OUR BOARD
![Monica Smiley](/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Monica2.jpg)
Monica Smiley
Board Chairman
Monica Smiley comes to The Institute of Consumer Money Management Board with a strong background in business and journalism. She is the editor and publisher of Enterprising Women, a magazine published for women business owners which reaches one million women entrepreneurs around the world. She is a highly regarded thought leader on the topic of women’s entrepreneurship.
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Ms. Smiley earned her journalism degree from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. She now lives with her husband in Cary, NC and is the proud mom of two adult sons, three step-children, and grandmother of five grandchildren.
![Jeff Leiter, Ph.D.](https://icmmnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/jeffQUTprofa0304.jpg)
Jeff Leiter, Ph.D.
Board Director
Jeff Leiter is an organizational sociologist with substantial training and experience in research design and implementation. He earned his B.A. at Williams College in 1970 and his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1977. Michigan is a world center for survey research. Starting with his dissertation research and continuing throughout his career, Jeff has added to his survey research training and expertise from Michigan expertise in such qualitative methods as depth interviewing and observation. As he puts it, “Each method has its place, its purpose. Design the research and pick the method according to the goal and the question. Using a combination of targeted methods to reach your goal can multiply the payoff.”
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Jeff retired from the sociology faculty at NC State University in 2014. His 36 years of teaching focused on the sociological study of work, organizations, and the economy. Whether teaching undergraduates or graduates, he always asked his students to take what they learned in the classroom out into the real world of workplaces and organizations.
In addition to his academic work, Jeff has contributed to many community endeavors, including Raleigh’s new Unified Development Ordinance and the ongoing efforts of the Triangle Labor Group. He was recently appointed to the GoTriangle Citizens Advisory Council.
![Dr. Diane Chen](/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Dr-Chen2.jpg)
Dr. Diane Chen
Board Member
Dr. Diane Chen is the Founder and Executive Director of Institute of Consumer Money Management (ICMM), a nonprofit research-centered organization. ICMM’s mission is to conduct and provide funding for research and studies that promote positive spending behaviors and consumer asset building with the focus on improving low and moderate income population’s financial well being. Diane is the founder and served as Chief Executive Officer of Consumer Education Services Inc (CESI), a 501C3 credit counseling agency from 1998 to 2017. In the last two decades, she has lead CESI to become one of the top credit counseling agencies in US. Prior to founding CESI in 1998, Dr. Chen was the President of New China Development Corporation for six years. In that capacity, she helped many North Carolina businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions establish partnerships with China, and worked as a consultant to facilitate the trade and business missions between the US and China.
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Diane earned her master and doctorate degrees in adult education from North Carolina State University.
![Lee Tate](https://icmmnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/L-Tate-1.jpg)
Lee Tate
Board Member
Mr. Tate retired from IBM Global Business Services as a consultant in 2014. He is a seasoned Senior Manager with extensive business process experience in the Financial Services Industry with special emphasis on financial systems and insurance systems.
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He focuses on delivery excellence through leadership, accountability, collaboration and continuous process improvement. His career spans 35+ years with a blend of business and technical perspectives.
Mr. Tate values his experiences working nationally and internationally with variety large and medium sized businesses as well with many diverse and inclusive teams.
Mr. Tate started his early career as an Internal Auditor for a number of banks and insurance companies before moving on to PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Senior Consultant.
Mr. Tate is an undergraduate of Delaware State University with degree in Business Administration. He received an MBA degree in Computer & Information Science from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Project Management Professional (PMP).
Currently, Mr. Tate serves on the Advisory Council of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute “OLLI” at NC State University. He is also an active volunteer at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh and serves as the Lead for the UUFR Anti-Racism Ministry Team.
Mr. Tate is a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs and a member of the North Carolina Project Management Institute.
Mr. Tate lives with his wife in Wake Forest, NC and has two adult daughters and a grandson.
![Dr. Erin Krupa](https://icmmnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Erin-Krupa.jpg)
Dr. Erin Krupa
Board Member
Dr. Erin Krupa received a B.S. in mathematics from Elon University in 2002. After, she earned a master’s degree from Wake Forest University in mathematics and then taught for four years at W.G. Enloe High School in Raleigh before returning to school to earn her Ph.D. in mathematics education at North Carolina State University (NCSU).
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![Dr. Tara Kenyon](https://icmmnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Tara-Kenyon_Headshot_200x200px-1.png)
Dr. Tara Kenyon
Board Member
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She earned a PhD from the International School of Management (ISM) in Paris in 2020 and is a distinguished graduate of the ABA’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking; her thesis is published in the Harvard Business School library. She also holds an MBA from Louisiana State University.