John Hope Bryant

Operation HOPE and Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti Stand in Support of Mortgage HOPE Crisis Hotline in Los Angeles

This week Operation HOPE stood with my friend and HOPE Partner, Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, as we announced the results of the work of the Mortgage HOPE Crisis Hotline, and stood with families and individuals who have had their lives positively impacted, and in each case their home saved, because of our work.

What most do not know is that the Mortgage HOPE Crisis Hotline, which is now national, has modified or helped to restructure more than $450 million in mortgages (half a $ billion) and served more than 100,000 individuals and familes, was originally the idea of one Eric Garcetti.  That's right -- a politician actually doing his job, as public servant.

John Hope Bryant and Operation HOPE Meets with Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke

Today I was honored to meet with friend of HOPE and friend to underserved communities everywhere -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C.

Meeting with the Chairman reminded me of why we gave him our HOPE Award in the first place, when he came to speak at our last HOPE Global Financial Literacy Summit in Anacostia. The Chairman has been a big supporter of financial literacy in the past, and today I formally briefed him on what I believe comes next in the silver rights movement, or financial dignity for all. We spoke about HOPE's 20th Anniversary (May 5th, 2012), our domestic and global work, our Gallup-HOPE Index results, the Gallup-HOPE Index Cities Initiative, the new HOPE Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, HOPE Business-In-A-Box, the Wikia-HOPE Global Money Initiative, and our on- the-ground results. Separately, I discussed my new role as chairman of the new Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment for the US President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, a Council chaired by John Rogers. Specifically, I briefed him around our coming Local Financial Literacy Council efforts.

The Chairman has breathed confidence and a sense of stability in these times, in America and around the world. I wanted to thank him, personally. I also told him to remember that "no good deed shall go unpunished." To keep on moving forward, serving, helping.

Stay tuned for more to come from my meeting with the Chairman, and his team. Jena Roscoe, HOPE Government Relations Chief, staffed me for this important meeting.


John Hope Bryant is founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and bestselling author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass).

- Posted from my iPhone

Operation HOPE Receives $2 Million Commitment from E*TRADE Bank

 

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Read the complete story around this incredible commitment, and this in incredible company below.

Operation HOPE Receives $2 Million Commitment from E*TRADE Bank.

The Work of Operation HOPE for 2011

 

A special thank you to my best friend and Operation HOPE strategic advisor, Rod McGrew, for lending his voiceover skills (pro-bono of course) for this inspiring video, which was shown at the 2011 Operation HOPE Board Retreat.

Okay, let's go...

 

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass) the only African-American bestselling business author in America, and a Member of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for President Barack Obama.  Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum. 

 

Wells Fargo Commits up to $250,000 to Operation HOPE to Help Struggling Homeowners

Operation HOPE to participate in Wells Fargo effort to extend home preservation services to help homeowners with comprehensive face-to-face counseling

LOS ANGELES – Operation HOPE announced today that Wells Fargo, America’s largest mortgage lender, is committing up to $250,000 to HOPE for providing holistic, face-to-face, counseling and assistance to its customers including applying for mortgage modifications.

“This is a collaborative effort between Operation HOPE and Wells Fargo aligned to preserve homeownership,” said Bill Walbrecher, HOPE president and Chief Operating Officer. “Through this unique effort, HOPE will provide a scalable solution to help stabilize the housing market and bring relief to homeowners in distress nationwide.”

With the collaborative effort, Wells Fargo has approved Operation HOPE to help extend home preservation services to Wells Fargo mortgage customers through comprehensive face-to-face credit counseling and mortgage payment assistance.  The program provides a Web-enabled portal for counselors to transmit the necessary documents required to successfully provide assistance to customers with mortgage modifications.

“Wells Fargo believes in the critical role HUD-approved housing counselors like Operation HOPE have in assisting homeowners facing mortgage payment challenges,” said Joe Ohayon, SVP with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Community Relations.  “This collaborative effort is another example of Wells Fargo’s commitment to help customers stay in their homes.”

Bryant Briefs HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan on HOPE's Mortgage Work at White House

Following very substantive remarks around the Jobs Bill by President Obama and Vice President Biden at the White House yesterday, I had the opportunity to brief HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan around our work in and with respect to the ongoing mortgage crisis. As part of our HOPE Coalition America (HCA), emergency financial and economic disaster prepared, response and recovery division at Operation HOPE, our Mortgage HOPE Crisis Hotline has helped modify or completely restructure more than $450 million in mortgages in this crisis.

Friend of HOPE, Alex Amparo, Appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary at FEMA

Sometimes, it is true, nice guys do finish first. I am so very happy to share the news that friend of Operation HOPE and HOPE Coalition America (HCA has a national partnership with DHS/FEMA for emergency financial and economic disaster preparedness, response and recovery), Mr. Alex Amparo, has been promoted to a key post within FEMA!

Alex Amparo will serve as the new FEMA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Recovery. Alex comes to us with over 18 years of public service experience at the Federal and State levels.

Alex has been serving as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Response and Recovery, where he has been instrumental in negotiating national partnerships and integrating activities and improving efficiency by supporting the realignment of responsibilities among FEMA directorates as part of the Strategic Integration Group.

From 1999 through 2010, Alex served as the Director of Emergency Management for the Florida Commission on Community Service. As a member of the State Emergency Response Team, he held leadership positions in over 60 State Emergencies including the response and recovery efforts of 22 Major Presidentially Declared Disasters. During this time, Alex also led the expansion of Florida’s State Emergency Response Team through formalized agreements and creative partnerships with Voluntary, Faith-based and Non-Government Organizations. Nationally recognized for his contributions in emergency management, Alex was also deployed to disaster activations in six other states and territories through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

Prior to his position as Director of Emergency Management, Alex worked as a senior staff member of the late Governor Lawton Chiles and for the Florida Division of Emergency Management in the Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs.

Alex holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Multinational Business from Florida State University and a Masters in Business Administration from California State University.

Alex Amparo is simply, a good man. We want him to succeed in his new role, and will do everything we can to aide him in doing so.


John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, the founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc., author of Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business book LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), and a Member of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability.

Operation HOPE Attends 2011 Clinton Global Initiatives Meeting

I am honored to say that I was part of the founding class of Young Global Leaders (YGLs) for the World Economic Forum, and I was honored to be invited to attend the first and inaugural meeting of the Clinton Global Initiatives, now known around the world as CGI.

Inspired by President Clinton and his key aides Doug Band, Mary Morrison and others, CGI has now grown into a global powerhouse that literally clogs traffic with the best of them (think the UN) in one of the most powerful cities in the world -- New York City. And so goes the ritual; China for the World Economic Forum "Summer Davos" meeting, following by CGI, and dashing back and forth to the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) meeting in Washington, D.C. during the same week.

CGI is more than a meeting. Literally hundreds of billions of dollars, and countless goodwill, has been organized and re-mobilized to help solve a range of problems in the world; from poverty, to the environment, to health, good governance, to the future of philanthropy and overall leadership --- leaders have come together to make compelling and inspiring CGI commitments. Operation HOPE made a first year commitment to launch Operation HOPE, South Africa, and not only did we meet it, but we exceeded it. And more is to come -- with one or two important new CGI commitments this week. Stand by for more.

A special thank you to Mary Hagerty, our global chief of financial literacy, and Jena Roscoe, our chief of government relations and public policy, for staffing me and providing support for these meetings. Thank you to President Clinton's team, led by Bob Harrison, CEO of CGI, for organizing once again a first class annual meeting.



And it goes without saying -- a special thank you to my friend former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who was featured in my now bestselling business book for 2010 -- LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass). President Clinton IS making a difference in our world.

The best is yet to come.

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, the founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc., author of Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business book LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), and a Member of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability.

Remembering September 11 | Operation HOPE Blog

 

 

Founder's note: I remember this, as if it were yesterday.

As the  world outside of New York sat in horrific silence after the falling of the towers, Operation HOPE was grateful that HOPE New York Program Manager Jennifer Rivero who worked across the street from the World Trade Center in our donated office space with Deutsche Bank, had a meeting in midtown that morning.

Read the complete story here.

Remembering September 11 | Operation HOPE Blog.

Operation HOPE Leader Oliver Bell to Speak at White House Urban Entrepreneurship Forum, New Orleans

Oliver Bell is the Market Vice President for Operation HOPE, New Orleans. Oliver Bell directs Operation HOPE’s financial empowerment programs in the Gulf Coast region. Under his leadership, the Louisiana office has assisted more than 150,000 individuals and small businesses with free small business coaching, homeowners’ recovery services, personal finance counseling, and BP claims applications.