Staff

Government Relations Manager, Central Region

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Michael R. Komaschka is the Government Relations Manager, Central Region for the Association for Consumer Debt Relief.

Over more than 20 years, Michael has held several diverse positions dealing with government and politics. He is an expert at developing and executing strategies that align organizational goals with advocacy plans, engage stakeholders, produce positive outcomes, and mitigate business risk. Michael has worked for nonprofits, small advocacy firms, in government, and at a Fortune 300 company for which he managed government relations across a nine-state region. Before coming to ACDR, Michael owned his own public affairs firm where he managed a range of issues for clients across several states.

Michael earned his BA in political science and communications from Cleveland State University before completing his MA in applied politics from the University of Akron. He lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and two children.

Administrative Director

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Karin Stragand is the Administrative Director and Director of Membership and Events for the Association for Consumer Debt Relief. Karin has led member services and event coordination for the ACDR since 2012. In her role, she serves as a liaison between the executive board and members on a day-to-day basis and organizes ACDR’s member conferences.

Before joining the ACDR, Karin was a Senior Operations Manager for Century Support Services for eight years. She developed effective solutions internally and externally, coordinating action plans with key team members. Previously, Karin was a Project Manager at Fiserv, a financial services and technology solutions provider, for over 15 years, where she facilitated the successful transfer of financial product operating systems for banks during the merger and acquisition process.

Karin holds a B.A from the University of Pittsburgh. She resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Jay, and three daughters.

Head of Compliance

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Stacey is the Head of Compliance for the Association for Consumer Debt Relief, the oldest and largest association representing America’s debt resolution companies and is the leading voice for the industry. ACDR’s mission is to educate consumers and policymakers about debt resolution and its benefits, hold debt resolution companies to the highest industry standards, and protect and expand access to accredited debt resolution services nationwide. As head of compliance, Stacey leads the program that creates and oversees ACDR standards and works with ACDR member companies as they adhere to all federal and state laws. She makes sure that the standards are in the best interest of consumers and the industry and that best-in-class auditing practices for the industry are in place.

Stacey joined ACDR after leading risk and compliance work at one of the nation’s top banks, Wells Fargo. As senior vice president at Wells Fargo, Stacey created and led the risk and compliance program for the Corporate Communications division. Prior to Wells Fargo, Stacey was a senior advisor at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the federal regulator that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Home Loan Bank System. Additionally, Stacey served in the highest levels of government including as a director at The White House managing the Presidential travel program and in the West Wing in Oval Office Operations, as a deputy assistant secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce facilitating U.S. exports worldwide, and as a deputy associate administrator for the Office of Communication and Public Liaison at the U.S. Small Business Administration where she oversaw communications, external relations, intergovernmental affairs, and the advisory councils.

Stacey is the recipient of a Federal Housing Finance Agency Mission Critical Award and the Silver Medal Award for Leadership, a top award from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and she is a member and Young Leader of the American Council on Germany.

Stacey earned a Master of Arts from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, and a Bachelor of Science, graduating magna cum laude, from Emerson College in Boston, MA.