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Building on the strong and substantive U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability public meeting that was held last week in Washington, D.C., chaired by Council Chairman John Rogers and featuring the work of the Council Subcommittee on Research, chaired by Member Ted Beck, I want to particularly commend the leadership at Treasury for their overall focus within the building last week, on these critically important issues.  Specifically, U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wolin, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Cyrus Amir-Mokri and Melissa Koide, deputy assistant secretary covering financial access, financial education and consumer protection issues, and who also serve as executive director for the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability.  Together with leading researchers from around the country, they focused on the work that has been done in the field and what can reasonably come next.  

At the same time, across town in Washington, D.C., the Gallup Organization and Operation HOPE hosted an event announcing the new HOPE Washington, D.C. Regional Office at the Gallup Building, wherein the Acting Vice Chairman of the FDIC, Tom Hoenig, gave remarks around behavioral economics for young people and the results of the recent Gallup-HOPE Index 2011 Report.

It is commendation, and even encouraging, that on one day and evening, leaders from government, community, academia and the private sector came together in two separate meetings to discuss the future of research and behavioral economics for youth and adults, all tied to financial literacy and financial capability.  This suggests that there is real progress being made, by very serious and substantive people, in this space.More to come.

Onward and with HOPE

 

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass) the only African-American bestselling business author in America, and is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Under-Served and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama.  Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum.   Mr. Bryant serves on the board of directors of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, an NYSE Euronext publicly traded company, and a division of $54 billion Ares Capital.

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