As Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama, I was proud to present our policy recommendations to the President earlier this year.In this regard I was also thrilled to learn that in April, 2013, one of my Subcommittee's key recommendations — the inclusion of FEMA as a new and important public policy addition in and for the nation's U.S. Financial Literacy & Education Commission (FLEC) — was formally adopted by the Obama Administration. U.S. Treasury Secretary Lew was on hand at the FLEC meeting in April, 2013, when and where FEMA's involvement was formalized, codified and publicly announced.
FEMA's involvement in the area of financial literacy, financial education, financial capability and financial empowerment is key during this era of super-storms that seem to be impacting our country at every level. After a natural disaster, individuals, families and communities often are faced with the daunting task of rebuilding their financial lives too.
The full list of recommendations by the President's Council to the President of the United States can be found here.
A special thank you here to FEMA's Administrator Craig Fugate, as well as FEMA leaders including Tim Manning and Alex Amparo, both of which have been a driving force. At U.S. Treasury I would like to thank Melissa Koide, Louisa Quittman and the team there. At the White House I would like to thank Racquel Russell, and at the President's Council I would like to thank Council Chairman John Rogers and his team at Ariel Capital Management. Finally, I would like to formally thank my team at the Operation HOPE Office of Government Relations and Public Policy, as led by Jena Roscoe and aided by Lucas Turner-Owens.
John Hope Bryant is an entrepreneur, author, advisor, and one of the nation's most recognized empowerment leader. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, The 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.