Pacific Welcomes New Financial Aid Director

Pacific University welcomes new Financial Aid Director, Debbie O'Dea '06.

O'Dea joined the Oregon financial aid community in 2015. Her previous roles have been at Southern Oregon University, Oregon State University, and most recently as Assistant Director for Compliance and Operations at Portland State University. She is a Pacific alumna, earning her bachelor’s degree in international studies in 2006, and holds a master’s degree in student affairs from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY.

Sarah Phillips, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, would like to thank the members of the search committee and all those who participated in interviews and open forums, helping to select our new financial aid director. 

O'Dea is passionate about the student experience and collaborating with campus partners to help demystify the financial aid process and give this complex world a more human side. She has worked in higher education since 2011 and her previous lives include managing financial investigations for the Oregon Army National Guard (another field ripe with regulations and numbers), live stage production, and event coordination. 

O'Dea says she is excited to be returning to Pacific as the Director of Financial Aid and to give back to the institution that gave her her professional purpose.

She takes over as our new Financial Aid Director on September 25.