Sallie Mae Names Brook Pallanez Executive Director of Sallie Mae Texas

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Sallie Mae, the nation's leading paying-for-college company, today announced that it has appointed Brook Pallanez executive director of Sallie Mae Texas. In this role, Pallanez will coordinate the company's marketing efforts across colleges and universities in the state, and will increase awareness of Sallie Mae products and services among Texas students and their families.

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Pallanez has more than 17 years of experience in student lending. Most recently, she served as vice president of West region sales for the Sallie Mae Education Trust lending brand. Prior to joining Sallie Mae in September 2004, Pallanez held various positions with Chase Education First, including executive director of regional sales for the Southwest region. She began her career in financial aid at the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, where she worked for eight years. Pallanez is a member of the Texas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (TASFAA), the Southwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SWASFAA) and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). A native Texan, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State University.

Today's announcement builds on Sallie Mae's long-standing commitment to higher education in Texas, as it serves roughly 260 colleges and universities in the state. Sallie Mae's loan servicing center in Killeen, Texas, opened 17 years ago and employs more than 800 residents. Sallie Mae employees in Texas assist student and parent borrowers with federal and private education loan options, as well as general counseling on planning and paying for college.

In addition, Sallie Mae is an active contributor of time and funding to Texas communities and education causes. The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, provided more than $200,000 in scholarships to students attending Texas schools in 2004. Most recently, Sallie Mae and The Sallie Mae Fund provided relief to the students, schools and borrowers affected by Hurricane Rita in the form of donations and emergency financing.

"Brook's appointment demonstrates Sallie Mae's continuing commitment to providing exceptional education-financing solutions and service to the students and schools in Texas," said Kevin Moehn, executive vice president of sales and originations, Sallie Mae. "She will be building on an already strong foundation in the state, including current Sallie Mae staff. With her extensive background in student lending and her Texas roots, we are pleased to dedicate someone like Brook to lead Sallie Mae's efforts in the state."

SLM Corporation , commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation's No. 1 paying-for-college company, managing more than $116 billion in student loans for 8 million borrowers. Sallie Mae was originally created in 1972 as a government-sponsored entity (GSE) and terminated its corporate ties to the federal government in 2004. The company remains the country's largest originator of federally insured student loans. Through its specialized subsidiaries and divisions, Sallie Mae also provides debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including colleges, universities and loan guarantors. More information is available at http://www.salliemae.com/. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.