April Kuehnhoff is a senior attorney in the National Consumer Law Center’s Boston office, where she advocates for fair debt collection. She is the co-author of NCLC’s Fair Debt Collection and a contributing author to Surviving Debt. Prior to joining NCLC, Ms. Kuehnhoff was an associate at Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP, a law clerk for the Honorable Justice Gary Katzmann at the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and a Skirnick Public Interest Fellow at the Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services office of Greater Boston Legal Services. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Law School.

April Kuehnhoff is a senior attorney in the National Consumer Law Center’s Boston office, where she advocates for fair debt collection. She is the co-author of NCLC’s Fair Debt Collection and a contributing author to Surviving Debt. Prior to joining NCLC, Ms. Kuehnhoff was an associate at Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP, a law clerk for the Honorable Justice Gary Katzmann at the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and a Skirnick Public Interest Fellow at the Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services office of Greater Boston Legal Services. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Law School.

Dick Rubin, Of Counsel to Gupta Wessler PLLC, is a nationally preeminent consumer law expert and appellate advocate whose string of victories in the federal courts of appeals has helped set the contours of current federal consumer protection law, particularly with respect to debt collection practices and credit reporting. Dick is a founding member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and is now its Chair Emeritus after serving as Chair for many years. He regularly presents continuing legal education and training programs throughout the country. Dick has taught consumer law at the University Of New Mexico School of Law and is a Contributing Author of the National Consumer Law Center Fair Debt Collection and Fair Credit Reporting legal treatises, two of the widely praised sixteen-volume Consumer Credit and Sales Legal Practice Series that the American Bar Journal review described as “a monumental undertaking comparable to but more practical than the Restatement of Laws.” In 2000 Dick was the recipient of the Vern Countryman Award — the nation’s highest honor for special contributions to the field of consumer law — and was named in 2006 to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America. He is frequently quoted on consumer law issues in the press, ranging from legal specialty publications such as the National Law Journal and general circulation publications such as Smart Money and the New York Times. Dick has practiced law in Santa Fe, New Mexico for forty-eight years, concentrating on consumer protection law. He spent the first five years of his career as a legal services attorney and as its state-wide consumer law trainer. He served a stint as the General Counsel of New Mexico’s Department of Human Services as an appointee of Democratic Governor Toney Anaya and then spent several years as a consumer law practitioner in Santa Fe. For the past twenty-eight years, Dick has limited his practice to handling federal appeals arising under federal consumer protection statutes. During this period of concentration on appellate advocacy, Dick has appeared before the court of appeals for almost every federal circuit.

Barry S. Balmuth was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in cases that resulted in the largest recovery in an inverse condemnation action in Florida ($42 million after a successful liability trial) and the third-largest individual verdict under the FCRA ($3.55 million). He is board certified by the Florida Bar in both civil trial law and business litigation. He obtained JD and MBA degrees from Emory University in 1990. He focuses his practice on property rights, consumer rights, and other civil litigation.

Justin Baxter is an AV rated trial lawyer with Baxter & Baxter, LLP, in Portland. He received an $18.5 million verdict against Equifax, a $200,000 verdict against Equifax, a $95,000 verdict against TRS Home Furnishings under the Oregon Unlawful Debt Collection Practices Act, and a $100,000 verdict against a debt buyer and collection law firm under the FDCPA.

Anthony Chester was born just outside of Washington D.C., moved around a bit as a kid, and then spent most of his early life in Michigan. Anthony went to college at Michigan State University and received two bachelor’s degrees: one in political theory and constitutional democracy, and the other in philosophy. After college, Anthony attended Michigan State University College of Law and graduated with his J.D. in 2013. Anthony moved to Minnesota in 2014 and began practicing consumer law in 2015 when he opened a Minneapolis branch of a firm based out of California. In October 2022, Anthony opened his own firm, Chester Law.

Getting her start in the trenches as a legal aid attorney, Erika Heath has years of experience in seeking justice for employees and consumers against unfair practices. She has fought off debt collectors, obtained justice for wrongfully terminated employees, and untangled thorny credit reporting issues. She has a J.D. from Northeastern University.

SaraEllen Hutchison is a consumer rights trial lawyer and a NACA member since 2011. She stands up for the rights of individuals who are victims of false credit reporting or otherwise have significant emotional and economic injuries, resulting in significant relief to her clients and the clients of her colleagues and collaborators. SaraEllen's unique approach to litigation and trial brings the emotional stories of her clients to life. Her most notable cases include Sedric Ward v. Shelby County, Western District of Tennessee Case No. 2:20-cv-2407-JPM-cgc and Brandt v. Columbia Credit Servs.,Western District of Washington Case No. 2:17-cv-703-RSM. SaraEllen is licensed in Washington State and Alaska. She is a December 2004 graduate of Georgia State University College of Law. Law Office of SaraEllen Hutchison, PLLC is her solo firm based in Tacoma, Washington. When SaraEllen is not practicing law, she's singing and songwriting with her band, Plaid Lion, and at local jazz jams. You can find her at lifecoachlawsuit.com and saraellenhutchison.com.

Kristi C. Kelly specializes in assisting consumers with credit reporting and employment background check mistakes, mortgage servicing errors, and predatory lending. She has successfully litigated hundreds of individual and class action cases in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. Prior to starting Kelly Guzzo, PLC, Kristi was a shareholder at Surovell Isaacs Petersen & Levy and worked for legal aid. She is a board member of the Legal Aid Justice Center, Virginia Poverty Law Center. She is also on the Partner’s Council of NCLC.

Alexis Lehmann was an attorney at Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C., who represented individual consumers’ rights under the FCRA and the FDCPA. Alexis is also an active member on the Executive Board for the Justice Rising Advocates. Prior to joining the firm, Alexis worked as a civil litigator for local and state law enforcement officers handling cases under Title VII, The Americans With Disabilities Act, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the First Amendment Free Speech and Petition clause.

Matthew Loker is the founder of Loker Law, APC and is Professor of Contracts at the San Luis Obispo College of Law. Prior to moving to California, Matthew attended the University of Toledo in Ohio where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Social Thought with a concentration in Spanish. Immediately after obtaining his undergraduate degree, Matthew went to law school at California Western School of Law. While there, Matthew served as the President of the Entertainment & Sports Law Society as well as Vice President of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Society. In practice, 100% of the cases handled by Loker Law, APC are consumer related. Said cases range from defending consumers that have been sued by creditors or debt collectors to large Multi-District Class Actions. Specifically, a majority of Matthew’s practice focuses on the FDCPA, the FCRA, the TCPA, California’s Identity Theft Act, and false advertising claims.

Tony Love founded Love Consumer Law (LCL) to provide Georgia consumers with the legal protection and representation they are entitled to and deserve. He has over 28 years of litigation experience in state and federal courts throughout the United States. He represented one of the country’s largest consumer reporting agencies in several thousand Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) cases over twenty years. He was a member of the trial practice groups of several major law firms, including over fourteen years with King & Spalding. Tony has represented clients in FCRA and personal injury jury trials through verdict. In addition to his decades-long experience in the credit reporting field, Tony has also handled personal injury cases for both plaintiffs and defendants and served as in-house counsel for a mortgage servicing company. Tony received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his law degree from Georgia State College of Law.

Casey S. Nash has represented consumers for her entire 10-year legal career. She has litigated a variety of issues, including credit reporting errors, inaccurate background reports, illegal debt collection, mortgage servicing errors and payday loans in more than 450 federal cases. While she practices mostly in Virginia and Washington, D.C., Casey has a national practice and has represented consumers in Maryland, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. She litigates both individual and class action cases, and her exceptional performance in many complex consumer lawsuits has earned her numerous “Rising Star” and “Super Lawyer” recognitions from Super Lawyers in both Virginia and Washington, D.C. She contributed to the 10th edition of NCLC’s Consumer Class Action Treatise, and she serves on the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Advisory Committee.

Jed Nolan has devoted his career to protecting West Virginia consumers from predatory lenders and unfair debt collectors. He worked in non-profit organizations focused on protecting the vulnerable at Legal Aid of West Virginia and Mountain State Justice. Jed also worked at a private firm where he advocated consumer rights against aggressive debt collectors and unfair credit reporting practices.

Craig Rothburd has practiced law for twenty-four years with a focus on class actions, consumer law, complex business, and commercial and health care law and litigation. He is AVä Martindale-Hubbell rated and was recently awarded the Consumer Protection Lawyer of the Year for 2017 by the Florida Bar. Since 2000, Craig has been involved in numerous consumer-based cases and devoted a considerable amount of his practice on consumer law and litigation, with a special focus on class action litigation, including mortgage loan servicing, truth in lending, insurance, deceptive practices, and consumer statutory violations. He is presently the chairperson of the Florida Bar’s Consumer Protection Law Committee, a member of the National Associate of Consumer Advocates (serving as its membership committee co-chair), a strong supporter of and advocate for legal services (serving as a volunteer pro bono attorney), and has served on the Board of Directors of Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., as well as serving on its Development Council.  He graduated with honors from the University of Florida (UF), College of Law, and receiving his Bachelors of Science from UF.

Robert S. Sola is the founding member of Robert S. Sola, P.C., a consumer law firm based in Portland, Oregon. He has been handling FCRA cases since 1996. He represents consumers across the country and has litigated FCRA cases in states as co-counsel with many NACA members. Mr. Sola has obtained jury verdicts against all three major credit reporting agencies. In 2002, he was lead counsel in Thomas v. Trans Union, where the jury awarded the consumer $5.3 million. In 2007, he was co-counsel in Williams v. Equifax, which resulted in a judgment of $3.4 million. Mr. Sola was named Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2003 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

Subhan Tariq regularly handles complex commercial litigation, with particular experience in consumer finance litigation in individual and class action cases in the areas of federal and state consumer protection laws. Mr. Tariq has successfully helped thousands of consumers exercise their consumer rights against large institutional banks, debt collectors, and consumer reporting agencies. Subhan also consults with other lawyers and law firms on blockchain automation, working towards a streamlined efficient network of client files, document automation, and cost-effective workflows.

Stephanie Tatar has been a consumer advocate since graduating cum laude from DePaul University, College of Law. Prior to founding The Tatar Law Firm, Ms. Tatar gained extensive litigation and appellate experience with firms in Chicago and Los Angeles. During her career, she has successfully fought debt collectors, credit reporting agencies, creditors, manufacturers, and car dealers.

Adam Thoresen is a senior staff attorney with the public interest law firm, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. He has worked at JALA for over ten years, and his practice is currently focused on FCRA litigation related to landlord/tenant debts and other inaccuracies in tenant screening reports. Adam has litigated cases with all of the Big Three Consumer Reporting Agencies as well as specialty debt collectors whose focus is the collection of residential landlord/tenant debts. Adam handles cases on an individual and class basis under the FCRA, FDCPA, FCCPA, and other consumer protection statutes.

Ronald Wilcox has been a consumer protection attorney since 1995, with an office in San Jose. Ron is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College and has tried consumer protection cases in federal and state court, as well as JAMS and AAA. He is a member of the CAOC, CAALA, and NACBA. He has presented webinars and spoken at national conferences on consumer law and arbitration. He was awarded Santa Clara University’s Community Law Center’s Community Service Award. Ron is the author of “Conducting Individual Arbitrations” in NCLC's Consumer Arbitration Agreements.

Rob Treinen has practiced consumer protection law almost exclusively since 1999 when he graduated from University of Minnesota Law School and took his first job at Legal Aid in Gallup, New Mexico.  For the past 13 years, he has run Treinen Law Office in Albuquerque where he is the sole attorney but blessed with a great staff.  He has presented at CLEs across the country on consumer law topics.  In 2016, he graduated from the Trial Lawyers College.  He loves his wife and kid, loves to travel, and still loves his job.  Solar fraud cases are his newest passion, making up about half of his cases for the past few years. 

John N. Ellem received his law degree from the WVU College of Law in 1992.  He opened Ellem Law Office, PLLC in July 2000, where his focus is on consumer protection law in WV and OH including lemon law, debt collection abuse, FCRA violations and now solar panel fraud.  He is also involved in human rights work as President of Human Rights for Kids. Mr. Ellem had the privilege of serving 14 years as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Along with his wife and daughter, he enjoys traveling, hiking, and fly-fishing.  He has an active yoga practice and is a registered yoga teacher (RYT 500) through Yoga Alliance and currently teaches yoga at his local YMCA, and at Snowshoe Resort.

Berneta L. Haynes is a senior attorney who focuses on consumer energy policy and medical debt. At NCLC, she recently authored Protecting Older Adults from Surprise Medical Bills. She is also a contributing author to the medical debt chapter of NCLC’s Collection Actions practice manual. Before joining NCLC, she served as a director at Georgia Watch, a state-based consumer advocacy organization in Atlanta, where she worked to make energy programs, quality healthcare, financial protection, and civil justice more equitable and accessible for all. At Georgia Watch, she led coalitions, facilitated forums, steered the passage of crucial medical billing legislation, and authored consumer-facing educational materials (such as the Georgia Consumer Guide for Medical Bills and Debt) and policy guides on energy equity, financial protection, and healthcare billing. Previously, she practiced law at the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago and Southern Environmental Law Center. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English, Writing, and Psychology from Drury University, her Master’s degree in English from University of Iowa, and her law degree from University of Iowa College of Law. 

Following fifteen years of retail auto industry experience, John Hendrickson found himself displaced in 2008 and began representing consumers in lemon law and dealer fraud disputes in California. Here most of the contracts have arbitration clauses, but he has found that dealerships do not actually like arbitration when used against them.

Tashia Zeigler practices in Georgia.  She worked for over a decade as a public interest lawyer in State government and now practices with The Zeigler Firm in Atlanta, Georgia.

Kristen Messina Evans is the Senior Program Manager for Complaint Policy at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In this role, Kristen leads the Office of Consumer Response’s strategy with complaint process stakeholders and ensures user research is incorporated into the Bureau’s work. Kristen joined the Bureau in 2012 as a subject-matter expert in higher education policy and student loan servicing. Since then, she has led a broad range of work, including developing public tools and educational resources, advising on Bureau policy initiatives, liaising with Congress, responding to audit inquiries, and publishing research reports. Most recently, Kristen served as the Section Chief for Students and Young Consumers where she led work on emerging policy issues and the delivery of financial education for students, young adults, and their families. In this role, she received the Director’s Mission Achievement Award for leadership. Prior to joining the Bureau, Kristen worked for a law firm specializing in postsecondary education.  Kristen is a graduate of American University Washington College of Law and is admitted to practice law in Maryland. Kristen holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. Kristen lives in Arlington, VA with her husband, Greg, and spoiled dog, Snoopy.

Jason Musone currently serves as Stakeholder Engagement Manager in the Office of Consumer Response. Jason joined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in October 2012 and has served in several capacities, including leading large organizational change management efforts, supporting the migration of the CFPB’s consumer complaint system, and transitioning staff of more than 1,500 employees to a future state work posture. Prior to joining the CFPB, Jason worked at Citigroup for more than 10 years in its compliance and audit functions.

Rebecca Smolar is the Associate Director of Education at NACA. She is responsible for partnering with NACA members to develop and strengthen NACA’s education and training offerings and to ensure that members are kept abreast of trends in the field. Before joining NACA, she created continuing education programs for high school teachers and college professors through the State University of New York and Washington-DC area think tanks. She started her career as an Officer of Public Affairs at the Embassy of Israel where she gave hundreds of speeches about Israel and U.S.-Israel relations. Ms. Smolar received a M.A. in International Communications from American University and her B.S. in Psychobiology from SUNY Binghamton.