Printable Biography of Dara Duguay

 Ms. Duguay is the former Executive Director of the non-profit Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy in Washington, DC.  Prior to her work at Jump$tart, she served as the Director of Education at the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Los Angeles and was a professor at the University of Phoenix (1996-1997) and California State University (1993-1997).  She is the author of two personal finance books: Please Send Money: A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults on Their Own, and Don't Spend Your Raise: And 59 Other Money Rules You Can't Afford to Break.        

Ms. Duguay is considered a national expert on personal finance.  Her media experience includes interviews in major U.S. print publications including The New York Times, Associated Press, USA Today, Money Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Investors Business Daily, Child Magazine, and Better Homes and Gardens, among others. In addition, she regularly appears as a guest on many national television and radio networks including National Public Radio, Fox News Channel, CNN, Bloomberg and MSNBC. Ms. Duguay currently records a monthly segment called "Financial Fitness" on the Clear Channel radio network in Washington, DC.  She also is a featured columnist in a quarterly magazine distributed to the US Military called Military Money.        

An accomplished public speaker, Ms. Duguay has spoken at hundreds of major conferences, including: the National Association of State Treasurers; the United States Department of Education; the Society of American Business Editors and Writers; and the American Bankers Association.        

Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Duguay has received the Medal of Merit from the U.S. Treasury's Savings Bond Volunteer Committee (1999-2002), was appointed to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Economics Steering Committee, and has served in a consultant role to companies such as JP Morgan Chase, American Express and Capital One.      

Ms. Duguay received her B.A. in Communications from the University of Michigan, and her M.A. in International Relations from Schiller University in Paris, France.