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FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras today announced several appointments during 2006 that strengthened the agency’s commitment to enforce consumer protection laws.

Mary Beth Richards joined Eileen Harrington as a Deputy Director in the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP). Richards previously held several positions during her 23 years at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including Deputy Bureau Chief and Chief of Staff in the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Deputy Chief in the Enforcement Bureau, Special Counsel to the Chairman, and Deputy Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau. She has received numerous honors for outstanding service, including the FCC’s Award for Distinguished Service (Gold Medal) and the Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Service, and was named as a Presidential Meritorious Executive in 1995.

Also in the Office of the Director, Maneesha Mithal was appointed Chief of Staff of the Bureau, having served as an Assistant Director of the Bureau’s International Division, and as Acting Associate Director of the International Division. Mithal was an associate at Covington & Burling before joining the FTC in 1999.

Frank Gorman was appointed Assistant Director, responsible for the consumer protection functions of the FTC’s regional offices. He was formerly an Assistant to the Director, an attorney with Bryan Cave, and a staff attorney in the Division of Marketing Practices.

The Bureau created a new title for attorneys who work in the Bureau Director’s office, that of Counsel to the Director. The Counsels are Marc Groman, Karen Leonard, Bethany Matz, Michael Ostheimer, and Brad Winter. Groman also serves as the FTC’s Chief Privacy Officer, coordinating efforts to implement, maintain, and review policies and procedures for safeguarding all sensitive information maintained by the agency.

In addition, during 2006 the Bureau of Consumer Protection implemented a major realignment of resources. As part of this realignment, BCP established a Division of Privacy and Identity Protection to address privacy, data security, and identity theft while also handling most matters involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. This reorganization created a new Division of Financial Practices to focus entirely on protecting consumers in their dealings with the financial services industry, addressing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Consumer Leasing Act, the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Equal

Credit Opportunity Act, Regulation E, the Credit Repair Organization Act, and the application of Section 5 of the FTC Act to consumer financial services. BCP’s realignment also has allowed the Division of Planning and Information to concentrate on consumer service; data collection, reporting, and analysis; technology support for Internet-related investigations and litigation; providing bankruptcy and accounting expertise; and coordinating BCP’s budget work.

Following the realignment, the Bureau created several new management teams.

In the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection:

  • Joel Winston was appointed Associate Director. He was formerly Associate Director of the Division of Financial Practices. Winston has been with the FTC for 30 years.

  • Betsy Broder became an Assistant Director, having served as an Assistant Director of the Division of Planning and Information. She joined the agency as a staff attorney in 1989.

  • Rebecca Kuehn joined the agency as an Assistant Director. She was formerly a partner at LeClair Ryan, where she specialized in Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation.

  • Jessica Rich was appointed an Assistant Director, having served as an Assistant Director in the Division of Financial Practices. Ms Rich joined the agency in 1991.

In the Division of Financial Practices:

  • Peggy Twohig was appointed Associate Director, having served as Assistant Director. Before joining the FTC in 1992, she handled civil litigation matters for Arnold & Porter.

  • Alice Hrdy became an Assistant Director. She was formerly an advisor to the Chairman and to the Bureau Director, having been a staff attorney in the former Division of Service Industry Practices. Hrdy joined the agency in 1994.

  • James Reilly Dolan became an Assistant Director. He was formerly an Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement. Dolan has been with the FTC for 15 years.

In the Division of Planning and Information:

  • David Torok was appointed as Associate Director. He had been an Assistant Director in the Division of Marketing Practices, project manager for the National Do Not Call Registry and the Consumer Sentinel, and legal advisor to the Bureau Director. Torok joined the agency in 1989.

  • Kathy French became an Assistant Director. She was formerly a program manager of the Consumer Response Center. French began her FTC career in the Los Angeles regional office and transferred to the Division of Marketing Practices in Washington in 1993.

  • David Robbins was appointed Assistant Director, having served as an attorney and program manager for the National Do Not Call Registry. He joined the agency in 2004.

  • Beth Wiggins became Assistant Director, having served as the Bureau's financial manager. Wiggins joined the FTC in 2002.

In other divisions:

  • Lois Greisman became Associate Director of the Division of Marketing Practices. She was formerly Associate Director of the Division of Planning, where she oversaw the launch of the National Do Not Call Registry and headed the identity theft program. Ms. Greisman joined the FTC in 1991.

  • Elizabeth Hone was appointed Assistant Director in the Division of Marketing Practices, having been an acting assistant director in Marketing Practices, and in the Division of Enforcement. Hone joined the Commission nine years ago after working at Davis Polk & Wardell in New York.

  • Rob Kaye was appointed Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement. He was formerly a staff attorney in the Division of Marketing Practices. Kaye joined the Commission in 2001.

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