NFCC Names New Board Member

By Bruce McClary
The NFCC is pleased to announce the addition of Jo Ann Barefoot, CEO of Jo Ann Barefoot Group, LLC, as an at-large member of the board of trustees.
She has more than 35 years of experience as a champion for financial protection. The first woman Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, Jo Ann established the OCC’s original consumer protection and community reinvestment unit. She has also served on the staff of the U. S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; was Co-chair of Treliant Risk Advisors; and was Partner and Managing Director at KPMG.
As a consultant, she has advised all of America’s largest financial institutions, many other financial companies, and numerous community banks, nonprofits and agencies. Her advisory work focuses on strategic management of regulatory risk and consumer protection, and on technology innovation’s impact on consumers, regulation and markets.
Jo Ann is currently a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rehmani Center for Business & Government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge. Her fellowship will focus on writing a book on consumer protection regulation and innovation, in addition to her other writing and consulting.
Jo Ann serves on the Consumer Advisory Board to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She is also a member of the board of the Center for Financial Services Innovation and serves on advisory boards to several financial technology startups. A frequent media source on consumer financial issues, Jo Ann speaks annually to thousands of people at financial and technology forums. She has authored four books on bank regulatory matters and written several hundred articles for publications ranging from Forbes to American Banker, Banking Journal and Banking Exchange magazine. Jo Ann is also the host of the  Barefoot Innovation Podcast, featuring a range of experts in the financial technology and personal finance world. In addition to her work with media and public speaking, she has testified before the agencies and Congress.
Jo Ann’s nonprofit board work emphasizes education. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan and her graduate work at the George Washington University. Her passion for education is in close alignment with the mission of the NFCC.
“Borrowers today face rapid changes in financial products, technology and the economy itself,” said Barefoot. “It’s never been more important to help people lead healthy financial lives through education and counseling. The NFCC is the leader in that effort, and I’m honored and excited to join in their critical work.”
Bruce McClary is Vice President of Public Relations & External Affairs with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Views expressed are the personal views of the author, and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.