Melinda Opperman stands out as a committed educator, deeply invested in pioneering innovative approaches to boost financial literacy among communities and students. Since joining credit.org in 2003, she brings over twenty years of industry experience to her role. Melinda has emerged as a go-to expert for financial literacy, extensively featured across a spectrum of media platforms, including CNNMoney, NBC’s Money Matters, National Public Radio, and major publications like The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Money Magazine, among others.

Holding a Bachelor of Science with honors from California State University, Northridge, Melinda is also a certified Consumer Credit Counselor through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Her dedication to community outreach and education earned her the Outstanding Educator of the Year Award in 2008 from the NFCC. This accolade is part of the NFCC’s Professional Achievement and Counseling Excellence (PACE) Awards, recognizing significant contributions to community advocacy, setting ethical standards for peers, and demonstrating innovation and resourcefulness in consumer motivation.

As the managing editor for credit.org’s Consumer Guide to Good Credit, Melinda oversees a comprehensive financial empowerment curriculum. This free e-book serves as a do-it-yourself guide for effective credit management, illustrating the importance of good credit in reducing interest and fees on credit cards, and highlighting its critical role in securing substantial savings on loans and mortgages, thereby facilitating the building of generational wealth.