Dara Duguay, CEO, Credit Builders Alliance

Dara Duguay, is the CEO of Credit Builders Alliance in Washington, DC. Prior to joining CBA, she ran her own consulting practice and advised clients such as TD Bank, the World Bank Group, Experian, Visa, and SunTrust Bank on their financial education efforts. Ms. Duguay was the Director of Citi’s Office of Financial Education and oversaw a $200 million global commitment. Preceding her work at Citi, she served as the founding Executive Director of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, which advocates for increased financial education for youth. She started work in the field as the Director of Education for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Los Angeles. An accomplished author, Duguay has published four books, including the critically acclaimed Please Send Money: A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults and her latest release From Wall Street with Love.

Q. Best advice for women who want to go out in life and crush it!

A. I have learned to not fear rejection. I don't worry anymore about whether someone is going to say no. And even if they do, I don't give up and can often find a way to get to "yes." Identify all the gatekeepers and figure out the power structure. If you can get the boss to say yes, the others will fall into line — even if they previously said no.

Q. What do you do to celebrate women?

A. I work with a lot of women so it is easy to celebrate them every day. But I think that is primarily because I work for a non-profit. Women in positions of power were certainly not overly represented when I worked for Citigroup. Financial services need to identify and recruit more high performing women, in my opinion. They would be better off for it.

Q. What do you want to see more of?

A. I have been advocating for financial education in some way, shape or form for decades now. So, I naturally want more people to become educated about how to manage their money. Especially now, the credit report and score are very important indicators. They govern whether you are accepted for a loan and if so, what interest rate you qualify for. Credit reports are also used in the hiring process and by landlords in the tenant screening process. So, if you don't understand money, especially credit, make it a priority to learn.

Q. Recommended reading:

A. If you have young adults, I highly recommend my book — Please Send Money: A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults. As to my personal preference, I spend most of my time reading the NY Times, Washington Post and watching the news on TV. In the current climate, most of the news is bad news, so I am trying to balance it out with Curb Your Enthusiasm. I laugh so hard at each episode and I feel lighter somehow afterwards.

Q. The theme for this year's women's history month is Valiant Women of the Vote. What women's rights are you most passionate about?

A. I am incredulous that a woman's right to choose is seemingly close to being overturned. I never would have thought this was possible. It shows what happens when there are not enough women in positions of power. So we need to have more women political candidates, judges and leaders in general. Men should not be in charge of making decisions that primarily affect women.

Q. Shout out to another woman who has made a difference in your life and how she/they did that.

A. I wish I could say I have a long list to choose from. But in my life I have found that many women are more competitive than supportive. Maybe that is because there are so few high level positions available that they become highly sought after. But with that said, Maxine Sweet who was an Executive at Experian was one of my mentors. She recommended me for several jobs and went out of her way to help me. For that, I am extremely grateful.

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Monica PhillipsMarch 15, 2020