Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
Generic

Mike Panaro

Madison,WI

Summary

Meticulous and enthusiastic manager with 10+ years of experience planning, leading, and coordinating organizational functions. Experienced with administering veteran/military education benefits programs and ensuring regulatory compliance. Proven individual who can achieve excellent success on multiple projects with varying timelines in challenging environments.


Overview

13
13
years of professional experience

Work History

Education Benefits Specialist

University Veteran Services, UW-Madison
10.2023 - Current

• Coordinated holistic student support for over 1200 veteran and military connected students, including certification of education benefits, referrals to academic advising, and deconfliction with financial aid

• Coordinated several information system development projects with campus partners to identify efficiencies and improve VA certification processes

• Contributed to the successful completion of two federal VA compliance surveys (audits), collecting and organizing over 730 files and 39,000 pages of documents

• Planned, developed, and implemented new processes, in coordination with campus partners, to account for changes in legislation to the National Guard Tuition Grant Program

• Managed university's Active Duty program; coordinated with academic departments, financial aid, and the Office of the Registrar to ensure students being called to active military service were treated in accordance with university policy and state and federal law

• Reconciled 1,418 VA tuition payments with the university's Bursar's Office, totaling over $6.992 million

• Managed 4,031 distinct cases in our CRM, contributing to the success of veteran and military connected students
• Submitted 3,428 distinct enrollment certification actions in VA Enrollment Manager, ensuring student access to earned education benefits
• Managed repayment of 66 tuition debts, totaling over $99K, to the VA

VA School Certifying Official

University Veteran Services, UW-Madison
01.2022 - 10.2023

• Submitted 2350 distinct enrollment certification actions in VA systems of record
• Reconciled 659 tuition payments, totaling over $3.425 million, with Bursar's Office
• Managed repayment of 67 tuition debts, totaling over $86K, to the VA
• Approved and coordinated remission of over $4.89 million in tuition for WI GI Bill
• Moderated a panel of state legislators at WACRAO Veterans' Conference
• Presented at the Advising & Career Services Conference
• Taught CP125; assisted 19 first semester students in adjusting to campus life

Arms Control Inspection Chief

Defense Threat Reduction Agency
01.2016 - 11.2019
  • Ensured treaty activities were conducted in accordance with federal and international law and established policies
  • Coordinated air and ground transportation, lodging, food, and embassy/consular communication for delegations of ten diplomats on fourteen occasions per year
  • Managed diplomatic passport and visa program for 25 people, ensuring all applications and renewals were processed in a timely manner
  • Coordinated visa program for a pool of 11 interpreters to support multinational symposia and exercises
  • Forecasted and managed a travel budget of $85K to support employee readiness and education

Country Director

US Army Central
07.2012 - 07.2014
  • Designed international cooperation programs with five partner nations under strict national policy guidelines; developed training and operational capability
  • Assisted in the planning and conduct of large international academic symposia in coordination with US Army Central, the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, and the Ministries of Defense for the five Central Asian republics
  • Coordinated with key stakeholders at the US Embassy and foreign ministry level to ensure programs were relevant and useful
  • Managed a budget of $1.2 million to select appropriate methodology and delivery methods to provide instruction to international officials
  • Recruited instructors for approximately 30 international events per year; coordinated and managed all travel and logistical support
  • Gathered data on significant political, military, economic, and social events in five partner nations, conducted analysis, and developed response options in accordance with US policy

Education

Master of Arts - Russian, East European, And Central Asian Studies

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
2015

Bachelor of Science - International Politics

United States Military Academy
West Point, NY
2000

Russian Language

Defense Language Institute
Monterey, CA
2011

Skills

  • High-level oral/written communication
  • Data management and analysis
  • VA Enrollment Manager
  • Peoplesoft Campus Solutions
  • Salesforce CRM
  • Compliance Reporting

Timeline

Education Benefits Specialist

University Veteran Services, UW-Madison
10.2023 - Current

VA School Certifying Official

University Veteran Services, UW-Madison
01.2022 - 10.2023

Arms Control Inspection Chief

Defense Threat Reduction Agency
01.2016 - 11.2019

Country Director

US Army Central
07.2012 - 07.2014

Master of Arts - Russian, East European, And Central Asian Studies

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Bachelor of Science - International Politics

United States Military Academy

Russian Language

Defense Language Institute