CFPB Director Richard Cordray is a person nearly every collection professional knows of due to his influence on their day-to-day lives in the office. It is well known he is the first to serve in his current position, a position created by the Dodd-Frank Act to which President Obama appointed him during a Senate recess. His stance on most positions concerning collections is also well known. Many might stop researching thinking they have the gist of a person who carries such weight in the fate of every American collector. However there is much more to Cordray’s background which provides insight into his actions and is also down right interesting.
Born in 1959 in Columbus, Ohio, Cordray was a middle child with two brothers. He attended public school in Grove City, Ohio where he served as Chaplain for the Grove City chapter of DeMolay, an organization for teaching young men civic awareness and personal responsibility. During these years Cordray also obtained an initial lesson in economics as he took his first job at a local McDonalds. He later graduated high school as co-valedictorian.
Cordray attended James Madison College at Michigan State University and received a degree in Justice, Morality, and Constitutional Democracy. He got a glimpse into the world of politics as an intern for the office of Senator and first American to orbit the Earth John Glenn. Cordray then attended Oxford University where he ended up playing basketball participating in tournaments in Ireland and Egypt. He received his master’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1983. Following Oxford Cordray attended the University of Chicago. Before he received his degree in law in 1986 he became the editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review. His involvement in education continued a couple years later as he became an adjunct professor at Ohio State University’s College of Law and would continue to teach for over a decade. He taught Legislative Process, State Constitutional Law, Supreme Court, Separation of Powers, and Modern Judicial Power.
After graduation Cordray became a contestant on Jeopardy! which he won five times in a row, the maximum number of times a contestant could win at the time. His winnings totaled $40,303. He made another appearance in 2014 as part of Jeopardy!’s Battle of the Decades where he placed second winning a $5,000 consolation prize. The achievement of his initial win spilled over into his campaign for a seat in Ohio’s House of Representatives as his bumper stickers read “The Answer Is: Richard Cordray.”
In 1991 Cordray won his first seat in public office as a representative of Ohio’s 33rd district in the Ohio House of Representatives. Among his work in Ohio, he sponsored the Community Service Education Act. The act was the first of its kind in Ohio to promote community service education. The CFPB is not the first time Cordray was the initial official of a new position. In 1993 Cordray was also appointed by the Ohio Attorney General (another position he would eventually hold) to be the state’s first State Solicitor.
While maintaining a steady political presence ever since, Cordray would be in local headlines again in 1996 as one of those selected to be a torchbearer for the Atlanta Olympics. He was charged with carrying the torch through the downtown Findlay, Ohio portion of the relay.