Appointments of new members and designation of the chair and vice chair of the consumer advisory council - Announcements

Federal Reserve Bulletin, Feb, 2003

Elsie Meeks Kyle, South Dakota

Ms. Meeks is the executive director of First Nations Oweesta Corporation, a subsidiary corporation of First Nations Development Institute. The corporation focuses on enhancing the capacity of Native American tribes and communities by providing technical assistance and training for the development and expansion of Native American community development financial institutions. Previously, Ms. Meeks helped develop and was Executive Director of The Lakota Fund, which is a Native American community development financial institution on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota, specializing in small business development and microenterprise development. Ms. Meeks is a board member of the National Community Capital Association and, in 1994, received the "South Dakota Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year" award. She was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to serve as the first Native American on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Mark Pinsky Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mr. Pinsky is president and chief executive officer of the National Community Capital Association, a leading network of community development financial institutions (CDFIs). He is responsible for the association's strategic direction and performance and has created new products including the Equity Equivalent Investment and the Virtual Learning Center. Mr. Pinsky is widely recognized as the voice of the CDFI industry and the leading advocate for a strong, performance-based CDFI Fund in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He has published and lectured extensively on CDFIs and the Community Reinvestment Act. In 2002, he provided the keynote address at the Third Annual U.K. Community Development Finance Conference in Scotland and spoke on "Lessons from the U.S. CDFI Industry."

Benjamin Robinson Charlotte, North Carolina

Mr. Robinson has been senior vice president, strategy management executive, responsible for issues management, national alliances, and national programs for Bank of America since October 2002. Previously, he was vice president and chief privacy officer of MasterCard International, and president and chief executive officer, MasterCard Cardholder Solutions, Inc. His responsibilities included overall management of MasterCard Cardholder Solutions, Inc. and managing and implementing privacy policies, regulations, and compliance for MasterCard International domestically and abroad. Mr. Robinson has also served as a congressional adviser on banking issues, including the Community Reinvestment Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and Fair Housing Act, for a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs.

Diane Thompson East St. Louis, Illinois

Ms. Thompson is a supervising attorney for the Housing and Consumer Rights Unit at the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation. She supervises consumer rights litigation and works with community organizations on affordable housing and community economic development. She also supervises comprehensive homeless advocacy and homeless prevention projects in one of the poorest and most economically depressed cities in the country. She has expertise in the Truth-in-Lending and Home Ownership and Equity Protection Acts and is an experienced anti-predatory lending advocate and litigator in the St. Louis area. Ms. Thompson is involved in several community activities, including the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council and Project Kids, Inc.