customers as many opportunities as possible to offer financial education to their campus community.

What advice would you give to someone in our industry who’s new to working with student loans?
Never miss a chance to educate students of all ages about the importance of borrowing wisely. Student loans are a helpful tool and amazing opportunity to invest in our future, but we must encourage students to be informed and prepared when borrowing money.

What do you find most challenging about working with student loans?
Misconceptions and misinformation are huge challenges for me. Whether it’s expecting to make a specific annual salary right out of college or not knowing they don’t have to accept all the loan money they’re offered, students have a lot of misconceptions about student loans and general personal finance. It’s important to make sure they’re getting the best possible information at the right time.

What are some of the unique services your department provides our customers?
OKMM offers workshops, training, publications, online tools and multimedia solutions to help a wide range of audiences understand the importance of money management. We can tailor our services to the needs of each campus, community partner or audience. We’re ready to do whatever we can to further our mission of helping Oklahomans understand and manage their finances successfully!

What are your hobbies or interests?
I enjoy cooking, blogging about food, camping, attending community events and art shows, playing board games, reading for my book club, playing bocce ball, gardening, knitting and spending time with my husband, our friends and family and our goofy dog, Juno.