Profiles in Diversity Journal Fourth Quarter Magazine 2021

Page 72

BL A C K

2021

Director, Legislative Policy & External Affairs

LEADERS Worth Watching

TM

AWARD

Charles R. Lowery, Jr.

Education: JD, University of Michigan Law School; BA with honors, economics, Stanford University Company Name: New American Funding Industry: Mortgage Company CEO: Rick Arvielo Company Headquarters Location: Tustin, California Number of Employees: 4,500 Your Location (if different from above): Washington, DC Words you live by: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge Who is your personal hero? My father, Charles R. Lowery, Sr. What book are you reading? Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, and Thrive by Bradley R. Staats What was your first job? Newspaper carrier for the Cleveland Plain Dealer Favorite charity: Susan G. Komen for the Cure Interests: Exercise, sports (the Cleveland Browns), reading, and spending time with family Family: Two sons, Jelani and Amir, and two granddaughters, Grace and Lexi

Finding My Way to Help People I never expected to work in the mortgage industry, but I am excited about my current career and opportunities. After working as a newspaper carrier in high school, and as a garbage collector, steel mill worker, and junior accountant during college, I wanted to go to law school to “help people.” I wanted to improve and change our society, so I was elected a member of the Michigan Law School Student Senate and president of the Michigan Black Law Students Association. However, I eventually found out that a traditional career in law would not help me to improve the world. Following law school, I took various jobs (Legal Aid, nonprofit, the federal government, and with agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Defense Department) in search of a job where I could combine what I learned while earning my economics and law degrees. Finally, in 1997, 70

2021 Fourth Quarter

at the age of 43, I found that combination at the DC Department of Banking and Financial Institutions. As general counsel, I worked on consumer financial issues and was introduced to the world of housing, mortgages, and foreclosures. I took a risk (and a pay cut) to join the Center for Responsible Lending, where I worked on mortgage and housing issues. After jobs with the Consumer Federation of America and the National NAACP Economic Department, I had an opportunity to join the mortgage industry. Now, in my role as Senior Advisor to the New American Dream Initiative, I can use my economics degree and my law degree to help the Black community achieve homeownership. I have often wondered why it took me so long to find my niche in the work world. Recently, I did some cleaning in my attic and found some of my mom’s papers and documents; it was amazing

to see some of junior high school report cards, her high school graduation diploma from Crenshaw County Training School, and her college grades from her two years of college at The Alabama State College for Negroes (now Alabama State University). I then realized that my mom went from being a stay-athome mom to enrolling in nursing school at the age of 38 to become a practical nurse (a job that she loved). I also remembered that my dad (who didn’t graduate from college) took many courses for his job as a custodian for the Cleveland Public School System. Just like my parents, I have realized that I, too, am a lifelong learner. After many years of gaining work experience in the federal government, district government, nonprofit advocacy, and civil rights organizations, I am now able to combine those experiences successfully in my current job to help others. www.diversityjournal.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Profiles in Diversity Journal Fourth Quarter Magazine 2021 by Leadership Journal - Issuu