CURRENT POSITIONS:

Professor of Law, New York Law School, New York, New York (1989-present; on partial leave August 2006 – August 2008) (Associate Professor of Law, 1984-1989) (specializing in consumer finance, bankruptcy (individual and corporate); contracts; commercial law); Director, New York Law School Economic Literacy Consortium. Responsibilities include: development of workshop courses; implementation and assessment of financial advocacy course; design and implementation of faculty pedagogy workshops; assist in structuring Dean’s Day, Faculty Presentation Day and Family Day; junior faculty mentoring; creation of alumni/ae events; tenure referee in US and Canada; grantee referee for Canadian government; fundraising and grant solicitation.

President, Member of the Board of Directors and Founder of the Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor Education a §501(c)(3) corporation (1997-present; presidential term ends August 31, 2006). Responsibilities include: recruitment of Board Members and executive leadership; staff hiring and oversight; design and implementation of teacher training and teacher mentoring programs; individual and corporate fundraising; grant solicitation and oversight; empirical study management; public relations, website and newsletter development; organization spokesperson; translation protocol; financial literacy program development, including pilot education project for 600 consumer debtors; licensing project. Grants Received: Ford Foundation; NEFE; NCBJ Educational Endowment Find; ABI, American College of Bankruptcy.

Non-Profit and Educational Consultant (2002 – present). Working with non-profit organizations to develop programs and community development strategies, including leveraging existing and future resources, program delivery systems, teacher training, programmatic evaluation and fundraising. Senior Educational Consultant for Keeling & Associates. Clients (paid and pro bono) include United Way New York City, National Consumer Law Center and Campaign for Working Families.

EDUCATION:

Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts; B.A., cum laude, 1974; Phi Beta Kappa, Emogene Mahoney English Prize (academic majors: English and Spanish)

Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; exchange student, 1972-1973; Rufus Choate Scholar

Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; J.D., cum laude 1977

University of Chicago School of Law, Chicago, Illinois; visiting student, 1976-1977

NON-LAW SCHOOL TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

Teacher Trainer, Philadelphia Public School System; Law Education and Participation Program, Temple Law School (1974-1976)

High School Teacher (Part-time), The Parkway High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Subject: Law-Related Education) (Jan. 1975-May 1976)

Student and Substitute Teacher, Northampton, Massachusetts, (Grades: Middle and High Schools) (Subject: English) (1973-1974)

Lecturer, Royalton College, Royalton, Vermont (Subject: Spanish) (College Level Spanish) (1972-1973)

Teaching Assistant, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, Department of Romance Languages (Subject: Introductory College Level Spanish) (1972-1973)

Guest Teacher, The Buckingham School (now Buckingham, Brown & Nichols, Cambridge, Massachusetts) (Subject: Contemporary American Literature) (Grade 12) (Jan. 1971)

 

OTHER LEGAL EMPLOYMENT:

Expert Witness and Legal Consultant (1999 – present); Court Appointed Special Representative, Integrated Resources Chapter 11 case (Debtor Asset Value: 7.2 billion) (pending in the S.D. N.Y) (1990-1994); Volunteer Lawyer, Legal Aid Society (1997-1998); Weil, Gotshal & Manges (Bankruptcy Dept.), Associate Attorney (1980-1984) and Arvey Hodes Costello & Burman (Corporate and Bankruptcy Depts.), Associate Attorney (1977-1980).

AWARDS AND INVITED LECTURESHIPS (selected):

Westchester Community College, Honoree, Women’s History Month (March 2006)

AAUW Educational Foundation, Senior Scholar Special Commendation of Honor (2004)

Lecturer, Distinguished Speaker Series, St. Thomas School of Law, Miami, Florida (2003)

New York State Bar Association President’s Pro Bono Attorney Service Award (2002)

Godfrey Distinguished Lecturer, University of Maine Law School (April 2000)

Fellow, American College of Bankruptcy (2000)

The New York Legal Aid Society, Pro Bono Service Award for Consumer Law (1999)

Association of American Publishers, Scholarly Publishing Division, Business and Management Award (1997) (for Failure and Forgiveness)

Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Georgia State College of Law (1995)

American Bankruptcy Law Journal Editor’s Prize (1994) (for “Justice Thurgood Marshall’s Bankruptcy Jurisprudence: A Tribute”)

BOARD AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE SERVICE:

Marlboro College Graduate Center; President’s Advisory Committee (March 2006 – present)

Open Door Family Medical Centers, Ossining, NY, Foundation Board Member (May, 2005 -- present)

American College of Bankruptcy, Member, Endowment Grant Award Committee (2003 – present)

Association of American Law Schools, Chair, Creditors’ and Debtors’ Rights Section (300 members) (2000 - 2001); Member, Planning Committee for Bankruptcy Section Workshop (May 2001); Program Panel Chair, 2004; Section Executive Committee (2003 – 2004)

St. John’s University School of Law, Bankruptcy LL.M. Program, Advisory Board (1999-present)

Bureau of National Affairs Bankruptcy Law Reporter, Advisory Board (1992-present)

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, Advisory Board (1993-2001)

Federal Judicial Center, Project for Consumer Debtors, Advisory Board (1999-present)

Subcommittee on Privacy and Electronic Access to Court Files, Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Judicial Conference of the United States, Consultant (1999-present)

Second Circuit Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness Task Force, Co-Chair, Bankruptcy Advisory Committee on Gender (1994-1996)

American Bankruptcy Institute, Washington, D.C., Board of Directors (1985-1994)

Ninth Circuit Gender Bias Task Force, National Advisor, Bankruptcy (1991-1993)

1125 Park Avenue Corporation, Board of Directors (1984 – 1990)

INVITED TESTIMONY:

Financial Literacy and Education Commission, March 2005 (Topic: Financial Literacy Education and Non-Profit Organizations)

New York City Council, Consumer Affairs Committee, December 2003 (Topic: Holiday Financial Hazards)

United States House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, February 2001 (Topic: Impact of H.R. 333 on Women and Children)

United States House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, March 1999 (Topic: The Effect of H.R. 833 on Women and Children)

United States House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, March 1998 (Topic: Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor Education)

National Bankruptcy Review Commission, August 1997 (Topic: Individual Post-filing Debtor Education)

National Bankruptcy Review Commission, May 1997 (Topic: Evaluation of Consumer Working Proposals)

National Bankruptcy Review Commission, December 1996 (Topic: Debtor Education)

United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts and Administrative Practice, June 1988 (Topic: Bankruptcy Study Results

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Book and Chapters (selected):

Translating the Language of Money: A Guide to Unspoken but Powerful Messages (with Lois Lupica) (in process; anticipated publication date 2007)

Failure And Forgiveness: Rebalancing The Bankruptcy System Yale University Press, 1997 (released in paperback with new preface, March 1999)(Association of American Publishers, Scholarly Publishing Division, Business and Management Award (1997))

Consumer Bankruptcy in Global Perspective (book chapter titled “Establishing Financial Literacy Programmes for Consumer Debtors: Complex Issues on the Platter”) (Hart Publishing 2003)

Collier on Bankruptcy (15^th rev. ed.) (Chapters on pre-bankruptcy counseling, financial management education and involuntary cases) (1996 -- present)

Commentator (selected):

 

Columnist, Westfair Communications Inc. (Westchester County Business Journal and Fairfield County Business Journal); every other week columnist (Money Sense) for businesses on money and finance issues in the workplace; syndication pending (Feb. 2006 -- )(available online at www.westchestercountybusinessjournal.com)

 

Articles: Education/Consumer Finance Related (selected):

Legislative Messaging and Bankruptcy Law (forthcoming U. Pitt. L. Rev., Spring 2006)(with Lois Lupica)

Empty Mandate or Opportunity for Innovation? Pre-Petition Credit Counseling and Post-Petition Financial Management Education, 13 ABI L. Rev. 549 (2005) (with Susan Block-Lieb)

 

Student Indebtedness: What Educational Institutions Can and Should Do About It Leadership Exchange, NASPA (Dec. 2005; available online Spring 2006) (with Richard Keeling)

Multiple-Measure Evaluation of Financial Literacy Teacher Training, 16(2) Financial Counseling and Planning Journal 63 (2005) (with Corinne Baron-Donovan, Richard L. Wiener and Susan Block-Lieb)(currently available online)

Addressing Education’s Many Stakeholders, University Business, Sept. 2005 Issue (with Pamela Godwin)

Saving Small Colleges: Lessons from the Corporate Arena, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 51, Issue 46, Page B12 (July 22, 2005)

Strong Palliative but Not a Panacea: Results of an Experiment Teaching Students about Financial Literacy, 35 Journal of Student Financial Affairs 7 (2005) (with Richard Matasar and Joanne Ingham)

Debtor Education, Financial Literacy and Pending Bankruptcy Legislation, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, Vol. 23, p. 347 (2005) (with Richard L. Wiener, Susan Block-Lieb and Corinne Baron-Donovan)

Unwrapping Assumptions: Applying Social Analytic Jurisprudence to Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Policy, 79 Am. Bank. L.J. 453 (2005) (with Richard Wiener, Susan Block-Lieb and Corinne Donovan)(previous version appearing under the title High and Low SES Debtors: The Uses of Psychological Measures to Determine Differences (available online, Working Paper Series, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies at www.jchs.harvard,edu/babc)

Learning Money’s Language, University Business, March 2005 Issue

Commentary: Give Credit Where Credit is Due – The Use of Credit Scoring, Consumer Finance Law Quarterly, Winter 2005

Financial Literacy Education: Panacea, Palliative or Something Worse, 24 St. Louis Public Int. Law Rev. 307 (2005) (Symposium on Consumer Lending Revolution, 2005)

Process Re-Engineering and Legal Education: An Essay on Daring to Think Differently, 49 NYLS L. Rev. 435 (2005) (Faculty Presentation Day Symposium Issue)

For Student Loan Borrowers: Good Credit Where It’s Due, Chronicle of Higher Education, Volume 51, Issue 15, Page B16 (Dec. 3, 2004)

The Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor Education: An Overview of Its Pilot Project, 21 Emory Bankr. Dev. J. 233 (2004) and appeared in short form in the Proceedings of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Oct. 2003) (with Susan Block-Lieb, Richard L. Wiener, Corinne Donovan and Sean Wright)

Teaching the Law School Curriculum, G. Hess, S. Friedland and S. Sepinuck, eds. (2004) (separate entry titled “Integrating Legal Research Skills into Substantive Courses: Using Commercial Law as an Exemplar) (with Camille Broussard)

Lessons from the Trenches: Debtor Education in Theory and Practice, 7 Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law 503 (2002) (with Susan Block-Lieb and Richard L. Wiener)

Making Sense of Cents: Concrete Ways to Improve Financial Literacy Skills, Consumer Finance Law Quarterly (October 2000)

Debtor Education: Making Sure A Good Idea Does Not Go Awry, Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser (January 2000) (with Susan Block-Lieb)

Techniques For Teaching Law, G. Hess and S. Friedland, eds. (1999) (separate entries on use of visual imagery, "family day," three-sentence summaries and biographical tributes, as well as techniques for teaching writing skills; one entry reprinted in The Law Teacher, Fall 1999)

Introducing a Debtor Education Program into the United States Bankruptcy System: A Roadmap for Change (1997) (submission to the National Bankruptcy Review Commission and reprinted in the Consumer Finance Law Quarterly)

She’s My Lawyer and She’s A Woman, 35 New York Law School Law Review 293 (1991) (Forward to the Symposium: Women in the Lawyering Workplace: Feminist Considerations and Practical Solutions)

Ladies in Red: Learning from America’s First Female Bankrupts, 40 American Journal of Legal History 1 (1996) (with Newman and Campbell)

Law-related articles appear in a wide range of journals including University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, University of Michigan Law Review, American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, American Bankruptcy Law Journal among others.

 

INVITED PRESENTATIONS (selected 2001 – 2007):

Law & Society Association, Consumer Bankruptcy Roundtable, Baltimore, MD; (Topic: Financial Literacy, Credit Counseling and Disclosure: Current Initiatives)(July 2006) (followed by IRC meeting in Berlin, July 2007)

European Credit Research Institute, Consumer Finance Capability Workshop, Brussels, Belgium (Topic: Financial Literacy Initiatives: How do you Make them Work?)(June 2006)

Institute for Financial Services and National Community Reinvestment Coalition, International Conference on Financial Services (Topic: The Strengths and Weaknesses of Financial Literacy Education)(April 2006)

University of Hull, Consumer Law Conference, London, England (Topic: Credit Reporting and Credit Scoring: Risks and Rewards)(April 2006)

University of London, London, England (Topic: The Legal, Social and Public Policy Implications of Overindebtedness)(Feb. 2006)

 

University of British Columbia Law School, Vancouver, Canada (Topic: America's New Bankruptcy Law and a Return to Debtors' Prison)(Jan. 27- 28, 2006)

 

 

American Association of Medical Colleges, San Juan, PR (Topics: Teaching Financial Literacy; Bankruptcy and Medicine)(Jan. 13-14, 2006)

 

University of Coimbra and Consumers Institute, Lisbon and Coimbra, Portugal (Topics: Evaluating Financial Literacy Initiatives; Credit Scoring as a Vehicle for Social Change) (Nov. 2005)

Federal Reserve Bank, Philadelphia, PA (Topics: Establishing Financial Literacy Programs and Strategies for Teaching about Money (Nov. 2005)

National Consumer Law Center Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO (Workshop and Plenary Address: How to Counsel the Overindebted; Why Consumer Advocates Should Learn the Language of Money) (Oct. 2005)

Bear Stearns (London Office), London, England (Topic: America’s New Bankruptcy Law and Its Implications)(Oct. 2005)

American Dental Education Association, Las Vegas, NV (Topics: Dealing with Debt in Dental School; Learning Money Messaging)(Oct. 2005)

Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland (Topic: Designing Financial Literacy Programs; Dealing with Overindebtedness) (Sept. 2005)

National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, Chicago, IL (Topics: Pre-bankruptcy Counseling and Financial Management Instruction) (July 2005)

Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO), ABA, Pittsburgh, PA and Kansas City, MO (Master Teaching; Learning to Learn Law) (June 2005)

Bifrost School of Business, Borgarnes, Iceland (Topic: Women and Money: Why Difference Matters) (May 2005)

DC 37 Law Day (Keynote Speaker), New York, NY (Topic: Economic Rights as Civil Rights) (May 2005)

ABA Bench/Bar Conference, Washington, DC (Topic: Community Interests and Bankruptcy: There is More than Meets the Eye) (March 2005)

Woodstock Institute, Chicago, IL. (Topic: The Psychology of Money and Debt)(March 2005)

St. Louis University School of Law, Conference on the Impact of the Consumer Lending Revolution, St. Louis, MO (Topic: The Role of Financial Literacy Education) (Dec. 2004)

National Consumer Law Center, Boston, MA (Topic: Financial Literacy Education) (Nov. 2004)

WISE, New York, NY (Topic: Teaching Financial Literacy in the NYC Schools: Strategies for Teachers) (Nov. 2003, 2004)

ACORN, CRL, CFA and NCLC, Reforming Policy in the Credit Marketplace Conference, Cleveland, OH (Topic: The Psychology of Money and Debt) (Oct. 2004)

Federal Reserve Bank, New York, NY (Topic: Teaching Financial Literacy to Teenagers) (August, 2003 and 2004)

Courtroom 21 Conference on Privacy and Public Access to Court Records, William and Mary Law School, Williamsburg, VA (Topic: Electronic Court Files and Their Risks – Thinking about Identity) (Feb. 2004)

University of British Columbia, BC, Canada (Keynote Address at Insolvency Conference: Reflecting on Twenty-Five Years under the Code: Lessons Learned for Bankruptcy Practitioners and Scholars) (Feb. 2004)

Association of American Law Schools, Atlanta, GA (Topic: Financial Literacy Education: The Results of an Empirical Study) (Jan. 2004)

Harvard University, Conference: Building Assets, Building Credit, Cambridge, MA (Topic: Financial Literacy and Financial Products: Lessons Learned) (Nov. 2003)

Association of American Law School’s Hiring Conference, Washington, DC (Small Group Leader; Topic: On Becoming a Professor) (Oct. 2003)

American Bankruptcy Institute Conference on the 25^th Anniversary of the Bankruptcy Code, Washington, DC (Topic: The Diminished Role of Secured Creditors) (Oct. 2003)

National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and American Bar Association, San Diego, CA (Topic: Results of a Pilot Debtor Education Program: The Lessons Learned) (Oct. 2003)

Ford Foundation, New York, NY (Topic: Financial Literacy and Disclosure Studies: Ford Foundation, New York, NY (Topic: Financial Literacy and Disclosure Studies: What Have We Learned) (Aug. 2003)

Psychology and Law Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland (Topics: Financial Literacy Education: Complex Issues on the Platter) (July 2003)

Second World Women Lawyers Conference, London, England (Plenary Address: Financial Literacy Programs and Micro-Lending in Developing Nations) (June 2003)

Domestic Violence Conference: Legal Tools for Rebuilding Lives, New York, NY (Topic: Dealing with Credit and Creditors within and outside Bankruptcy) (March 2003)

Access Group, Rancho Mirage, CA (Topic: Introducing a Financial Advocacy Course into the Curriculum) (November 2002)

Consumers’ Institute and the University of Coimbra, Lisbon, Portugal (Topic: Financial Literacy Education: How to Structure and Implement Programs) (June 2002)

Law & Society Association, Annual Meeting, Budapest, Hungary (Topic: Financial Literacy Education: Understanding Theory and Practice) (July 2001)

World Women Lawyers Conference, London, England (Topic: The Impact of Insolvency on Women and Children) (March 2001)

LAW SCHOOL SERVICE

Law school committee work since 1984 has included serving on and chairing the Appointments Committee, serving on and chairing the Faculty Developments Committee (in charge of pedagogy and faculty lunch series), serving on the Tenure Committee, Curriculum Committee, Dean Search Committee, Placement Committee, Planning Committee, Coordinating Committee, Academic Responsibility Committee, Ad Hoc Grant Committee, and Ad Hoc Pedagogy Committee.

 

OTHER

Date of Birth: April 27, 1952

Married to Stephen H. Cooper (law professor; securities law expert; corporate board member); one child (who is age 23 and was formerly a US and internationally ranked alpine ski racer; he graduated from the University of Chicago and currently is in a graduate program at London School of Economics, Fall 2005 -- present)

Foreign languages: Spanish (semi-fluent), French

Commentator on consumer finance and bankruptcy-related issues for media outlets including Today Show, Business Week TV, USA Today, CNN, FNN, RNN, MSNBC, NBC NY, ABC News, PBS, NPR and WBAI; Op-ed submissions: LA Times, Chicago Tribune

Parent Volunteer, Stratton Mountain School, Bondville, Vt. (1999-2001)

Class Coordinator, The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, NY (1997 – 2000)