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MEDIA SPONSORS


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Topic & Bio |
Alane Becket Becket & Lee LLP
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Session: Bankruptcy
Recent developments in the bankruptcy world have the potential to drastically change current processes and expectations for bankrupt accounts. This interactive Roundtable discussion will explore the operational and legal challenges facing creditors now and in the upcoming months.
About Alane Becket:
Alane A. Becket is a managing partner at Malvern, PA based Becket & Lee LLP, a law firm specializing in the nationwide representation of creditors in bankruptcy matters. The majority of the firm’s clientele are consumer lenders and debt purchasers. Ms. Becket graduated from the Pennsylvania State University and Widener University School of Law. She was admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1992 and has continually represented creditors and debt purchasers in commercial and bankruptcy matters and FDCPA defense since that time.
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Ms. Becket serves on the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute and as Co-Chair of the ABI’s Consumer Bankruptcy Committee and is a contributing Editor of American Bankruptcy Institute’s Journal. She is a member of the conferences of Chapter 13 Trustees, Bankruptcy Trustees and the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys. Ms. Becket has written and lectured extensively on consumer collection and bankruptcy practices and, most recently, on the effect of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 on unsecured creditors.
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Bob Belair Oldaker, Belair & Wittie
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Session: Regulatory and Legislative Update
2010 may mean changes in Washington and big changes relative to our industry. What are the impacts of the regulatory changes contemplated or implemented by the new administration? Bob Belair will discuss these issues and provide some additional insight for what is happening inside the Beltway and how it might impact our industry.
About Bob Belair:
Robert R. Belair is a partner in the Washington D.C. law firm of Oldaker, Belair & Wittie. With Alan F. Westin, Mr. Belair also serves as co-chair of the Center for Strategic Privacy Law and Policy. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Belair served as an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission with responsibility for Fair Credit Reporting Act matters. Mr. Belair later served as Deputy General Counsel of the White House Office on the Right of Privacy.
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Mr. Belair's privacy practice centers on the representation of privacy sensitive organizations with respect to credit and financial records, debt records, educational records, criminal records, medical records, employment records and telecommunications information. He has served as General Counsel to SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics and General Counsel to the National Commission on the Confidentiality of Health Records. He has also been chairman of an American Bar Association Privacy Committee. Mr. Belair also serves as Legislative Counsel to the DBA International. Mr. Belair has spoken and written widely on privacy and information law topics.
Mr. Belair's practice includes representation of clients before the courts, federal agencies, in particular, the Federal Trade Commission and the Congress. He has litigated numerous privacy and freedom of information cases, including serving as lead amicus counsel in the Supreme Court's 1989 landmark privacy and freedom of information and privacy decision, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press v. Department of Justice.
Mr. Belair has served as a legal consultant on privacy, freedom of information and information policy matters to numerous government agencies and commissions including the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, the National Academy of Sciences, the Office of Technology Assessment, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and the Federal Paperwork Commission. On the Hill, Mr. Belair has served on the Senate Judiciary Advisory Committee and the Senate Task Force on health privacy.
Mr. Belair received his law degree from Columbia University in 1973 where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, a Charles Evans Hughes Scholar and Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review.
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Dan Buell Experian
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Session: Skiptracing and Return on Investment
Consumer contact preferences have changed as Americans are shifting towards various wireless communication technologies, which in conjunction with a number of economic disruptions have displaced millions of homeowners and created significant skiptracing challenges. While the need for high quality skiptracing remains persistent, the return on investment from skiptracing activities has changed.
About Dan Buell:
Dan Buell joined Experian in June of 2005 and manages the Collections line of business of recovery and collections solutions for Experian. Prior to joining Experian Dan served as the Chief Operating Officer for Singer, Bach & Associates, a niche B2B servicing agency and as the Business Unit President for Americall Group, Inc/SR Teleperformance, a Paris-based company that is the largest outbound dialing organization in the world. Dan also served as Chief Operating Officer for Machol & Johannes, P.C. the largest collections law firm in Colorado and Director of Information Services for OSI. Dan began his career in the receivables management industry with leading software developer Ontario Systems.
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Dan’s unique background of Operations, Business Development and Technology along the collection agency, debt buyer and law firm practices both domestically and internationally uniquely position him to understand the needs of our client base. Dan has lead high growth, turnaround, startup and mature businesses across the span of his career.
Dan is a veteran industry speaker having spoke at the 2008 Platt’s Utility Collections Conference, 2007 Debt Connection Symposium, 2007 Debt Buyer’s Association Conference, 2006 NARCA Conference, 2006 Vision Conference, 2006 Spring Telecommunication Risk Management Association Recovery Conference, 2006 Collection Technology Summit, 2005 Collection Technology Summit, 2005 Progressive Group Alliance CEO Summit, 2004 TSYS Recovery Conference and the 2004 HSBC User Symposium. Dan has also been featured in many various trade publications.
In addition to his professional experience, Dan has consulted with three of the top six bankcard credit grantors and processors in the world.
Dan is a member of a number of professional organizations including the ACA, DBA and Turnaround Management Association.
Dan graduated from Ball State University and holds a MBA with honors.
Dan is married with three children.
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Mark Cavin Vice President Collections Operations Asset Acceptance, LLC
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Session: Strategic Use of Technology
Technology is changing our lives. This panel will take a look at the best tech solutions whether it is interactive customer contact ideas, web solutions or the latest in scoring and segmenting. Don’t miss industry leaders ideas on ways to manage technology for the ultimate results.
About Mark Cavin:
Mr. Cavin joined Asset Acceptance, LLC as Vice President-Collections Operations in December 2009. Mr. Cavin previously served as President of Collection Intelligence Inc, located in San Diego, California. Prior to joining Collection Intelligence, Mr. Cavin served as Senior Director of Sallie Mae and Chief Operating Officer at Arrow Financial Services, LLC a Sallie Mae Compnay. Mr. Cavin also served as Senior Manager with Union Bank of California. Mr. Cavin has 31 year of executive and senior management experience in the collection industry. |
Jay Cocchiara Chase Auto Finance
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Session: Auto Finance Peer Group Session (Members Only)
The Auto Finance Peer Group break out session provides auto creditors the opportunity to meet with industry peers to discuss auto recovery issues, challenges and best practices. During the break out session, Jay Cocchiara and Kelli Edmonds of Chase Auto Finance will facilitate discussions related to the current economic situation, its impact on auto recoveries, and the best practices of industry leaders to manage recovery operations through these challenging times. The session will be an interactive open forum providing attendees the opportunity to share their experiences, thoughts and plans for the future.
About Jay Cocchiara:
Jay is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans and an alumnus of the Graduate School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University. He started his banking career 27 years ago at First Commerce Corporation in New Orleans, where he served in a variety leadership roles related to retail banking and lending. 11 years ago, Jay joined Bank One's auto finance team in Phoenix to establish centralized national operations for a number of specialty collections functions, including bankruptcy and recovery. He was also called upon to reengineer National Loan and Lease Servicing functions for Bank One's auto finance business.
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When JP Morgan Chase acquired Bank One in mid-2004, Jay developed and implemented integration strategies for the Chase and Bank One auto collections functions, and then took on his current role as manager of Chase Auto's National Recovery Group. In this role, his responsibilities include management of all post-charge off, bankruptcy, and other specialty collections functions. In early 2009, these responsibilities expanded in scope to include Chase Student Loans as well.
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Marilyn Cooper Director National Recovery Center Ford Motor Credit Company
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Keynote Session: Challenges and Opportunities in a Changing World Description: In the ever changing collection industry, having the right strategy is crucial for a company’s success. More than ever before, our industry faces new challenges, from operational issues to regulatory issues. Marilyn will address how these challenges affect her day to day world and her responses and solutions.
About Marilyn Cooper:
Marilyn has 30 years experience in financial services. She has held executive positions at Bank One, First Data, Sears, Key Bank and Security Pacific Corporation. She joined Ford Credit in January 2001 as Director of the National Recovery Center in Mesa, Arizona.
Marilyn was born and raised in Southern California. Marilyn holds a master's degree in business administration, concentrating in finance from the University of Southern California. She also has a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Cal State University at Los Angeles. She has served 4 years as an elected member of the San Gabriel Board of education and was president of the board for two years.
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Kelli Edmonds Chase Auto Finance
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Session: Auto Finance Peer Group Session (Members Only)
The Auto Finance Peer Group break out session provides auto creditors the opportunity to meet with industry peers to discuss auto recovery issues, challenges and best practices. During the break out session, Jay Cocchiara and Kelli Edmonds of Chase Auto Finance will facilitate discussions related to the current economic situation, its impact on auto recoveries, and the best practices of industry leaders to manage recovery operations through these challenging times. The session will be an interactive open forum providing attendees the opportunity to share their experiences, thoughts and plans for the future.
About Kelli Edmonds:
Kelli is a graduate of Emporia State University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Management. She started her career in the credit and collections industry in 1987 at Sallie Mae, holding various positions of increasing responsibility. Following her ten year tenure with Sallie Mae, Kelli completed the Management Development Program at GE Capital where she completed the GE Six Sigma Quality Green Belt certification and was responsible for the Customer Service division for GE's Consumer Direct Lending business. Prior to joining Bank One/Chase in 2003, Kelli worked at Citibank where she held several management positions within their CitiCards Recovery division.
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Kelli currently oversees the Outsource Recovery department at Chase Auto Finance, which is responsible for the outsourcing of auto finance deficiency, end-of-term lease, student loan and commercial accounts to collection agencies and law firms as well as portfolio asset sales.
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Jaime Eull Target Financial Services

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Session: Agency Management Managing agencies and relationships during these economical times can be a daunting task. Discuss ways issuers and collections agencies can be successful and enthusiastic about fostering good partner relationships during these conditions.
About Jaime Eull:
Jaime Eull is an Agency Relations Coordinator with Target Financial Services in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jaime currently manages the Secondary network for all of external collections. She has been with Target Financial Services for 6 years and has had 3 years experience managing external vendor relationships on both inbound and collections programs. Jaime received her Master in Project Management at Devry University which she has used those project execution skills to manage multiple projects including our current World Class Vendor Management initiative. Jaime's current responsibilities include agency performance management, developing a strong bullpen through RFI's,on-boarding new agencies, and information security.
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Jaime's determination led to a 7% increase in recoveries for the Secondary network in ayear when economic times were difficult. She was able to be successful because she holds herself to a high standard of exceeding expectations and her drive can be seen in the management of her agencies. She is able to hold them accountable, motivate them and develop a strong partnership with them tobring in results.
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Bev Evancic Resource Management Services, Inc.
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Session: Agency & Attorney Auditing
The creditor has not only the right, but also the responsibility, to audit and review the agency performance. An operational review is an on-site evaluation of an agency's performance in key operational areas. It provides both an efficiency study and a compliance measurement that can be used by the creditor as a management tool. Join this round table to find out more.
About Bev Evancic:
Bev Evancic has almost 20 years experience in collection and recovery. She has managed all phases of collection and recovery operations, including automated dialer units, bankruptcy and legal units, skip tracing units, internal collections, outside collection agency networks, and Consumer Credit Counseling.
As a Consultant for Resource Management Services, Inc., Bev has spearheaded collection and recovery best practices reviews for many top credit grantors. Her articles on dialer operations, agency management and bankruptcy best practices have been widely publicized.
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Prior to joining Resource Management Services, Inc. in 1995, Bev managed the Recovery Department for AT&T Universal Card Services where she reengineered the bankruptcy, probate, internal and litigation processes.
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John Frey BBVA Compass Bank
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Session: Strategic Use of Technology
Technology is changing our lives. This panel will take a look at the best tech solutions whether it is interactive customer contact ideas, web solutions or the latest in scoring and segmenting. Don’t miss industry leaders ideas on ways to manage technology for the ultimate results.
About John Frey:
John is a veteran of 40 years of experience in the financial services industry with credit granters, collection agencies, debt buyers, and BPOs. John began his career at American Express in 1968. He held a number of senior positions during his 22 years with American Express. He has held senior positions with HHL Financial Services (a major healthcare collection agency), First Card Services (First Chicago); and Chevy Chase Bank.
John was Vice President of Collection at Creditrust. At the time Creditrust was the nations largest purchaser of distressed portfolios. In that position John managed over 1,000 collectors in three sites.
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Prior to his current position as Executive Vice President of Collection and Recovery at BBVACompass Bank, John was Chief Operating Officer and Advisor at Tracmail India. Tracmail is an offshore outsourcing company headquartered in Mumbai, India. John managed over 1,000 collection and customer service representatives in two sites and coordinated outsourcing operations with a number of clients in the United States and Canada.
In his current position at Compass Bank John manages all of the retail Collection and Recovery operations for all of their lending products.
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Jason Garrison First Niagara Bank
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Session: Small Balance Collection and Recovery Strategies
Learn ideas to increase revenue with pre-charge-off and post-charge-off strategies that work with small balance accounts. Early detection and effective letters are just two of the ways to minimize charge-offs. Effective calling campaigns and settlement authority concepts will also be discussed.
About Jason Garrison:
Jason currently heads up Overdraft Checking and Charged off Loans, for Collections and Recovery for First Niagara Bank. Prior to joining First Niagara Bank, Jason held several positions in the collections world with Bank of America, Fleet Bank, Equifax risk Management, Great Lakes.
Jason began his career at First Niagara Bank as a Collector on the open end side of business. Jason was promoted to Recovery and Overdraft Supervisor which managed the collection agency relationships for Negative Checking and Loan products. He is responsible for the internal collection efforts on the Negative Checking accounts. In addition Jason is an active volunteer at the Mash Bash in Buffalo to support the Red Cross as well as Brush up Buffalo.
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Mike Homant CR Software Inc.
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Session: System Updates and Transitions
Legacy systems have taken the industry along ways from when they were introduced. They are imbedded in many organizations so deeply it is hard to imagine ever changing the system. Yet many companies are not only considering changing, they are actually changing. In the process many are gaining competitive advantages on companies till using legacy systems. This session will review challenges and benefits of migrating from a legacy to new system.
About Mike Homant:
Mr. Mike Homant has held corporate leadership and technology positions within the receivables management industry over the last 15 years, including Comprehensive Receivables Group (CRG) ¬ President and Asset Acceptance Capital Corporation ¬ VP Information Technology. Prior to entering the receivables management industry, Mr. Homant spent seven years in the healthcare industry at William Beaumont Hospital.
Mr. Homant holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Purdue University and a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. In addition, Mr. Homant is a dedicated husband and father to his wife and their two children, ages eleven and fourteen.
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Matthew Lavery Army & Air Force Exchange Service
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Session: SCRA - the Law and the Implementation Mr. Lavery will discuss how the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (the Act) operates to limit debt collection for members of the armed forces called to active duty. The presentation will discuss who the Act applies to, requirements to trigger relief under the Act, when the Act applies, and when it terminates. It will also include how interest is computed on debt protected by the Act, and how creditors may be unintentionally violating the Act by including charges and fees on top of the statutory maximum allowable rate of 6%. It will also include a brief discussion on how some state laws grant additional benefits for members called to duty in support of contingency operations.
About Matthew Lavery:
Mr. Lavery graduated in 1976 with a B.S. (cum laude) from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale (SIU-C), Illinois. He received his Juris Doctorate in 1982 from SIU-C.
Mr. Lavery worked as a bankruptcy lawyer for three years before joining the USAF Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) in 1986. As a JAG, Captain Lavery defended Airmen accused of committing felonies throughout the Pacific.
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Mr. Lavery started his AAFES career in 1990 in the Office of the General Counsel working contract issues. He then litigated employment law cases. In 2005 Mr. Lavery was promoted to Deputy General Counsel for the General Law and Revenue Recovery Division. Mr. Lavery oversees AAFES’ debt collection on over 1.8 million private label credit card accounts. He also advises on Truth-In-Lending Act issues. Mr. Lavery also manages AAFES’ Bankruptcy recovery program with over 60 million dollars in bankruptcy filed against AAFES annually.
Mr. Lavery is also a colonel in the USAFR serving as a JAG. Mr. Lavery has held various positions in the JAG Corps and is currently serving as a Senior Advisor for the Lackland AFB Legal Office in San Antonio, Texas. As a reserve JAG Col Lavery has advised numerous military reservists on their rights under the Uniform Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act.
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James Christopher Lee Wells Fargo Financial
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Session: Skiptracing and Return on Investment Consumer contact preferences have changed as Americans are shifting towards various wireless communication technologies, which in conjunction with a number of economic disruptions have displaced millions of homeowners and created significant skiptracing challenges. While the need for high quality skiptracing remains persistent, the return on investment from skiptracing activities has changed.
About James Christopher Lee:
Chris Lee is Vice President of Collection Strategies and Specialty Collection Operations for Wells Fargo Financial. His teams are responsible for designing and managing the collection strategies for Financial Cards, Retail and Sales Finance, Financial Real Estate and Canada. The specialty operations include legal, bankruptcy, probate, CCCS, skip and recoveries. Prior to joining Wells Fargo Financial, Chris was Vice President of Collection Strategies for Accept Acceptance where his responsibilities included collection strategy, outsourcing management, data management, corporate strategy and direct mail. Chris entered the ARM industry while at Capital One, where he managed the recovery outsourcing network for Capital One’s purchased debt group. His career before the ARM industry includes positions at major financial institutions, consulting, and technology start ups. Chris has a BA in Economics from Davidson College and an MBA from Wake Forest University.
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George Preece Canadian Tire Bank

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Session: Vendor Risks and Rewards Managing and using vendors brings both risks and rewards. Two experts will talk about ways they use agencies and debt buyers as well as areas they have tested or are currently testing.
About George Preece:
George is the head of the Recoveries Division with Canadian Tire Bank, a subsidiary of Canadian Tire Corporation located in Toronto Ontario Canada. Canadian Tire Bank provides services and products adding trust and value to the Canadian Tire brand.
With over 25 years credit management experience, his career began in the Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia. Thereafter, he expanded his focus into the equipment industry with International Harvester Credit Corporation, G.E. Capital and Xerox Corporation. The opportunity to move into the retail card business became realized with an opportunity with one of Canada's premier companies resulting in his current position at Canadian Tire Bank.
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In this role, George governs contract negotiations, agency/buyer selection process and manages the relationships, audit programs and infrastructure with the service providers of Canadian Tire Bank focusing on overall performance and mitigation of brand risk. As an active seller of receivables since 1999, Canadian Tire Bank, under George's leadership have a robust forward flow program combined with aggressive strategies to recover outsourced pre and post charge off debts including Insolvent debtors within the Bankruptcy Insolvency Act. This encompasses the unsecured debt as well as the secured lending portfolios. George has become a regular presenter at the SCORE Conference held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along with other speakers from North America and Europe.
In his spare time George has served in the capacity of Chairman of the Board for the Credit Institute of Canada. Currently, he participates on other industry boards/committees including Canadian Bankers Association, Credit Counselling Of Alberta and is a Board Member of the newly formed Debt Buyers Association of Canada.
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Chuck Stigers T-Mobile USA, Inc.

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Session: Strategic Use of Technology Managing and using vendors brings both risks and rewards. Two experts will talk about ways they use agencies and debt buyers as well as areas they have tested or are currently testing.
About Chuck Stigers:
After graduating from Washington State University with a degree in Mathematics, Chuck worked for a few different start-up high-tech industries in the Seattle area before landing at T-Mobile in 2002.
Chuck began his career at T-Mobile as an Analyst on the Agency Operations team, which managed the collection agency relationships. He was responsible for various facets of the T-Mobile internal collection strategy and policy before taking over the management role in Agency Operations.
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Chuck is currently serving as the interim Director of Customer Support within Financial Operations. He started this role in February 2009 which encompasses the management of T-Mobile’s outside collections agencies as well as the Cash Applications function for the enterprise.
While attending Washington State University, Chuck played bass drum in the Cougar Marching Band, and marched in the Rose Bowl in 1997.
He recently earned his MBA from Florida State University.
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Joel Winston Federal Trade Commission

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Session: Federal Actions That Impact the Collections Industry As the numbers of consumers who default on their debts has risen in these difficult economic times, federal regulators have increased their oversight of the collections industry. The Federal Trade Commission is pursuing a number of new initiatives that could impact your business, including law enforcement actions and proposals to amend the FDCPA in several important areas. Recently, the FTC held a series of roundtable meetings to discuss its concerns relating to debt collection arbitration and litigation. Hear from the FTC official with responsibility for leading the agency's work in this area about what the FTC has been doing and where it may be heading.
About Joel Winston:
Joel Winston is Associate Director of the Division of Financial Practices in the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. That Division has responsibility for enforcing federal consumer protection laws relating to mortgages and other credit products, debt collection, debt relief services, fair lending, and other financial products and services. Prior to that position, Mr. Winston was Associate Director of the FTC's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, with responsibilities covering the areas of consumer privacy, data security, identity theft, and credit reporting.
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While in that position, Mr. Winston served on a presidential Identity Theft Task Force, was a member of the Advisory Board for the BNA Privacy & Security Law Reporter, and served on the Editorial Board and as an author for a treatise published in 2009 by the American Bar Association, "Consumer Protection Law Developments." In 2008, Mr. Winston received the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive, one of the highest honors given to members of the federal government's Senior Executive Service.
Earlier in his career at the FTC, Mr. Winston served as a staff attorney and Assistant Director in the Division of Advertising Practices.
Mr. Winston is a frequent speaker and provides guidance and advice to the business and legal communities on consumer protection issues. He received his undergraduate degree (with high honors) and law degree (with honors) from the University of Michigan.
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