ICFE History  Consumer financial education was the continuing vision of Loren Dunton (1918-1997), founding father of the financial planning profession. In 1969 Loren Dunton gathered a group of business leaders in the mutual funds and financial services industry to create and fund his concept of a college for educating a new professional - the financial planner.
From that meeting the Society of Financial Service Professionals became reality in Denver, CO. along with the birth of the College for Financial Planning. In the following year Loren Dunton found himself in front of the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission advocating a new designation he created for graduates of the College, to be known as a "Certified Financial Planner®" (CFP®). Shortly thereafter, the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP) was born, the result of Loren traveling from city to city speaking with financial services professionals and mutual funds companies encouraging them to formulate individual chapters of the IAFP, now known as The Financial Planning Association. Loren Dunton then served as the first editor of the "Financial  Planning" magazine. His precepts also led to creation of the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC). Loren Dunton knew in 1969 that at some point in the future consumers would need to be educated about this newly created profession and how a financial planner would greatly benefit the consumer in planning for their financial futures. The Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE) was on the drawing board when he established the CFP® designation and the College for Financial Planning. It became a dream realized in 1982. The ICFE was also known as the National Center for Financial Education (NCFE). In 1987 the ICFE/NCFE was awarded a Presidential Citation for Private Sector Initiatives from President Reagan. Loren Dunton wrote thirteen books on selling and financial services. They were widely distributed and published in seven languages. Loren Dunton knew that his own (and the ICFE's) educational efforts on spending intelligently, saving regularly and using credit wisely were helping consumers get ready for the next step - that of using a financial planning professional. Loren Dunton said "Financial education is the learning part. Financial planning is the doing part." Loren Dunton’s legacy lives on today through the work of the ICFE and through the work of educators dedicated to his vision and continued belief in the right for every individual to live a financially empowered life.  His work is carried on full time by Paul Richard, the Institute's Executive Director. As the Institute for Consumer Financial Education's Executive Director, Paul Richard which continues as the nonprofit educational foundation built by Loren Dunton in 1982. Since 1984, Paul has served as vice president-director of education for the Institute a/k/a the National Center for Financial Education (NCFE). Paul is a 27 year veteran of financial education leadership and is a nationally recognized personal finance authority, a bankruptcy reform advocate, a published author of books and articles, an educator  Paul is joined part time by Yan Ross who has been instrumental in bringing an URSLA training program to professionals.
Yan As Director of Special Projects for the Institute of Consumer Financial Education [www.icfe.info], Mr. Ross offers educational workshops and software-based solutions for prevention and risk management against identity theft. He holds both Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist (CITRMS) and Certified Credit Report Reviewer (CCRR) credentials from ICFE. Paul Richard has been leading the charge for financial literacy through ICFE as a savings advocate, a public speaker, a seminar leader and who is often a quoted authority in a wide variety of print and broadcast medias, including the Associated Press, NBC News and Fox News. He was designated as a "Certified Consumer Interviewer on the Fair Credit Reporting Act, in August 2002 by the Consumer Data Industries Association.
Paul has created or co-created many educational programs and tools including : DOLLARPLAN Personal Finance Courses. This course is now known as the ICFE's "Money Instruction Book." -- A course available through educational venues such as community colleges, adult education programs and credit unions. Programs to help consumers watch their use of credit including warning stickers for credit cards: "WARNING: Overuse Can Be Dangerous To Your Wealth!" There are now over 1 million stickers distributed internationally. ICFE's "Do-It-Yourself Credit File Correction Guide" with over 50,000 in use. ICFE's "Credit Card Condom," with over a million in circulation; they have been featured on ABC's Good Morning America, CBS and NBC Nightly news, the Wall Street Journal and many other medias.
Paul is sought after as a technical advisor for television; serving as the technical consultant to the producers of ABC's Schoolhouse Rock, "Money Rock" video, featuring seven songs about money. Beginning in 2001, Paul was appointed a personal management education (PME) presenter for the U.S. Navy and Marines giving his "Spend Yourself Rich" talk before enlisted military members at Camp Pendleton and Miramar MCAS, California sponsored by the Navy-Marine Association. Paul is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Jump$tart Coalition for Financial Literacy for Youth, and he serves on a task force at San Diego State University called "California Student Debt Resource and Awareness Project". He is a member of the San Diego Advisory Board for Springboard, nonprofit consumer credit management. He serves on the organizing committee of San Diego Saves, an off shoot of America Saves. Paul is dedicated to helping others become part of the movement to empower individuals in personal finance. As part of ICFE’s personal finance course, he has trained a nationwide corps of over 450 financial and insurance planners as personal finance course instructors; many working through ICFE's Speakers Bureau.
Yan Ross led the development of ICFE's ONLINE delivery of the CCRR course -- more can be seen at www.ccrronline.com
In his capacity as Author and Manager at ICFE, Yan created the Certified Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Specialist (CHECMS) course on reverse mortgages. This course has already received accreditation for continuing education requirements by the governing bodies of numerous professional disciplines.
Through CLE Interactive, Mr. Ross also presents his copyrighted courses for Continuing Legal Education to attorneys in numerous states, where he concentrates on ethical issues, privacy, and confidentiality issues.
Mr. Ross is a principal of Services4Life (see www.services4life.com ), a portal for the needs of adult children with aging parents.
Yan holds a B.A. degree from Princeton and his J.D. from Yale Law School.
His thirty-plus years of professional experience include service as an officer in the U. S. Air Force, Counsel to the Banking Committee of the United States House of Representatives, and as Alternate Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank (a Presidential Appointment with confirmation by the United States Senate). |