Todd Emerson
Chief Executive Officer and President
Springboard Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management
Todd Emerson is chief executive officer and president of Springboard Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management. As CEO and president, Emerson leads a national nonprofit community service organization that offers personal financial education and assistance with credit counseling, comprehensive housing counseling, debt and money management to individuals and families in need through educational programs and confidential counseling.
Emerson understands that behind every financial crisis there is a face and a family. Each day, he works with people who want to stay in their homes and remain in the communities where they work and their children go to school. It is for the better service of these individuals that Emerson has adopted four core values as a part of Springboard's vision: Integrity, Quality, Excellence and Compassion. In short, Emerson's direction at Springboard helps improves the lives and financial well-being of individuals and families from all walks of life by providing quality financial education and counseling.
Founded in 1974, Springboard is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), signifying the highest standards for agency governance, fiscal integrity, counselor certification and service delivery policies. Furthermore, Springboard is certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a comprehensive housing agency and recognized by the National Foundation for Consumer Credit (NFCC). Springboard has been approved by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office of United States Trustees (EOUST) to issue certificates of completion for pre-bankruptcy counseling and education.
Springboard is one of the three original nonprofit agency partners of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, and provides counseling to distressed homeowners nationwide, seven days a week, through the HOPE hotline. Today, the network has expanded to include 10 dedicated non-profit counseling agencies with more than 450 foreclosure prevention counselors committed to foreclosure intervention, a top priority following Congressional leadership’s charge to address the current housing crisis. Of these 450 foreclosure prevention counselors, over 100 are from Springboard and were responsible for conducting 58, 623 counseling sessions in 2008.
While Springboard's headquarters is in Riverside, CA, the agency also has office locations throughout California, Arizona and Nevada and offers face-to-face and nationwide phone counseling services in English and Spanish. Emerson applied for and received from HUD Multi-State Organization status for Springboard in January 2009 in order to facilitate the organization's expansion into Nevada and Arizona, as the California, Nevada, and Arizona tri-state area possesses the lion’s share of toxic pay-option loans and nearly $500 billion in Pay Option ARMs with approximately 50 percent of these in California. California has 10 percent of the nation's housing units, but it had 34 percent of foreclosures in 2008.
Springboard was one of the first five agencies approved by the EOUST to offer nationwide pre-bankruptcy counseling for individuals considering bankruptcy. Springboard was also approved as a nationwide provider of a personal financial management instructional course under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). Under Emerson's leadership, Springboard developed a comprehensive personal finance curriculum that was approved by the Department of Justice Executive Office of the United States Trustees to meet the needs of for post-bankruptcy filers entitled: More Than Money™. The course covers information on budgeting and goal setting, money management, and the wise use of credit, as well as offering advice, suggestions and resources to help individuals manage their finances.
In the time that Emerson has served as president and CEO of Springboard, the agency has grown extensively. In 2008 alone, Springboard has counseled more than 158,000 individuals in the areas of foreclosure prevention, bankruptcy pre-petition counseling, debtor education, reverse mortgage, and credit and debt counseling. In addition to these great strides, the Springboard Community Outreach and Education Department pursued an innovative “take it to the streets” strategy. The outreach effort, known as
MOVE (Mobile Outreach Valuable Education) Financial Workshops, enabled us to go beyond our brick and mortar walls to teach foreclosure prevention, pre-purchase homebuyer education, and financial literacy workshops at accessible venues around Southern California. In 2008 alone, Springboard held 343 workshops, educating more than 8,300 participants on budgeting, credit management, emergency fund building, and financial goal setting.
Springboard's clients are not the only ones to benefit from Emerson's vision. Based upon the agency's community outreach and education efforts, Springboard was awarded the National Educator of the Year by the NFCC. This recognition is truly an honor, as the NFCC, founded in 1951, is the nation's largest and longest serving national nonprofit credit counseling organization with 107 member agencies nationwide and over 800 offices throughout the country.
Emerson has become a national leader and authority on the credit and housing counseling industry, and as a result has extensive familiarity with consumer financial services and consumer protection regulations. Although these issues can be controversial, Emerson expresses his professional opinion on these matters with precision and candor. For example, on July 30 and 31, 2009, Emerson attended an invitation-only conference held by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia entitled "The Future of Consumer Credit Counseling" for his interest in important public policy issues in credit counseling and education. The conference was praised for providing insights into developments in consumer credit and payments that are of interest not only to the Federal Reserve but also to the industry, other businesses, academia, policymakers, and the public at large.
In addition, Emerson was invited as a featured speaker on the efforts of credit counseling as an aid to foreclosure prevention at the “Preserving Homeownership – Preserving Communities” forum in Los Angeles. This event was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) along with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and attended by HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson.
Furthermore, Emerson was a featured panelist at the San Diego “Preserving Homeownership-Preserving Communities” forum, which was sponsored by the Community Affairs Offices of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Office of the Comptroller of Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of Thrift Supervision. Emerson's discussion included the national emergence of alternative mortgage products, trends in delinquency and foreclosures, the impact of high cost lending, and deceptive practices and fraud on low-income communities in San Diego.
Emerson was also invited to participate in a roundtable meeting conducted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and hosted by the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County, CA. Emerson was invited to discuss the continuing foreclosure crisis in California as a part of the California Governor’s public awareness campaign. Since Emerson plays such a key role in the foreclosure prevention counseling program, he was also invited to serve on the roundtable which included mayors of the cities of Riverside, San Bernardino, Corona, and Murrieta.
In addition to working with local and state legislators, Emerson is no stranger to working with legislators at the national level. He is respected for speaking honestly and openly about consumer issues and is unafraid to "tell it like it is" when it comes to expressing his opinion and expressing concern for our nation's consumers. Emerson travels to Washington D.C. on a regular basis as an advocate for protecting consumers against illegal debt settlement companies, fighting against for-profit loan modification scams, and for promoting financial literacy. Emerson is a champion and a voice on The Hill for those consumers who are unable to stand up for themselves. He is dedicated to spending his time on The Hill meeting with significant members of leadership in order to discuss current and future public policy.
Through the University of Arizona's Financial Education and Counseling Roundtable, which represents ten of the largest credit counseling agencies, Emerson contributes to ongoing research and a continuing dialogue among industry representatives to identify current problems and issues facing the industry, whether they are operational, environmental, regulatory, or otherwise. Emerson and his fellow roundtable members maintain a goal to facilitate the creation of empirical research projects that will address problems and help identify solutions in the consumer finance industry with the help of scholarly oversight. Emerson also offers his professional oversight as a peer reviewer for the NFCC accrediting agency, the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children.
Not only has Emerson emerged as an outspoken leader in the financial literacy and counseling industry, but also as an innovator. He is constantly adopting new programs and practices that best suit community members’ needs in our fast changing economy. Emerson has an extensive educational and professional background in economics, and this expertise allows him to keep his finger on the pulse of the economy and how it affects consumers. Emerson has proven himself time and time again as ready to respond to the call to action amidst the current financial crisis that faces the United States economy. Emerson is dedicated to using his professional expertise to help homeowners, homebuyers and renters to be aware of discriminatory practices and their rights and increase financial literacy to prevent foreclosure and to address the needs of households facing foreclosure. His ability to anticipate the needs of consumers with intuition and creativity is displayed in the creation of the innovative SHINE Center.
Emerson expanded Springboard's reach in April 2008 when he opened the SHINE Center, a new financial education and counseling center dedicated to Sustaining Homeownership in the Inland Empire. Emerson's mission in establishing the SHINE Center is to serve as a living, breathing beacon of hope for the growing number of homeowners troubled by the threat of foreclosure in the Inland Empire, California and nationwide. Additionally, the SHINE Center is a resource for those preparing to become homeowners and offers HUD-approved homebuyer education, financial education and counseling services.
In addition to the SHINE Center, Emerson has developed, trademarked, and initiated the Soft Landing and Safe Haven programs and was responsible for introducing them to the national GSE's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These programs offer an alternative to homeowners who are facing foreclosure.
Community reinvestment is yet another area in which Emerson shines. Emerson's public awareness initiatives are designed to provide all members of the community with educational information and focus on equal access to the highest quality financial education and counseling services. Emerson is in a unique position as a future Consumer Advisory Council member because he has his finger on the pulse of the modern-day consumer. Emerson finds himself in the trenches daily, talking with a diverse array of individuals who represent a cross-section of society and have multiple different needs. Emerson hears their voices and responds with solutions that are specific to their unique situation. Below are descriptions of just some of the ways Emerson addresses the specific needs of a variety of people.
Underserved populations:
Springboard has robust demographic and financial data at the client level. Of their total clientele, 76% are considered low-moderate income earners. Furthermore, in the past 2 years, Springboard has served thousands of foreclosed homeowners who were low-moderate income and/or members of disadvantaged ethnicities or elderly who either stretched their hopes and dreams of homeownership beyond their means or who were relegated to abusive loans by unethical loan agents.
Neighborhoods:
Community Consolidated Plan/ Neighborhood Stabilization Plan: Emerson is engaged in several partnerships that illustrate the extent to which Springboard is responsive to the documented needs in our communities. For example, the City of San Bernardino reported in its November 2008 Neighborhood Stabilization Plan - Substantial Amendment that the city is a hot zone of foreclosure risk. Emerson has brought Springboard on as a founding member and Board Director of the Inland Empire Housing Opportunities Collaborative which works with local city authorities to conduct outreach and counseling to thousands of residents in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Emerson has also established Springboard as a key partner in the San Diego Housing Opportunities Collaborative. As a result, Springboard has participated in over 180 HOME Clinics, Workshops, Seminars, and other presentations throughout Southern California since 2007.
Students:
Emerson coordinated and facilitated numerous CARE (Credit Abuse Resistance Education) presentations for hundreds of Fountain Valley High School seniors. The speakers at these presentations were two United States Bankruptcy Judges (ret.). The CARE program is aimed at high school seniors and college students and teaches them about credit and how to wisely use credit cards. The goal of the CARE Program is to train young men and women to intelligently manage their credit cards and credit-card debt and to keep them from ever seeing the inside of a bankruptcy court. Always thinking ahead, Emerson is already planning on how to pilot this program at the district level.
Military:
Springboard regularly conducts outreach to members of the military, both active-duty and veterans. Examples include the Department of Defense Financial Readiness Roadshow held in San Diego, Los Angeles and Arizona. Springboard was also invited as a key participant in the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program held for Southern California’s U.S. Air Force, topics were Identity Theft Awareness and Prevention and Foreclosure Prevention. Due to Springboard's presence as a nationwide financial literacy provider, the agency was consulted as a subject matter expert in the Pricewaterhouse-Coopers Benchmark Study for Marine Corps Personal Management Functionality Assessment. Emerson himself is a veteran of the Marine Corps and maintains contacts with veterans’ groups via speaking engagements and networking.
Elderly:
Emerson serves on the National Housing Counseling Association (NHCA) Board of Directors, which provides a united voice for the housing counseling community. The principle goal of the NHCA is to support education initiatives and provide resources to improve the quality, operational efficiency, consistency and financial sustainability of reverse mortgage counseling programs nationwide. The association builds on best practices in the reverse mortgage counseling industry and abides by the NHCA code of ethics. With Emerson's help, the NHCA is able to offer strategic solutions towards the betterment of senior lives.
In sum, Todd Emerson is in the business of changing lives for the better. Through financial education, political advocacy, and research, Emerson is impacting the consumer finance industry in invaluable ways. As we can see from the examples above, Emerson possesses both a mind and a heart for helping consumers in need. Whether working in the trenches with grassroots efforts or meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill, Emerson displays an unwavering dedication to individuals, families, and communities looking to educate themselves about their financial futures. His prior experience has provided him with the wisdom and foresight necessary to navigate the terrain that is consumer credit and finance in the United States. I am confident his insight, inspiration, and innovative approach to problem solving will prove Todd Emerson to be an invaluable member of The Consumer Advisory Council.