CFPB Announces Consumer Advisory Board Members

CFPB also Forms Advisory Councils for Community Banks, Credit Unions, and Academic Research

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced the appointment of 25 consumer experts from outside the federal government to its newly-formed Consumer Advisory Board which will provide advice to CFPB leadership on a broad range of consumer financial issues and emerging market trends.

“This group of experts truly represents the interests of the diverse people and communities we serve,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “The Consumer Advisory Board will be a key resource to the CFPB and I look forward to working with its members to further our mission to protect American consumers.”

Consumer Advisory Board

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act charges the CFPB with establishing a Consumer Advisory Board to advise and consult with the Bureau’s director on a variety of consumer financial issues. In February, the CFPB issued a Federal Register Notice outlining the board’s responsibilities and the duties of its members and solicited recommendations for nominees.

The newly appointed board members include experts in consumer protection, financial services, community development, fair lending, civil rights, and consumer financial products or services. They also represent depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, and they represent communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgage loans.

The first meeting of the Consumer Advisory Board will take place Sept. 27, 2012 and Sept. 28, 2012 in St. Louis, Mo. By statute, the board will meet no less than twice per year. Members will have staggered three-year terms.

Consumer Advisory Board Members:

Chairperson: Jose Quinonez, Executive Director, Mission Asset Fund, San Francisco, Calif.
Vice Chairperson: Bill Bynum, CEO, Hope Enterprise Corp., Jackson, Miss.
Gary Acosta, Co-Founder, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, San Diego, Calif.
Jo Ann Barefoot, Co-Chair, Treliant Risk Advisors, Washington, D.C.
Don Baylor, Senior Policy Analyst for Economic Opportunity, Center for Public Policy Priorities, Austin, Texas
Maeve Brown, Executive Director, Housing and Economic Rights Advocates, Oakland, Calif.
Steve Carlson, Head of Marketing, Mint.com, Mountainview, Calif.
Laura Castro de Cortes, Vice President of Alternative Financial Services, Centris Federal Credit Union, Omaha, Neb.
Elizabeth Costle, Director of Consumer and State Affairs, AARP Public Policy Institute, Washington, D.C.
Prentiss Cox, Associate Professor of Law, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.
Patricia Duarte, Director, Neighborood Housing Services of Phoenix, Phoenix, Ariz.
Patricia Hasson, President, Clarifi, Philadelphia, Pa.
Adam Levitin, Professor of Law, Georgetown Law School, Washington, D.C.
James McCarthy, President/CEO, Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, Dayton, Ohio
Jennifer Mishory, Deputy Director, Young Invincibles, Washington, D.C.
William Nelson, Executive Director, USA Cares, Radcliffe, Ky.
Michelle Peluso, Global Consumer Chief Marketing and Internet Officer, Citigroup, New York, N.Y.
Dory Rand, President, Woodstock Institute, Chicago, Ill.
Annette Rizzo, Judge, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
Ellen Seidman, Chair, Board of Directors of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, Washington, D.C.
Josh Silverman, President for U.S. Consumer Services, American Express, New York, N.Y.
Robert Stoll, Founder, Stoll Berne LLC, Portland, Ore.
Donna Tanoue, Vice Chairman, Bank of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
Jane Thompson, CEO and Founder, Jane J. Thompson LLC, Lake Forest, Ill.
Jonathan Zinman, Associate Professor, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.

To see a copy of the Consumer Advisory Board charter, go to: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/1209_cfpb_cabcharter.pdf
To see the biographies of the newly selected members, go to: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/1209_cfpb_cabbios.pdf

Community Bank Advisory Council and Credit Union Advisory Council

Today, the CFPB also announced appointments for two additional advisory councils that will provide the CFPB with feedback and recommendations to inform its policy development, research, rulemaking, and engagement functions. These groups are the Credit Union Advisory Council (CUAC) and the Community Banks Advisory Council (CBAC).  The Dodd-Frank Act gives the CFPB authority to create advisory councils as an additional way to reach out to stakeholders with an interest in the CFPB’s activities.

The CBAC and CUAC will provide new opportunities for interaction between both community bankers and credit unions, and CFPB staff.  These councils will advise generally on the Bureau’s regulation of consumer financial products or services and may provide information, analysis, and recommendations to the Bureau.

Members of the CBAC and the CUAC are appointed by the CFPB Director and must be employed by a company with total assets of $10 billion or less, and cannot be affiliates of companies with total assets of more than $10 billion.

The CBAC and CUAC will convene publicly and provide public summaries or reports of their meetings.   Members on both councils will serve two-year terms; they are not eligible for reappointment. CBAC’s first meeting will be Oct. 10, 2012. CUAC’s first meeting will be Oct. 11, 2012.

Community Bank Advisory Council Members:

Guillermo Diaz-Rousselot, Bank of Miami, Fla.
Tyrone Fenderson, Commonwealth National Bank, Ala.
Donald Giles, Armed Forces Bank, Mo.
Jack Hartings, The Peoples Bank Co., Ohio
Melany Kniffen, Southern Commercial Bank, Mo.
Robin Loftus, Security Bank, Ill.
Jo Ann Merfeld, First Citizens National Bank, Iowa
Kim Saunders, Mechanics & Farmers Bank, N.C.
Laurie Stewart, Sound Community Bank, Wash.
Glen Thurman, First National Bank of Moody, Texas
Jesse Torres, Pan American Bank, Calif.
Huey Townsend, Guaranty Bank and Trust Company, Miss.
Larry Wilson, First Arkansas Trust, Ark.
Timothy Zimmerman , Standard Bank, Pa.

The CBAC Charter can be found here: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/1209_cfpb_cbaccharter.pdf

Credit Union Advisory Council Members:

Bernard Balsis, IEG Federal Credit Union, Hawaii
Rose Bartolomucci, Towpath Credit Union, Ohio
Gary Bell, Cooperative Federal Credit Union, Calif.
John Buckley, Gerber Federal Credit Union, Mich.
Carla Decker, District Government Employees Federal Credit Union, Washington, D.C.
Ron Ehrenreich, Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union, N.Y.
Kevin Foster-Keddie, Washington State Employees Credit Union, Wash.
Mitchell Klein, Police and Firemen Federal Credit Union, Pa.
Lily Lo, Northeast Community Federal Credit Union, Calif.
Maria Martinez, Border Federal Credit Union, Texas
Marcus Schaefer, Truliant Federal Credit Union, N.C.
Camille Shillenn, Unified People’s Credit Union, Wyo.
Helen Godfrey Smith, Shreveport Federal Credit Union, La.
Gregg Stockdale, 1st Valley Credit Union, Calif.
David Wright, Services Center Federal Credit Union, S.D.

The CUAC Charter can be found here: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/1209_cfpb_cuaccharter.pdf

Academic Research Council

The CFPB conducts research, performs analysis, and reports on topics relating to the Bureau’s mission, including developments in markets for consumer financial products and services, consumer awareness, and consumer behavior. To support the Bureau’s commitment to fact-based policy development, the CFPB established the Academic Research Council, a consultative body comprised of scholars with relevant subject matter expertise. The council advises the CFPB on research methodologies, data collection, and analytic strategies, and provides feedback regarding the Bureau’s research and strategic planning process.

The Academic Research Council will meet in-person once annually and maintain ongoing communications throughout the year. The first in-person meeting of the council was held July 27, 2012.

Academic Research Council Members:

John Campbell, Harvard University
Justine Hastings, Brown University
Christine Jolls, Yale University
David Laibson, Harvard University
Antoinette Schoar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Richard Thaler, University of Chicago

The Academic Research Council Charter can be found here: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/1209_cfpb_arccharter.pdf

The Bureau selected advisory board and council members based on relevant background and expertise as well as the CFPB’s commitment both to demographic and geographic diversity. The Bureau also sought to balance points of view among the members. Members serve in a personal capacity and do not represent any organization or interest.