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Panelist Biography

Meeting Participant Biographies

Last Updated: March 28, 2007

Steven O. App
Steven O. App is the Deputy to the Chairman and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). As a member of the senior FDIC leadership team, he ensures the financial integrity of the insurance fund, is a key advisor to Chairman Sheila Bair, and brings more than 30 years of experience in banking, finance, and insurance to this position.

Prior to joining the FDIC, Mr. App served as the Deputy CFO at both the U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as a Partner at Risk Concepts, Ltd., an international bank consulting firm. He started and spent the first 12 years of his career at the Federal Reserve Board.

Mr. App holds BS and MBA degrees from the University of Maryland, and is a pre-candidate for a Ph.D. in economics at George Mason University. He is also a graduate of the American Bankers Association's Stonier Graduate School of Banking, a Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM), a member of the World Future Society, and a Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).

Mr. App currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife Linda and their two sons.

Steve Bigari
As an eighteen-year McDonald's Operator, social entrepreneur, veteran CEO, author and founder of America's Family, Steve Bigari is nationally known for his cutting-edge innovations. These innovations include; credit card acceptance in fast food and theatres, video technology for drive-thru sequences, a remote call center, the "Made for You" production system, activity-based PlayPlaces and much more.

In 1994 Steve received 2 patents for his work on small ticket credit acceptance. These patents helped start a new industry which grew from nothing to 60 billion in sales last year! His most recent international patent is for the fast food call center featured in Thomas Friedman's, "The World is Flat".

Since founding America's Family in 2002, Steve has brought this industry changing experience to the world of the working poor. He has focused on helping hardworking employees and their families achieve self-sufficiency. This is achieved by crafting breakthrough strategies for the hardworking individuals, which lever the employer as the conduit to transformation. Steve has defined the model to fulfill an overarching goal: to inspire, empower, and transform the lives of hardworking Americans by providing a ladder of resources that will bridge the gap between working and middle class societies.

Steve received the national Theodore E. Small Workforce Partnership Award for enlisting employers and fostering public, private and nonprofit collaborations. He is the only two-time recipient of McDonald's Ronald Award, an honor rewarding lifetime achievement in selfless community service. Steve is the Colorado Springs Business Citizen of the year. In November 2004, he was inducted into the Ashoka International Lifetime Fellowship for his innovative approach and success in helping families become self-sufficient. Steve is currently collaborating with another Ashoka fellow's organization, the Grameen Bank. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace prize in 2006.

He regularly speaks around the country and has become actively involved with the Bankers Association International (BAI) and crafting innovative capitalization strategies for the unbanked and under banked.

Norbert Kaczmarek
Norb is the President/CEO of Erie Federal Credit Union, a $216 million full- service credit union serving 29,000 members in northwestern Pennsylvania. He began his credit union career in 1968 as the part-time manager of the Erie School Employees Federal Credit Union. In September 1986, Norb was appointed full-time CEO of the credit union. In 2003, the credit union received a community charter to serve Erie County Pennsylvania and changed its name to Erie Federal Credit Union.

Since 1996, Norb has served on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association and was elected Chairman of the Board in May, 2005. In addition, he serves as Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Credit Union Service Center Corporation (PaCUSC).

A life long resident of Erie, Norb holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Gannon University in Erie and earned a M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from Edinboro University in Edinboro, PA. He also holds the Certified Credit Union Executive certification.

Laurie S. Kennedy
Laurie Kennedy serves as Associate Counsel for the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association. In this position Ms. Kennedy provides legal counsel to the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association and its affiliates. In addition, she supports the Association's Compliance and Operations area, performs legislative analysis and engages in regulatory advocacy activities.

Before joining PCUA, Ms. Kennedy served as Sr. Vice President and General Counsel to Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services where she provided legal counsel to the organization in connection with mortgage banking operations. From 1993 to 2003 she served as Deputy Chief Counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Banking. Ms. Kennedy has served on a number of task forces and conducted numerous presentations for the Conference of State Banking Supervisors. She has conducted presentations for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on numerous banking law issues. She earned her J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law and a Bachelors Degree from the Pennsylvania State University.

Michael H. Krimminger
Mr. Krimminger is Special Advisor for Policy to the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. He assists in analysis of banking industry innovations and the development of responsive policies on a variety of issues. Mr. Krimminger has been extensively involved in contingency planning for resolutions and receiverships, banking charter and capital issues, international and large bank resolution issues, financial modernization, payment systems, derivative and similar financial contracts and related issues. He has represented the FDIC on several interagency and international working groups to develop improved resolution practices and legislative initiatives to respond to the changing banking environment.

Before working with the FDIC, he practiced banking law and litigation in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Mr. Krimminger is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and received his J.D., with Distinction, from Duke University School of Law, where he served on the Editorial Board of the Duke Law Journal. Mr. Krimminger has spoken at a wide variety of international conferences on banking issues and published a number of analyses of banking and insolvency issues. Recent publications include "Deposit Insurance and Bank Insolvency in a Changing World: Synergies and Challenges," "Adjusting the Rules: What Bankruptcy Reform Will Mean for Financial Market Contracts," "Controlling Moral Hazard in Bank Resolutions: Comparative Policies & Considerations in System Design," and "The Evolution of U.S. Insolvency Law for Financial Market Contracts."

Chris Larsen
For over a decade Chris Larsen has focused on using the Internet to make consumer lending more efficient, fair, honest, open, and trustworthy.

Prior to Prosper, Mr. Larsen co-founded and served as Chairman and CEO of E-LOAN. Under Mr. Larsen's leadership, E-LOAN closed over $27 billion in consumer loans, and was consistently ranked as one of America's most trusted consumer brands. E-LOAN earned consumers' trust by taking radically pro-consumer actions such as being the first company to provide consumers with access to their credit scores, and playing a critical role in the passage of the strongest consumer financial privacy protection law in the nation. Mr. Larsen led E-LOAN through a successful IPO in 1999, and oversaw the company's acquisition by Popular, Inc. in 2005.

Mr. Larsen holds an M.B.A. degree from Stanford University and a B.S. degree from San Francisco State University, where he was named the 2004 Alumnus of the Year.

Robert W. Mooney
Mr. Mooney is Acting Deputy Director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC), Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection. He directs the Compliance and Consumer Protection Branch, which includes, the FDIC's national compliance, CRA, and fair lending policy and bank examination programs; in addition to the national community affairs, consumer affairs, and deposit insurance outreach programs.

He was named Associate Director in 2005, Chief of the CRA and Fair Lending Section in 2002, and Assistant Director in 1999. Other positions with the FDIC included appointment as Senior Fair Lending Specialist in the Washington Office in 1995; Community Affairs Officer for the Chicago Region in 1992; and Managing Agent, in 1989, as chief executive of several FDIC/RTC-supervised thrifts. He has represented the FDIC on several interagency CRA and Compliance initiatives and authored Side by Side, a Guide to Fair Lending.

Prior to joining the FDIC, Mr. Mooney had more than ten years of senior management experience in banking, including Regional Vice President, and Director for Retail Banking of a multi-state financial institution; Director of Mergers and Acquisitions, and Vice President for Employee Relations. Mr. Mooney was active in civic affairs, serving on the board of directors, and as President or Treasurer, of several community development corporations and numerous other civic organizations or committees. The Massachusetts State Senate awarded him its Commendation for his work in community development and equal opportunity.

Michael A. Wishnow
Michael Wishnow is Senior Vice President, Communications & Marketing, for the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association. In that role, Mr. Wishnow oversees the Association's communications function including its daily e-mail news, weekly newsletter, bi-monthly magazine publications and Web site. He is also responsible for directing the Association's marketing efforts for its various products and services to more than 600 Pennsylvania credit unions, as well as for directing the Association's public relations programs. Mr. Wishnow serves as the Association's liaison to the Pennsylvania Credit Union Foundation, the charitable arm of Pennsylvania's credit union movement.

Prior to joining the Association, Mr. Wishnow served as the Press Secretary and Manager of Information and Consumer Services for the Pennsylvania Department of Banking for fifteen years, serving under four governors and seven Secretaries of Banking. Mr. Wishnow received his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and political science from the University of Pittsburgh and his Masters degree in public administration from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.

He has also served as the President of the Pennsylvania Jump$tart Coalition for Youth Financial Literacy, on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, and as a member of Governor Ed Rendell's Task Force for Working Families. He has served on the drafting committee for the Pennsylvania Comprehensive Affordability Strategy and on the Ford Motor Company's Philadelphia Dispute Resolution Board. Mr. Wishnow coaches youth soccer, basketball, and baseball, and is involved in various other civic and religious organizations. He lives in Harrisburg with his wife, Julie, and two children, David and Jonathan.