Elsie Meeks, executive director of First Nations Oweesta Corporation (FNOC), recently became one of ten new members of the Federal Reserve's Consumer Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC, which was established in 1976, meets three times a year to advise the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) on matters related to consumers, communities and the financial services industry. Members are appointed by the Board and serve staggered three-year terms.
FNOC, a subsidiary of First Nations Development Institute, provides technical assistance and training for the development and expansion of Native American community development financial institutions, or CDFIs. Prior to joining FNOC, Meeks served as executive director of The Lakota Fund, a CDFI located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She received the South Dakota Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year award in 1994, is the first Native American appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and currently serves as a board member for National Community Capital Association.
Meeks joins Earl Jarolimek as one of two CAC members from the Ninth District. Jarolimek, who was appointed to the council in 2001, has served as vice president and corporate compliance officer for Community First Bankshares in Fargo, N.D., since 1989. He has been an active member of the American Bankers Association, serving in a number of leadership roles within the organization, and has provided remarks for the Board and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
