2008 NCSL Legislative Summit
New Orleans, Louisiana
Will This Purchase be on Your Card?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Speaker Biographies
Norma Garcia
Senior Attorney
Consumers Union
San Francisco, California
Norma Garcia is a Senior Attorney at the West Coast Regional Office of Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. Since joining the Consumers Union staff in 1992, Garcia has concentrated on legislative and regulatory advocacy on behalf of consumers, especially in the areas of credit and finance. She is the author of several publications on topics including the usage of credit scores in insurance, reverse mortgages and predatory mortgage lending. She was Consumers Union’s principal lobbyist for the passage of SB 2045, and AB 489, making California the second state in the nation to adopt a statewide anti-predatory lending law. Ms. Garcia was honored as a 2000 National Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice for her contribution to the public interest by serving as co-counsel on the litigation team which successfully defended Consumers Union in a multi-million dollar SLAPP suit brought by Isuzu Motors Ltd.
Jason Kratovil
Director of Congressional Policy Issues
Independent Community Bankers of America
Washington, D.C.
Jason Kratovil is the Director of Congressional Policy Issues for the Independent Community Bankers of America. In that capacity, he is responsible for federal legislative advocacy on a variety of issues including interchange fees, credit and debit card policy, privacy and data security. Before joining ICBA in March of 2007, Mr. Kratovil served as Legislative Director for U.S. Representative Steven C. LaTourette (OH-14), and was actively involved in the creation of identity theft and data security legislation. Prior to coming to the Hill he worked in public affairs at Hill and Knowlton in Washington, and in marketing with Dell Computers in Round Rock, Texas. Mr. Kratovil received his Master of Public Policy degree from George Mason University and B.A. from Miami University (OH).
Mathew Street
Deputy General Counsel for State Relations/ABA Secretary
American Bankers Association
Washington, D.C.
Mathew is Deputy General Counsel for State Relations and Secretary of the American Bankers Association in Washington, D.C., and has been an attorney for the ABA since 1983. His whole career at ABA has focused on the state law of banking. As such, he has led ABA’s efforts to monitor state legislation and administrative activities affecting banks and thrifts; to assist state bankers associations in their legislative activities by providing comparative analyses of state banking law; and to advise ABA Government Relations staff on banking issues impacted by state law developments. As part of ABA’s dedication to providing world-class solutions, leadership and advocacy, Mr. Street has organized uniquely valuable annual state banking law seminars open only to the counsel for the State Bankers Associations. He also speaks on state law topics at State Bankers Association programs and has testified from time to time before state legislative and administrative bodies on banking law issues. He represented the banking industry’s views as an observer at the drafting committee for the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (1995). He plans and hosts ABA’s weekly state law conference calls for the Working Group on State Issues during the legislative season. These calls bring together SBA GR professionals and state legislative operatives for larger, multi-state companies. Mr. Street’s other responsibilities at ABA include service to the Board of Directors and Officers as Secretary of the corporation. He also advises selected business units on legal issues. He has long been an advisor to the ABA-sponsored bond and D&O program and serves on numerous interdisciplinary task forces and committees. In recent years, Mr. Street has served as ABA’s staff ombudsman, a role that allows him to deal with employee concerns in a confidential and constructive way. Mr. Street received his B.A. (cum laude) from the American University, Washington, D.C. in 1970 and his J.D. from the National Law Center of George Washington University in 1982. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar. In civic matters, he served on the Arlington County, Virginia, Planning Commission for 10 years and served on or chaired numerous planning-related committees and task forces.
Mike Sunseri
Public Information Photo Director
Legislative Research Commission
Kentucky
After graduating from the University of Oregon in 1990 with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Mike Sunseri worked for Gannett Co., Inc. newspapers in Oregon for five years. He relocated to Kentucky in 1995 and joined the staff of the Legislative Research Commission as Communication Director for the Senate Minority Leadership Office. Sunseri transferred to the LRC Public Information in June 1999, where he produced and distributed audio news releases for members of the Kentucky Legislature. He was promoted to Director of Photography in May 2000. Mike Sunseri has been an active member of NCSL for more than 10 years. A member of the board of directors of the Legislative Information and Communication Staff Section (LINCS) since 2002, Sunseri served as LINCS Vice-Chair in 2005 and LINCS Chair in 2006. He was named Staff Vice-Chair of the Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee in 2007.
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