Ed Mierzwinski is senior director for federal consumer programs in the Washington, DC office of the state Public Interest Research Groups (U.S. PIRG) where he has worked since 1989. PIRGs are member-based non-profits that take on powerful special interests on behalf of their members. He often lectures or testifies before Congress, state legislatures and agencies on a wide range of consumer issues. He has been involved in all significant Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) policy amendments since 1989. He has published reports on numerous consumer issues, including the need for state consumer protection laws (anti-preemption), Big Data’s impact on financial opportunity, the CFPB Public Consumer Complaint Database, internet privacy, identity theft, credit reporting mistakes and product safety. He is a 2006 recipient of the CFA Esther Peterson Consumer Service Award. He sits on several nonprofit boards, including Americans for Financial Reform Action Fund, and FlyersRights.org and is a past director of Consumer Reports (formerly Consumers Union). He is U.S. co-chair of the TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (tacd.org). He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut (BA, MS) and previously was Executive Director of the Connecticut PIRG.