53rd Annual Consumer Assembly
Each year, Consumer Federation of America’s Consumer Assembly serves as the consumer movement’s principal meeting where issues are debated and new initiatives are presented.
8:25 AM
Welcome & Introduction
Jack Gillis, Executive Director
Consumer Federation of America
8:30 AM
Keynote
Speaker
Representative Jackie Speier
United States House of Representatives
9:00 AM
Keynote: Throwing the Book at Corporate America: New Uses for my Scholarship
Introduction
Chris Peterson, Director of Financial Services and Senior Fellow
Consumer Federation of America
Speaker
Representative Katie Porter
United States House of Representatives
View Rep. Porter questions CFPB Director on what an APR is video
View Rep. Katie Porter asks Equifax CEO to release his Social Security number video
9:30 AM
What the Political Landscape Means for Consumers
Introduction
Barbara Roper, Director of Investor Protection
Consumer Federation of America
Panelists
Rich Galen, Columnist & Republican Strategist
Mullings
Mike McCurry, Distinguished Professor of Public Theology
Wesley Theological Seminary
Of Counsel, Public Strategies Washington, Inc.
10:30 AM
Are We Ready for Artificial Intelligence?
Moderator
Larry Medsker, Research Professor, Human-Technology Collaboration Program
The George Washington University
Panelists
Pam Dixon, Executive Director
World Privacy Forum
Michael Garris, Senior Scientist, Chair NIST AI Community of Interest
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Lorraine Kisselburgh, CERIAS Fellow
Purdue University
Francella Ochillo, Vice President of Policy & General Counsel
National Hispanic Media Coalition
Frank Torres, Director of Consumer Affairs
Microsoft
11:30 AM
Is the Price Right?
Moderator
Susan Grant, Director of Consumer Protection and Privacy
Consumer Federation of America
Panelists
Tamala T. Boyd, General Counsel
N.Y.C. Department of Consumer Affairs
John Breyault, Vice President, Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud
National Consumers League
Edgar Dworsky, Founder
Consumer World
View Handout
Anna Laitin, Director, Financial Policy
Consumer Reports
11:30 AM
Real Estate Agents: Ensuring Consumer Access to Information About Representation, Quality, and Price
Moderator
Steve Brobeck, Senior Fellow
Consumer Federation of America
Panelists
TG Gallaudet, Senior Director of Broker Relations
Zillow
Ralph Holmen, former Associate General Counsel
National Association of Realtors®
Joshua Hunt, Founder
Trelora
11:30 AM
Collecting Debts in the Digital Era: Old Problems and New Technology
Moderator
Chris Peterson, Director of Financial Services and Senior Fellow
Consumer Federation of America
Panelists
Carolyn E. Coffey, Director of Litigation for Economic Justice
Mobilization for Justice
Peter Downing, Assistant Attorney General
Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
April Kuehnhoff, Staff Attorney
National Consumer Law Center
1:30 PM
A Conversation with Leading Consumer Reporters
Introduction
Jack Gillis, Executive Director
Consumer Federation of America
Speakers
Susan Hogan, Consumer Reporter
NBC4 Washington
Herb Weisbaum, Consumer Reporter
NBC News
2:00 PM
Protecting Safety in the Internet of Things
Moderator
Rachel Weintraub, Legislative Director and General Counsel
Consumer Federation of America
Panelists
Randy Cooper, Vice President, Technical Operations & Standards
Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)
Dr. Andrea M. Matwyshyn, Professor of Law/Professor of Computer Science
Co-director, Center for Law, Innovation, and Creativity (CLIC)
Northeastern University
Ari Schwartz, Managing Director of Cybersecurity Services
Venable, LLP
2:00 PM
The Challenge of the Credit Invisibles
Moderator
Chris Peterson, Director of Financial Services and Senior Fellow
Consumer Federation of America
Panelists
Joanne Gaskin, Vice President, Scores and Analytics
FICO
Alanna McCargo, Vice President, Housing Finance Policy
The Urban Institute
Lisa Rice, President and CEO
National Fair Housing Alliance
Emre Sahingur, SVP, Predictive Analytics, Research and Product Management
VantageScore Solutions LLC
2:00 PM
Reining in Excessive Prescription Drug Prices
Moderator
Justin Mendoza, State Partnerships Manager
Families USA
Panelists
David Balto, Attorney
David A. Balto Law Offices
Lisa Gill, Health & Medicine Investigative Reporter
Consumer Reports
Dr. Jack Hoadley, Health Policy Analyst and Political Scientist
Georgetown University, Health Policy Institute
Catherine Kirk Robins, Deputy Director
Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative
3:30 PM
Navigating a Post-Factual World
Moderator
Sudeep Reddy, Managing Editor
Politico
Panelists
Ceren Budak, Assistant Professor of Information, School of Information, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering
University of Michigan
Lee Rainie, Director, Internet and Technology Research
Pew Research Center
Tom Rosenstiel, Executive Director
American Press Institute
Katie Sanders, Managing Editor
PolitiFact
4:30 PM
Keynote: The Principles of Successful Advocacy
Introduction
Jack Gillis, Executive Director
Consumer Federation of America
Panelists
Joan Claybrook, President Emeritus, Public Citizen
Former Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
8:00 AM
Breakfast Dialogue: A Tale of Two Food Economies
Moderator
Thomas Gremillion, Director of Food Policy
Consumer Federation of America
Panelists
LaQuita Honeysucker, Legislative Director
United Food and Commercial Workers Association International Union
Julia McCarthy, Senior Policy Associate
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Doug O’Brien, President and CEO
National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International
Ellen Teller, Director of Government Affairs
Food Research & Action Center
9:00 AM
Keynote
Introduction
Micah Hauptman, Financial Services Counsel
Consumer Federation of America
Speaker
Simon Johnson, Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship, Head, Global Economics and Management Group & Chair of the Sloan Fellows MBA Program Committee
MIT Sloan School of Management
9:30 AM
Has Corporate Concentration Undermined a Fair Marketplace?
Panelists
Mark Cooper, Director of Research
Consumer Federation of America
Charlotte Slaiman, Policy Counsel
Public Knowledge
George Slover, Senior Policy Counsel
Consumer Reports
Sandeep Vaheesan, Legal Director
Open Markets Institute
10:30 AM
Autonomous Vehicles: Are They Road Worthy or Road Hazards?
Moderator
David Friedman, Vice President, Advocacy
Consumer Reports
Panelists
Hilary Cain, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy
Toyota
Miriam Chaum, Head of Public Policy, Self-Driving Cars
Uber
Jackie Gillan, President Emeritus
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
Jason Levine, Executive Director
Center for Auto Safety
Andy York, Executive Director, Federal Affairs
General Motors Corporation
11:30 AM
Keynote
Introduction
Rachel Weintraub, Legislative Director and General Counsel
Consumer Federation of America
Speaker
Norm Ornstein, Resident Scholar and Author
American Enterprise Institute
Co-Author, One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported