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Panelist Biography

Guest Speaker Biographies - Cassandra McConnell

Last Updated: March 12, 2010

Cassandra McConnell joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in January 2010 as the Associate Director of the Community Affairs Branch of the Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection.  The FDIC’s Community Affairs program promotes compliance with the spirit and letter of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA).  At the FDIC, Ms. McConnell oversees and directs the FDIC’s national community reinvestment, community and economic development, financial literacy and outreach programs.  She is responsible for developing nationwide external partnerships, products and marketing strategies for banks to reach underserved communities. 

Prior to joining FDIC, Ms. McConnell worked at the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) as Director for Consumer and Community Affairs.  She directed and managed the consumer and community affairs programs for OTS.  She led policy initiatives involving consumer complaints including procedures for resolving consumer complaints involving federal savings associations.  She also promoted community development activities, managed the OTS Minority Depository Institutions program and oversaw the development of OTS publications and information featuring various topics including financial literacy, community development and related issues.

Ms. McConnell also worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland where she focused on a broad range of community development policy issues including community reinvestment, brownfield redevelopment, vacant and abandon property reclamation and financial education to ensure access to credit and capital to low and moderate income communities. Prior to her work at the Federal Reserve Bank, she held many leadership positions in not for profit organizations.

Ms. McConnell is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, earned her Juris Doctor from Cleveland Marshall Collage of Law, Master of Public Administration from Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and her Bachelor of Science from Cleveland State University.