Ann Epstein (W'87, E'87)
Email: Feel free to contact Ann through LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-epstein/
What did you study at Penn?
I was in the Management and Technology program and studied Systems Engineering and Finance. I later went back to get an MBA, where I focused on Finance and Operations.
What were you involved with as an undergraduate?
I was in the Tri Delta sorority and marching band.
What was your favorite part of Penn/Wharton?
In every school, the people that you meet generate positive experiences. I had a good relationship with a lot of my professors. Relationships with peers and professors are definitely the things that you remember over time. I also really enjoyed being a teaching assistant for decision sciences as an undergrad and a teaching assistant in the M&T program when I was a graduate student. Being at Penn, I acquired some habits and interests for things that didn’t go away, like reading The Economist. Knowledge of what is available really stays and resonates.
What advice do you wish you had known when you were an undergraduate?
Something in the same vein to think about is the relationships. The relationships that you build along the way are just as important as the classes that you take.
Did you have any favorite classes at Penn?
I didn’t really have a favorite class, but interestingly the ones that stand out over time weren’t necessarily the ones in my majors– Finance and Systems Engineering– but the ones I took because they sounded interesting, such as a 10 person class studying memoirs and a drama class. I liked my decision sciences classes and the M&T classes that I ended up being a teaching assistant for and they stood out, of course, because I took both of them and then relived the material.
What do you do now and where are you based?
I am based in the Washington D.C. area and I lead the Office of Competition and Innovation at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I am a regulator working to ensure that financial services companies operate on an even playing field so that consumers can benefit from companies competing for their business, which leads to product innovation, better prices and access to financial services for consumers.
What past positions have you held?
I worked at Freddie Mac as a senior director in a number of areas, dealing with affordable lending and access to credit, digital product, and management space. I worked there for 18 years. Prior to that, I worked in technology consulting firms and dealt with the management space at tech startups.
What has been the proudest accomplishment of your career?
I am proud of working in public service as well as having positions where my work was able to have a broad impact on an industry, such as mortgage. For example, my team introduced mortgage products for renovation, manufactured housing, and green mortgages,which lenders could then offer to borrowers. Prior to that, I did a lot in the digital space and introduced Freddie Mac’s first electronic mortgage. My team rolled out uniform data standards across the industry that I think will continue to provide a basis for innovation in the industry. My team is working on a similar project right now in my current role. The CFPB is introducing regulation around the collection of small business lending data similar to home mortgage act disclosure data.
What has been the biggest challenge of your career?
I think the biggest challenge of anyone’s career is understanding what your priority is and not getting distracted from it. Sometimes, your priority is not to get a promotion and not to make the most money, but it’s easy to get distracted by those kinds of things.
How do you balance your personal life with your professional development?
It is easier now because my three children are grown, so there is not as much balance to achieve. But when my children were young, I had to keep an eye out on what my priorities were.
What advice do you have for our members as they begin exploring careers and internships?
Ask a lot of questions and be open to new things.
What’s your favorite thing to do for fun?
The thing I like to do most is talk with friends, whether it is walking together or grabbing a meal together. It’s just nice to spend time with friends and family.
What are some book recommendations that you may have?
I read very often– around a book a week - a mix of fiction and nonfiction. For recommendations, for someone who wants to read and understand more about housing and underserved communities I recommend “Evicted”; it gives you a sense of the difficulties of poverty in America. For fiction, I like science fiction, mystery, and read lots of teen books along with my kids. I loved all the Harry Potter books and would steal them away at night when they would sleep to read them. I read an occasional bit of literature mostly for book clubs. This month's book was “This Tender Land”, which I’d recommend.
Anything else you would like to share?
I would encourage people to think about public service as a potential career option. We need business people in regulation, not just lawyers and economists. There are smart individuals with business backgrounds who might thrive doing meaningful work in public service, but it is not necessarily always what those who majored in business think about.