Jennifer Harris is a champion of consumer education and has dedicated much of her professional life to designing programs and innovative strategies to create sustainability for nonprofit counseling agencies.

In her role in the Community Reinvestment department of a large bank, Harris seized the opportunity to connect with the bank’s community footprint and actively leverage the bank’s resources to help deserving nonprofits while meeting CRA goals.

Intrigued by the challenges and drawn to the rewarding work, she was recruited and later accepted a position to work for the Sacramento Home Loan Counseling Center, a nonprofit organization, where she now acts as its executive director. Relying on her business savvy and desire to create opportunities for financial independence, Harris quickly designed and implemented successful fee-based business models that help sustain the agency today.

As a faculty member in NeighborWorks America’s Homeownership and Community Lending track, Harris teaches numerous courses including the Homeownership Counseling Certification, Homebuyer Education Methods, and Maximizing Client Workflow for Greater Business Results. More recently she has been involved in the development and design of new courses, curriculum revision and project management.

Harris serves on numerous boards and committees focused on affordable housing, community reinvestment, financial literacy and predatory lending.