The primary goal of the Coalition is to support legislation at the NC General Assembly that reins in predatory lending abuses, and to defend good laws already on the books.
We fight for reform of predatory mortgage lending and high-cost consumer lending (payday, car title and consumer finance loans). We address problem practices in debt buying, wage garnishment, manufactured housing, the rent-to-own market, overdraft, credit insurance, and most recently student debt. In the past, we campaigned to force Regions Bank to stop making bank payday loans in our state.
The Coalition also works on federal issues that pose either opportunities or significant threats to our continued work in North Carolina. Examples include pushing to pass the Dodd-Frank Act, supporting the creation of a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a multi-year campaign to push for a strong national payday rule. We aggressively oppose legislative and regulatory proposals that would seriously undermine our state protections, like recent fintech proposals that would allow high-cost lenders to ignore our state usury cap and other lending protections. We support strengthening the Military Lending Act, hold the line against prepaid card abuses, and oppose the rollback of the national arbitration rule.
The Team
Demarcus Andrews
NC Policy & Outreach Associate & Chair of Steering Committee
Demarcus Andrews is the North Carolina Policy and Outreach Associate for the Center for Responsible Lending. In this role, he focuses on predatory debt practices and student loan debt. Prior to joining CRL, Demarcus served as the Policy Advocate at Toxic Free NC, a non-profit organization that seeks to advance environmental health and justice in North Carolina. While at Toxic Free, he built and ran coalitions and engaged members of the General Assembly. Throughout his professional career, Demarcus has cultivated his skills in organizing, social media campaigns, and relationship building.
Demarcus graduated with a B.A. degree in Political Science from Gardner-Webb University. He also received a Master’s in Public Policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. In his spare time, Demarcus enjoys spending time with his beautiful daughters (Covington and Cobi), fishing and jogging for exercise.
Marquita Robertson
Executive Director, The Collaborative
Marquita Robertson is a lifelong financial capability advocate. She is currently the executive director of The Collaborative, an organization focused on closing the racial wealth gap in North Carolina through collaborations with financial institutions, non-profits, and local government agencies to educate people about building wealth and advocate on behalf of financially vulnerable communities.
Prior to that she was the Financial Education Director for the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer. There she led the Department’s financial education initiatives across the state, working with state agencies, schools, non-profits and financial institutions.
Marquita was born and raised in Moyock, N.C., a small town on the most northeastern point of the state. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Communication from East Carolina University, and a Master’s degree in Communication and Journalism from Norfolk State University. She is supported by her loving husband and two amazing children.
Heather Burkhardt
Executive Director, The Coalition on Aging
Heather Burkhardt is the Executive Director of the Coalition on Aging. The mission of the coalition is to improve the quality of life for older adults through collective advocacy, education, and public policy work.
Heather has over 25 years of experience working behalf of older adults, spanning both the non-profit and state government sectors. Heather served for eighteen years at the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services. During her tenure, she functioned in a variety of programmatic and administrative positions for which she was responsible for strategic and program evaluation, system evaluation, and policy analysis. She served as the Assistant Director from 2015–2017. Heather draws greatly from her non-profit and direct care experience at both the Pitt County Council on Aging and Resources for Seniors. Heather earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and Certificate in Gerontology from East Carolina University.
Questions?
You can learn more about our recent work by checking out our News listings.
For more information, please contact Demarcus Andrews at demarcus.andrews@responsiblelending.org.