AADR Board Members

Dan Frazier is the AADR Chairman as well as CEO of Century Support Services, located in Pittsburgh, PA. Century has been assisting consumers with their unsecured debts since 2003. Led by a team of seasoned experts with an average of 12+ years of experience in the Debt Settlement Industry, Century has over 200 team members that support our clients on their debt relief journey. Dan Frazier has over 26 years of executive leadership experience with financial services and technology companies, in both the public and private sector, across the banking, mortgage, payments and education industries. Dan joined Century Support Services in 2017 as Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for the overall performance of the organization and support of its leadership in the Debt Settlement industry. Prior to joining Century, Dan served as the Chief Operating Officer at ECSI, a Global Payments company providing loan servicing, business outsourcing and payment processing services to over 1,500 colleges and universities across the country as well as the Department of Education. Previously, Dan was the Senior Vice President of Strategy at Servicelink, a Fidelity National Financial company providing mortgage servicing solutions to the mortgage originations and default market. Throughout Dan’s career, his focus has been on providing a great customer experience, developing product innovation, and promoting growth and learning for his employees and clients. Dan earned his BA in Accounting from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA where he currently resides with his wife and 2 children.

Robby H. Birnbaum serves as AADR Vice Chairman 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’s firm represents over 150 debt settlement companies, nationally and internationally, that require in depth state and federal regulatory compliance services, marketing and advertising review, licensing, startup and business planning, and overall legal support. Mr. Birnbaum has worked on debt settlement issues in every state in the US, representing companies in both proactive compliance planning and assistance, and defense of regulatory claims and actions. Mr. Birnbaum is backed up by a team of eight attorneys and five paralegals that eliminate the “learning curve” and deliver immediate, accurate and efficient information, representation, and answers that companies need to run their businesses. Mr. Birnbaum has represented clients in front of state banking and financial commissions, Attorneys’ General, the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and various other regulatory bodies. For over 20 years, the firm’s licensing division has processed thousands of state and federal applications, many for debt adjustment companies. Relating to the more recent licensing laws enacted in Pennsylvania, Texas, Maryland and elsewhere, the firm maintains extensive resources, client checklists and charts, and compliance tracking systems to relieve companies of the burdens their requirements impose. All of these services are available electronically to our clients. Greenspoon Marder Law, on an annual basis, publishes the most comprehensive guidebook for business owners in the debt settlement industry. Throughout the year, Mr. Birnbaum updates the materials, and hosts all-client conference calls alerting the firm’s clients to the most recent changes in the industry, and best practices. Additionally, the firm sends out frequent email reminders and updates to all of its debt settlement clients on the latest important and timely issues. The firm engages aggressively in strategic analysis of state legal issues, and provides detailed risk analysis to its clients so that they may make informed decisions and avoid the guess work prevalent in this uncertain and developing industry. Debt adjustment law review, credit repair analysis and implementation, prevention of UPL concerns, marketing licenses, privacy and business practices, and loss mitigation attorneys also support the firm’s debt settlement services. Mr. Birnbaum has appeared as a guest and written a number of articles for major media outlets on the importance of debt settlement. Mr. Birnbaum is a Contributor to CNN, and has appeared nationally on CNN’s American Morning with the Florida Attorney General on the benefits of the industry. The firm maintains productive working relationships with regulators throughout the FTC and all state agencies to help in handling all types of client concerns. The firm also assists in private investments into debt settlement companies. In the last few years, the firm assisted in over $100 million of private equity fund investments into various debt settlement companies. Mr. Birnbaum serves as the elected President of the American Fair Credit Council, the debt settlement industry’s trade association, and regularly presents to the membership on compliance and best practices.

Bradley Smith is the AADR Treasurer as well as Co-CEO and Founder of Rescue One Financial, headquartered in Irvine, CA.  Rescue One is a full-service financial entity and recently ranked #12 in the Inc. 500. Rescue One Financial helps individuals with unsecured debt and advises them on all of their options. Rescue One Financial employs over 140 Financial Consultants and is also a Licensed Finance Lender. Smith writes a twice-weekly blog which appears on the Rescue One Financial web site, has authored a number of published articles and is a regular guest contributor to US-based radio and television financial programs. Brad was recently named an Amazon Best Selling author with his book, “Let’s Talk About Debt” which explores our financial system and why consumers continue to feel trapped. Brad has been a long time AFCC board member and is also the Treasurer of the largest Better Business Bureau in the Country. Smith started his 18-year financial services career on Wall Street where he worked with the largest retail advisory group at Merrill Lynch.  His team was responsible for the largest Rule 144 trade in history selling more than 5 million shares of Walt Disney stock. They also managed over $2 billion in concentrated stock positions.  Smith later helped pioneer the restricted stock diversification business at Morgan Stanley. Brad and his wife Carrie have three extremely active boys and enjoy living in Southern California.  Brad holds a BA in Economics from the University of Southern California.

David Green is the founder and CEO of Greenwise Financial, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, FL. Greenwise is a nationwide debt resolution firm focused on restoring financial independence to American consumers. David has over 15 years of executive experience across marketing, sales, and customer service. Prior to founding Greenwise, David spent the early part of his career building the performance marketing division for a national digital advertising firm. In 2008, David recognized an opportunity amid a growing need of debt relief services. David joined a small firm that recently entered the space and was in charge of the firms marketing activities and quickly was able to increase efficiencies and drastically reduce cost per acquisition. This set the company up for exponential growth over the next few years. As the firm grew rapidly, David in addition to being the senior executive managing all aspects of marketing and customer acquisition, became responsible for developing and growing the newly launched servicing vertical. In 2017, David made the decision to start his own firm – Greenwise Financial. Since inception Greenwise has experienced significant growth which is poised to continue as Greenwise Continues to fulfill its mission of being a compassionate ally for all Americans facing financial hardship. David lives in Delray Beach, FL with his wife Shannon and two daughters Elle and Chloe. David holds a BS in Political Science from the University of South Florida.

Dr. Diane Chen, Founder of Consumer Education Services Inc. brings her vast experiences in business and education to the Board of Directors. Diane founded CESI in 1998, and served as CEO until stepping down in 2017 after two decades, remaining as CESI’s Board director. Following her departure from CESI, Diane created a new nonprofit research focused agency, The Institute of Consumer Money Management (ICMM). Diane is currently the Executive Director and Board member of ICMM. You can find information about ICMM at www.icmmnc.org In August of 2010, Dr. Chen was awarded the prestigious Triangle Business Journal Women in Business award as an Entrepreneur. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Business Leaders Women Extraordinaire award. Dr. Chen, a native of China, played a significant role in establishing the sister state relationship between North Carolina and the Liaoning Province, China. She served as the liaison and interpreter for Governor James Hunt’s trade delegation to China in 1998. In addition, Dr. Chen worked as the International Program Coordinator at Howard Community College in Maryland from 1994 to 1996. Prior to founding CESI in 1998, Dr. Chen was the President of New China Development Corporation for six years. In that capacity, she helped many North Carolina businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions establish partnerships with China and worked as a consultant to facilitate the trade and business missions between the US and China. Dr. Chen earned both her Master and Doctorate degrees in adult education from North Carolina State University in 1993 and 1995 respectively. She currently holds positions as Advisory Board Members of First Citizens Bank and Enterprising Women Magazine. In addition, she is a member of the Advisory Board of National Foundation of Credit Counseling, and a board member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh.

Kristie Bender consults for the partners of Global Holdings, LLC.  Her background includes 32 years of corporate leadership experience, 20 of which have been in the debt settlement industry holding positions such as Executive VP, CEO, and President.  She was a founding executive board member, Treasurer, and Committee Chair for The Association of Settlement Companies, (TASC) and was instrumental in drafting legislation favorable to and testifying on behalf of the industry as well as developing industry standards. Kristie also worked within the finance industry for eleven years opening new branches in Colorado, Arizona, and California, initiating strategic planning, and managing over $318M on deposit with profit and loss responsibility.  Her responsibilities also included managing branches and business development teams, media planning, buying and creative work for broadcast advertising, facilitating lead generation, presentation, and sale closure processes. She has also served as Executive Board Member to other companies and has performed independent consulting for business owners and operators.  Her experience encompasses sales, marketing, business development, as well as project and credit management.  Kristie is best known for her commitment to creating compliant, profitable and efficiently run companies.

Natalia Brown joined National Debt Relief (NDR) in 2010 and has served as Chief Client Operations Officer since 2019. Natalia plays a vital role in NDR’s client journey, overseeing all client-facing operations of the business. She manages a team of more than 400 representatives servicing 200,000+ clients. She is responsible for creating a collaborative and efficient environment that allows her team to provide an unmatched level of support and guidance to clients on their path to financial stability. As a thought leader with the organization Natalia often makes public appearances to represent brand values and NDR’s philosophy of whole human finance.  She has appeared in news outlets nationwide, publications and podcasts. At NDR, she is inspired by the opportunity to help team members thrive, and clients succeed at their goal of becoming debt-free. During her tenure, Natalia has held various positions, including Vice President, Client Success; Director, Training and Development; and Manager, Negotiations Department. Natalia’s areas of expertise include negotiation, operations, customer relationship management, project management, workforce optimization and learning and development. Natalia volunteers at New Women New Yorkers, a nonprofit that focuses on supporting immigrant women in New York Natalia sits on the advisory board of Four Steps Forward, a program that aims to financially educate one million black women over the next five years founded by The American College of Financial Services. Natalia gained a passion for helping young adults during her work with the Fresh Air Fund, where she counseled and mentored children with and without special needs. She enjoys seeing others succeed and is firm believer that the best work is the kind that lifts others up. Her personal mission is to help young women navigate, understand, and thrive in the financial world. Natalia is a native New Yorker and has two sons who also inspire her to be the best she can every day. She is a certified debt specialist and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lehman College and is pursuing a master’s in operations and project management from Southern New Hampshire University.  

Sanj Goyle is an Entreprenuer-In-Residence at Priority Technology Holdings (PRTH) based in Atlanta, GA.  In this role, Sanj is focused on the strategic growth of the CFTPay line of business (acquired by PRTH in Sept 2021) and identifying and developing new lines of business.  Prior to PRTH, Sanj was the CEO and Founder of Finxera, Inc., the parent company of CFTPay, the largest payment processor serving the debt settlement industry.  Sanj led the company from inception, launch, and growth– which consisted of a team of over 300+ people in the US, India, and Argentina, management of millions of US consumer accounts with average daily balances approaching $1B, and nationwide money transmitter licensing.   Prior to founding Finxera, Sanj had a successful business and legal career.  Sanj is a certified privacy professional and admitted to the bar in CA and NY. Sanj is a graduate of Duke University and Boston University School of Law (magna cum laude).  He currently resides in Menlo Park, CA.

Sean joined Freedom Financial in 2013 and has led Freedom Debt Relief (“FDR”) through a significant growth period, more than quintupling the business.  FDR has served over 900,000 clients and resolved over $12 Billion in consumer debt. In addition to debt settlement, Freedom Financial offers a suite of debt solutions for everyday Americans, including personal consolidation and home equity loans. Prior to Freedom, Sean served as Chief Operating Officer for Reply! Inc., a leading online marketing platform and was President of the social networking start-up Connecting Neighbors, which was purchased by Reply! in 2005.  Sean began his business career in 1998 with the start-up bamboo.com, which introduced “virtual tours” to the real estate and hospitality industries. That company went public in 1999 and then combined with its largest competitor to create Internet Pictures Corporation (iPix), where Sean served as VP of Sales and Strategic Alliances. Sean holds a J.D. from Georgetown Law School, a master’s degree from Cambridge University, and two bachelor’s degrees from Stanford University.  

Yolanda Schufford is the Chief Communications and Public Affairs and is a member of the Beyond Finance, LLC executive team. Yolanda joined Beyond Finance in 2020. She oversees government relations—managing lobbyists in key states and developing strategy to protect and encourage good policy for the debt resolution industry. Yolanda also leads a team of professionals that focuses external and internal communications. Prior to her current role, Yolanda has held similar positions at large publicly held corporations. Mostly recently, she served as the Vice President of Content Marketing at GM Financial where she led a team responsible for all customer (B2C) and dealer communications (B2B). Yolanda’s vast experience in consumer finance includes roles as Vice President of Executive Communications at Comerica Bank and Vice President of Communications and Public Relations at Cash America International, Inc. Prior to corporate America, Yolanda spent 12 years as a broadcast news reporter. She has worked for WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, WTHR-TV in her hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana and WWKI-FM in Kokomo, Indiana. Throughout her career, Yolanda’s work has been recognized locally and nationally through multiple awards from organizations, such as the Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators, Hermes Creatives Awards and the Associated Press. Like David Letterman, Yolanda matriculated at Ball State University. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Telecommunications and a minor in Speech Communication. Yolanda loves to serve. Currently, she sits on the boards of two nonprofits—Women of Debt Relief and Mentoring Brother2Brother. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and has a ministry where she mentors women of all ages. Yolanda currently resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas with her husband, Ray, and two daughters in college. When not working, she enjoys crafting, interior decorating, jigsaw puzzles and football!