Executive Staff

Martin Eakes, Chief Executive Officer

Since 2000, Martin has taken a leadership role in fighting abusive financial practices targeted at poor families, including predatory home loans, payday lending, and abusive checking and credit card fees. Martin and Self-Help have received awards, among others, from the MacArthur Foundation, Credit Union National Association, NCLC, Annie Casey Foundation, National Association of Realtors, and the Raleigh News and Observer.

Michael Calhoun, President and Chief Operating Officer

Mike provides overall direction for the organization and directs the federal policy team. He is a seasoned civil rights and consumer protection litigator. Mike was the principal drafter of the North Carolina acts regulating predatory mortgage loans, mortgage brokers and lenders. He has authored numerous papers and testified before Congress and numerous state legislatures.

Deborah Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer

Debbie coordinates the organization’s policy agenda and directs the Center’s policy team, which provides technical assistance to policymakers, community groups, and financial institutions on state and federal initiatives that address abusive financial practices. In 2002, Debbie assisted local organizations and lawmakers in drafting and advocating for legislative remedies to address exorbitant fees on subprime mortgages in New Jersey and played a critical role in negotiating the New Jersey Home Ownership Security Act. She also advised the sponsors of the Massachusetts Predatory Home Loan Practices Act of 2004, and worked with lead organizations in the state of Massachusetts to support enactment of the legislation.

Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President

Nikitra directs outreach and educational efforts to national and locally based organizations, and provides technical assistance to policymakers on state and federal anti-predatory lending initiatives. Nikitra originally joined the CRL as a policy associate after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School Of Law. While in law school, Ms. Bailey interned at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. Ms. Bailey is also a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University. Ms. Bailey has published several articles on the impact of abusive lending practices on communities of color.

Keith Corbett, Executive Vice President

Keith’s work focuses on eliminating abusive lending practices at the state and national level. Prior to joining Self-Help, he worked for 21 years in banking and insurance serving as Vice President and Treasurer of North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company. In 1998, Dollars & Sense Magazine voted him Best and Brightest in Finance.

Uriah King, Vice President of State Policy

Uriah coordinates CRL's overall state work, including strategic planning, administration, developing state policy objectives and most importantly managing CRL's support of state-based groups and policy-makers seeking to address abusive financial practices. Uriah has worked at CRL for seven years, during which time, he has coordinated CRL's resources in support of several successful state legislative and ballot efforts as well as multiple reports on predatory lending practices. Prior to coming to CRL, Uriah worked at the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center in Dayton, OH helping provide direct services to victims of predatory mortgage lending and coordinating investigations into complaints of predatory lending. The investigations resulted in dozens of class-action and individual lawsuits against now well known predatory lenders.

Ellen Schloemer, Executive Vice President

Ellen directs CRL’s communication and social media activities and leads CRL’s strategic planning efforts. Ellen joined Self-Help as Communications Director in 1997, and moved to CRL when it was created in 2002. Prior to joining Self-Help, Ellen worked at GE Capital Mortgage for twelve years; her last position there was Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Planning. Ellen has authored or co-authored numerous publications on the financial services industry, including Insights in Mortgage Finance Today, The Plastic Safety Net: The Reality Behind Debt in America, and Losing Ground: Subprime Foreclosures and Their Cost to Homeowners.

Keith Ernst, Director of Research

Keith’s responsibilities include management of research projects, policy analysis, and technical assistance to policymakers. Previously, he served as Research Analyst and in this role, he testified before Congress, the Federal Reserve Board, and various state institutions on developments in the subprime mortgage market. He has also served as Assistant General Counsel to Self-Help, providing legal compliance advice and pre-purchase analysis of various loan portfolios to the organization’s secondary market program.

Paul Leonard, Director of the California Office

Paul opened the California office in spring 2006 and directs state policy and outreach efforts. Prior to joining CRL, Paul was a public policy consultant focused on housing and community development, welfare reform, and other anti-poverty issues. Prior to 1999, Paul was a political appointee at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, as well as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development from 1994 to 1998.

Nina Simon, Director of Litigation

Nina directs CRL’s Litigation Group, which litigates and files amicus briefs on a wide range of consumer credit issues.  Nina also oversees the Institute for Foreclosure Legal Assistance, a foreclosure defense program that provides grants to legal services organizations to help homeowners facing foreclosure.  Prior to joining CRL, Nina was a senior attorney in AARP Foundation’s Litigation group from 1998-2009, where she worked on issues involving fraudulent and predatory mortgage lending practices targeted at elderly and minority homeowners.

Chris Kukla, Senior Counsel for Government Affairs

Chris has been with CRL since 2002, and is primarily responsible for directing CRL’s North Carolina policy work. Chris also works with lawmakers and advocates in other states on consumer lending legislation. He received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School, and received his B.A. with honors from Alma College in Alma, Michigan. Prior to joining the Center, Chris worked for five years on Capitol Hill, most recently as Appropriations Associate and Counsel to U.S. Representative Nita M. Lowey of New York.

Rebecca Borné, Senior Policy Counsel

Rebecca focuses on legislative and regulatory policy issues related to consumer lending. She attended Yale Law School, where she served as student director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Clinic and worked to increase access to responsible credit for low- and moderate-income community residents. Rebecca also represented lower-income clients through the Community Lawyering Clinic. Prior to attending law school, she attended Louisiana State University and practiced as a certified public accountant and auditor in New Orleans for several years.