More Events

OECD Financial Education:
Helping Households Shoulder Financial Responsibility

Presentation
Ambassador Christopher F. Egan
US Mission to the OECD

Carolyn Ervin
OECD Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs

Discussant
Jason Alderman
Director of Financial Education at Visa

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
210 Cannon House Office Building
Washington DC, 20515
9:00-10:00 AM Presentation, 8:30 AM Registration

While the series is free of charge, space is limited. 
We ask you to please register by Tuesday, May 6.

Event Description:

The current financial crisis highlights the importance of increasing the financial literacy of American consumers.  The U.S. financial services sector has been key to the strong growth of the U.S. economy, but as financial products such as mortgages, annuities and credit and debit cards get more sophisticated it is increasingly difficult for many consumers to understand and appreciate the risks and benefits they provide. 

The OECD has established a Financial Education Project to describe, analyze and assess the effectiveness of programs to improve financial literacy.  This project is designed to help policymakers in the U.S. and other countries to identify individuals who are most in need of financial education and the best ways to improve that education. 

Ambassador Egan will discuss the current status of financial education in the United States and the importance of financial literacy.  Carolyn Ervin will discuss the OECD initiatives with regard to financial literacy, and Jason Alderman will speak about the financial service industry's role and responsibilities in helping consumers manage their money wisely. Visa has conducted a study that measures the behavioral impact that financial literacy has on consumers and will share the results of that research.

Biographies:

Ambassador Christopher F. Egan was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as United States Permanent Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France and was confirmed by the Senate on October 26, 2007.
From 1993 to 2007, Ambassador Egan was President and a founding member of Carruth Capital, LLC, which is one of New England's top 10 commercial real estate investment and development firms. Mr. Egan is a past trustee of University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care, the largest hospital and health care provider in Central Massachusetts. An active member and public figure in his local community, Ambassador Egan has been a television commentator for numerous networks, as well as an op-ed contributor and a documentarian. He has also served as a member of the Central Massachusetts Regional Competitiveness Council, a director of the Corridor Nine Chamber of Commerce, and a founder and board member of the Arc of Innovation/I-495 Initiative. Mr. Egan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Masters degree in Public Administration, with a concentration in leadership, from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Carolyn Ervin is OECD Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs.   During over twenty years at the OECD, Ms Ervin held posts in several areas.  She was Director of the Secretary-General’s Office from 2000 to 2005.  As Counselor in DAF in the 1990s she led the project to negotiate the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and was a main drafter of the OECD Jobs Study.   During the 1980s and 1990s she handled program and budget issues in the Secretary-General’s office, and helped to set up the Centre for Co-operation with the Economies in Transition. Prior to joining the OECD Ms Ervin spent six years in the United States diplomatic service.

Jason Alderman is the Director of Financial Education for Visa. He runs the company’s financial education programs, which includes the award-winning Practical Money Skills for Life and What’s My Score? initiatives. As part of his work at Visa, Mr. Alderman writes a weekly personal finance column that is carried in 350 community newspapers nationwide.

More Events