Today Upromise, Inc., announced Kelly Christiano has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Partner Management, filling the role previously held by David Rochon who has been promoted to President.  In her new position, Christiano will further help Upromise partners harness the company’s brand equity of helping to make higher education affordable to all.

“The Upromise brand is a trusted authority in helping to make the dream of achieving higher education a reality,” said David Rochon , President, Upromise.  “Kelly will provide our partners high-impact ways to build their brand equity as they reward customers with college savings for purchasing their products and services.”

“It’s an exciting time to join the team and bring the Upromise brand to new partners, while continuing to enhance value for existing partners and members,” said Christiano. 

Christiano joins Upromise from her role as President of VIPdesk, Inc., a firm specializing in delivering Concierge Programs, Virtual Contact Center Services and Reward Redemption Services for national brand leaders in the travel, auto, financial services and retail industries.  Prior to joining VIPdesk in 2000, she worked for ARAMARK as Director, Strategic Opportunity Development.  Christiano holds a BA in Economics from Harvard University and received her MBA from The Wharton School of Business.

About Upromise
Upromise is the country’s largest private source of college aid.  Membership is free and allows families to automatically save money for college while making everyday purchases of products and services at more than 23,000 grocery and drug stores, 14,000 gas stations, 8,000 restaurants, as well as thousands of retail stores, and more than 500 online shopping sites.  Upromise’s partners include Citi®, ExxonMobil Corporation, Kimberly-Clark, McDonald’s®, JCPenney.com, LandsEnd.com, Sears.com, and hundreds of others.  Upromise also makes it easy for families to start their own college savings strategy through tax-advantaged 529 college savings plans, or by using Upromise contributions to help pay off student loans. These securities are offered through Upromise Investments, Inc. (member NASD/SIPC).   Upromise is a wholly owned subsidiary of SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading provider of saving-and-paying-for-college programs. Upromise is headquartered in Needham , Mass. , and has more than 350 employees.  For additional information about Upromise, visit www.Upromise.com.