American Fair Credit Council


	Helping America, One Consumer at a Time.




		The American Fair Credit Council Executive Board It takes special people to care as much as our Executive Board members do. They take pride in their work and have years of industry experience helping consumers and similar businesses. Here is the current member list for the executive board of AFCC.


	Robby H. Birnbaum • AFCC President & Partner at the law firm of Greenspoon Marder

Robby H. Birnbaum serves as AFCC President and is a partner at the law firm of Greenspoon Marder in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is the nation's leading legal expert on debt settlement companies. Mr. Birnbaum's practice focuses on regulatory compliance and lawful operation of debt settlement companies. He has extensive experience representing all types and sizes of settlement businesses in front of states attorneys' general, state banking and credit regulators, and federal agencies. He has earned the trust and respect of these regulators and his clients through tireless, honest and aggressive work efforts.

Mr. Birnbaum focuses on proactive consumer protection and assists companies at delivering high quality settlement services while at all times remaining defensible and profitable. Mr. Birnbaum has arranged and lead amicable and productive meetings of AFCC representatives and clients in front of dozens of the country's foremost industry regulators. Mr. Birnbaum earned both his Bachelor's and Law degrees from the University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the Florida and Wisconsin Bar Associations, and is active in various industry and legal associations.


	Bob Linderman • AFCC Vice President & Legal, transactional and regulatory expert

Bob Linderman serves as the Vice President of AFCC and has almost 30 years of sophisticated legal, transactional and regulatory experience with a cross-section of businesses ranging from venture-backed startups to public companies, as well as extensive work with consumer, commercial and investment banks, funds and brokers. Bob was one of the earliest senior executives at NextCard, a pioneering Internet consumer credit card company/special-purpose bank, and has served as General Counsel to a wide range of financial services businesses.

For the past 10 years, Bob has specialized in the legal and business issues that occur at the intersection of media, regulatory and consumer finance activity. Bob earned both his Bachelor's and Law degrees from Boston University, cum laude with distinction. He is a member of both the California and Massachusetts Bar Associations and is an active participant in several professional organizations.


	Wesley K. Young • Legislative Director

Wesley K. Young is General Counsel of Century Negotiations, Inc. and sits on the Executive Board of AFCC (American Fair Credit Council) where he serves as Legislative Director and plans, drafts, lobbies and testifies for legislation favorable to the industry. Previously he was a Senior Associate with Baron & Budd, P.C. in its asbestos litigation group. Wesley received the 2008 Outstanding Minority Attorney Award from the Dallas Bar Association and was named by D Magazine in its list of Best Lawyers Under 40 in 2006. He is the Secretary/Treasurer for the 2010 Dallas Bar Association Board of Directors.

He also served as President of the Dallas Asian American Bar Association in 2008 and as a Director on the Board of the Dallas Bar Association from 2007-2008. Wesley was a member of Panel B2 of the District 6A Grievance Committee of the State Bar of Texas from 2001-2007 and became chair during his last two years of service. He is a past-Chair of the Asian Pacific Interest Section of the State Bar of Texas. He was co recipient of the Outstanding Committee Chair Award for his work with the Minority Participation Committee of the Dallas Bar Association and served as Co-Chair of the national finals competition of the Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition in 2004.

He is admitted to practice law by the State Bar of Texas and is a member of the Dallas Bar Association and Christian Trial Lawyers Association and a fellow of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers. Wesley received his B.B.A., cum laude, from Baylor University in 1992 and his J.D. from Baylor Law School in 1995.


	Andrew Housser • Co-founder and Co-CEO of Freedom Financial Network, LLC

Andrew Housser co-founded Freedom Financial Network (FFN) in 2002. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, FFN provides comprehensive consumer finance resolution services through four divisions: Bills.com, Freedom Debt Relief, Freedom Tax Relief and Golden Road Financial. FFN also operates offices in Sacramento and Tempe, Ariz. With more than 500 employees, FFN was voted one of the best places to work in the San Francisco Bay area in 2008 and 2009, and in the Phoenix area in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Andrew was awarded the Northern California Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2008.

Previously, Andrew worked in the financial services industry, doing private equity investing with Littlejohn & Co., a $550 million private equity fund, and also worked in investment banking for Salomon Smith Barney. Andrew received his MBA from Stanford Business School, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar and he received a B.A. from Dartmouth College Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.


	Matthew Guthrie • Co-founder and CFO of DMB Financial, LLC

Matthew Guthrie is co-founder and CFO of Massachusetts based debt settlement company DMB Financial, LLC. Founded in 2003, DMB Financial currently services thousands of clients nationwide. Through the efforts of Mr. Guthrie, DMB Financial recently became an Accredited ‘Best Practices’ member of AFCC.

Mr. Guthrie, currently a licensed attorney in good standing with the Massachusetts Bar Association, has a BS from Bentley College in Accounting and a JD from Suffolk University Law School.


	Tomas Gordon • Chief Executive Officer / Finance Industry Expert

Tomas Gordon, Chief Executive Officer of ClearOne Advantage, is a leading financial executive with more than 11 years experience in investing, strategic marketing, bank relationship management, and secondary market transactions. Gordon has led companies through start-up, survival and growth modes, managing multi-million dollar operations with highly successful exits on multiple businesses. He is an avid investor with active investments in other ventures.

His core strength is in his ability to design, develop, test and implement innovative online and offline direct-to-consumer marketing strategies that consistently exceed profit, revenue and corporate expectations, with a focus on the specialty finance market. He also has a proven record of achievement in recruiting and developing top-performing teams and executives capable of taking operations to the next level of success.

As Founder and CEO of ClearOne Advantage, Gordon oversees the day-to-day management of this highly successful full-service debt settlement company established in 2007. Under his leadership, ClearOne Advantage has established an online, e-commerce niche, and produced innovative direct mail, radio and television advertising.

Gordon began his career in the United States Army, where he sharpened his skills as a leader prior to earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Delaware.


	Teresa Dodson • Managing Partner/Chief Operating Officer of Persolvo Data Systems.

Teresa Dodson serves as Managing Partner/Chief Operating Officer of Persolvo Data Systems. Persolvo Data Systems was the first software product of its kind to be developed and has revolutionized the way banks and settlement companies do business today. Her background includes over 9 years of experience in the debt settlement industry. Teresa has run three of the largest debt settlement firms in the country and during those years worked relentlessly trying to bridge the gap between Debt Settlement Companies and Creditors. She also served on The Association of Settlement Companies (TASC) Executive Board for 4 years and won the Presidents’ award for her contributions to the organization as well as Chairing both the Conference and Creditor Relations Committees. She has been advisor in the financial industry for over 5 years and has spoken numerous times nationally as a guest speaker at Financial and Collection Industry conferences. At Persolvo Data Systems they have been successful at automating the settlement process between debt settlement companies and Creditors, Collectors and Debt Buyers. Teresa's background also includes 20 years of corporate leadership experience in running Advertising agencies who specialize in technology, medical and health industries. She has successfully directed company management in achieving desired levels of growth and demonstrated the ability to combine visionary, strategic, and tactical operational expertise to produce bottom-line results and financial strength. She has a proven track record of increasing an organization’s efficiency, enhance productivity and has led successfully from small start ups to medium sized organizations that have evolved into large corporate entities. Teresa is known for her commitment and passionate approach to everything she does to deliver effective results.

Daniel Kwiatek • Co-Founder and COO of DMB Financial, LLC.

Daniel Kwiatek is Co-Founder and COO of DMB Financial, LLC, a Massachusetts Debt Settlement Company founded in 2003. DMB Financial is an accredited member of the AFCC.

He has over 11 years in the debt settlement industry. Previously, Daniel had worked in the collections and debt buying industry. He has used this unique insight into collections to assist thousands of clients nationwide. He is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations of DMB Financial, a full service debt settlement company.

He has a B.S. degree from Salem State College in Education.

Brian Tawney • General Counsel for ClearOne Advantage, LLC.

Brian Tawney is a high level professional who has been in the debt resolution industry since 2005. Presently, he holds the distinction of being General Counsel for ClearOne Advantage, LLC, which is located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Previously, Brian was the Associate General Counsel for one of the larger debt settlement companies in the industry, where his position involved acting as corporate counsel and in an executive role. During his tenure, Brian aided the company, the AFCC and other debt resolution entities in several state lobbying efforts.

In addition, Brian spent 5 years as Director of Operations and General Counsel for another prominent debt resolution firm.

Prior to that, he concentrated his practice in representing corporations and individuals in the real estate development, tax resolutions and debt resolution industries. He also clerked for a civil defense firm in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and for the Honorable President Judge Quigley (Ret.) in Pennsylvania’s 41^st Judicial District.

Brian received his Bachelor’s degree from Salisbury University, Cum Laude, and his Juris Doctor from Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law. Brian is admitted to practice law in Maryland and Washington, D.C..

The AFCC Board at Large

The Board at Large can consist of no more than 30 people representing debt settlement companies, vendors, attorneys, creditors and certified financial planners. The purpose of the Board at Large will be to provide further insight into social and industry issues. They will also have a primary responsibility to support the Executive Board in moving the direction of AFCC towards its mission.