Executive Committee

Ren Essene has over 30 years of public service experience at the intersection of data, consumer protection, and community development. Ms. Essene currently serves as the Chief Data Officer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where she leads the CFPB’s enterprise data strategy and facilitates the effective management, use, sharing, and protection of agency data assets. Ms. Essene was awarded the 2023 CDO Datum Award by the Data Foundation and named among the Global Data Power Women List for 2023.

Over the last decade at the CFPB, Ms. Essene has led the development of the agency’s Data Policy and Governance Program; coordinated with industry and other government agencies to adopt voluntary industry data standards; and led the agency’s effort to modernize the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data collection. Previously, Ms. Essene organized the Federal Reserve Board’s public HMDA hearings and co-authored a book chapter on HMDA reform for Moving Forward: The Future of Consumer Credit and Mortgage Finance. In earlier service at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, Ms. Essene leveraged her prior decade of experience leading a community development organization; serving on the Advisory Council for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle; and working with community leaders and lenders to address housing issues in the Northwest. Ms. Essene earned a Master in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School.