Long before Mr. Quarles became a candidate for Vice Chairman Of Supervision at the U.S. Federal Reserve System, I knew him from his days following the Carlyle Group. I say following to underscored that his real influence at Carlyle had respectfully waned, as he was no longer engaged or employed there. But what did not stop him from – repeatedly – trying to get the Carlyle Group to be interested in the work of Operation HOPE, and to meet me.

The fact that Mr. Quarles initial efforts on my and the community’s behalf were unsuccessful, only makes me more impressed with him. You see, he never gave up simply because the first call or the first email was not received with the enthusiasm of his peers.

Randy received nothing for his efforts on my and our behalf – and was possibly ‘taxed’ (penalized socially within the firm, because he pushed so hard) by colleagues who would have preferred to be left alone. But he stood by us anyway, over and over and over again. Over the course of a year, this continued. And both before and after this, Mr. Quarles always responded when I called on him. And over all this time, no one ever knew that he was doing on my and our behalf. But he did it anyway.

This is the kind of leadership that I encourage, and that I am encouraged by.

And so, beyond the fact that I believe Randy Quarles is qualified for the post he is nominated for here, I also just believe that it matters that ‘good people’ sit in positions of authority and real power.  This is my personal experience, with Mr. Randy Quarles.

I support his nomination before the U.S. Senate.

John Hope Bryant, Founder, Operation HOPE

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