WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced today Mark A. Brown has been appointed chief operating officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA).

"We are thrilled Mark has agreed to lead the continued efforts to transform and modernize FSA," said Secretary DeVos. "He comes to us with more than 32 years of military service and brings a deep understanding of large-scale organizational leadership and complex financial processes, as well as a sense of duty to America's students. He will be a tremendous asset to our organization, students and taxpayers. Mark will have big shoes to fill as our long-time colleague and current Acting COO of FSA Jim Manning retires from public service for a second time."

Mark Brown is a retired major general in the U.S. Air Force (USAF), with over 32 years of service to our country. Most recently, he served as the deputy commander for the Air Education and Training Command, where he was responsible for Air Force education, as well as basic and technical training. Prior to that, he served in a series of roles across the USAF, including commander of the 2nd Air Force, director of Financial Management and comptroller and Mission Support Group commander. During his time as CFO of the Air Force Material Command, he was charged with overseeing a $67 billion portfolio, with budget and financial planning responsibilities that provided vital services to support command units around the world. He also served as the congressional liaison to the House and Senate Appropriations Military Sub-Committees.

Brown holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Tuskegee University, a master's degree in public administration from Troy State University, a master's degree in strategic studies from the Air Command and Staff College and a master's degree of national security strategy from the National Defense University.

Dr. A. Wayne Johnson will remain FSA's chief strategy and transformation officer, continuing his work on the Next Generation (Next Gen) financial services environment which aims to modernize the technology and operational components that support FSA programs from application through repayment.