The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced yesterday that it is now accepting applications from individuals who wish to participate in the agency’s Consumer Advisory Board (CAB), Community Bank Advisory Council (CBAC), Credit Union Advisory Council (CUAC), and the Academic Research Council (ARC).
Applications for the advisory committees must be submitted before February 27, 2020.
While there are not necessarily any requirements to be eligible to participate, the CFPB did provide some general criteria that it uses to select advisory committee members. The CFPB is generally looking for:
- Experts in consumer protection, community development, consumer finance, fair lending, and civil rights
- Experts in consumer financial products or services, including consumer reporting, student lending, small dollar lending, credit cards, debt collection, and debt relief
- Experts in consumer finance education
- Representatives of banks and credit unions that serve underserved communities
- Representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher priced mortgage loans
- Current employees of credit unions and community banks
- Academics (experienced economists with a strong research and publishing or practitioner background, and a record of involvement in research and public policy, including public or academic service)
To apply, individuals must submit a copy of their resume, a cover letter explaining their interest and qualifications, a recommendation letter from a third party, and a completed questionnaire.
For the credit and collection industry, the Consumer Advisory Board is the most relevant committee. Currently, there are no individuals on the committee with direct ties to the credit and collection industry. Ohad Samet, the chief executive of TrueAccord, was briefly a member of the CAB before former Acting Director Mick Mulvaney fired all the board members back in 2018. Joann Needleman, a partner with the law firm of Clark Hill, was also a previous member of the CAB.
The current members of the CAB are:
- Brent Neiser, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances for the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
- Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President at the Center for Responsible Lending
- Nadine Cohen, Managing Attorney of the Consumer Rights Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services
- Sameh Elamawy, Chief Executive Officer at Scratch
- Manning Field, Acorns’ Chief Operating Officer
- Clint Gwin, President and CEO of Pathway Lending
- Ronald A. Johnson, former President of Clark Atlanta University
- Eric Kaplan, Director of the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets Housing Finance Program
- Tim Lampkin, co-founder and CEO of Higher Purpose Co.
- Sophie Raseman, Head of Financial Solutions for Brightside
- Rebecca Steele, Chief Executive Officer of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling
- Tim Welsh, Vice Chairman of Consumer and Business Banking at U.S. Bancorp
Individuals interested in applying to be on one of the CFPB’s advisory committees can find more information here.
