About CESI

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Dr. Diane Chen, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Diane Chen, founder, president and CEO of CESI Debt Solutions, offers a vast knowledge of business and education services. At CESI, she is responsible for the Board of Directors and oversees all the operational functions of the company.

Dr. Chen, a native of China, played a significant role in establishing the sister-state relationship between North Carolina and the Liaoning Province, China. She served as the liaison and interpreter for Gov. James Hunt’s trade delegation to China in 1998. In addition, Dr. Chen worked as the International Program Coordinator at Howard Community College in Maryland from 1994 to 1996. 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 U.S. and China.

Dr. Chen earned both her Master and Doctorate degrees in adult education from North Carolina State University in 1993 and 1995 respectively. She currently holds positions as vice president for the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA), as well as Advisory Board member of First Citizens Bank. In addition, she is a member of the Encore Program at North Carolina State University and a committee member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh.

Neil Ellington, Executive Vice President

A 22-year veteran of the finance industry, Neil currently serves as the executive vice president for CESI Debt Solutions, where he leads a staff of dedicated counselors and managers who help families across America with their financial needs. 

Neil is a graduate of Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and has held several positions in the field of finance and management. For several years he was the Branch Manager for Ford Consumer Finance, managing a loan portfolio of $22 million with direct underwriting authority up to $250,000.

After working for Ford, Neil worked with Wells Fargo as a division assistant.  His principle responsibilities were care and management of a network of commercial loan brokers in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area that specialized is the small commercial market, originating loans under $2 million.

He has worked at CESI since January 2007.

Greg Smalls, Vice President Counseling Services

As Vice President of Counseling Services, Greg serves in the important role of leading our counseling and management team – helping CESI employees to better serve and assist the families we speak to every day.

Greg is a 20-year distinguished career veteran of the United States Army and a graduate of Pierce College in Tacoma Washington.

After leaving the Army Greg worked for Excel Communications as an independent sales representative helping build a sales force of over 300 agents. His training, teaching and motivation helped create annual revenue in excess of $750,000.

Greg joined CESI in 2002 and has held several positions at CESI including Credit Counselor, Coach and Outbound Team Coach.

Christel McDuffie, Director of Creditor Services and Compliance

Christel started her career at CESI Debt Solutions nearly six years ago as a credit counselor. Since then, she has also served as assistant education director and state licensing coordinator, and is currently the director of Creditor Services and Compliance.

In her current role, Christel is responsible for maintaining all records and documents pertaining to state licensing, and ensuring that CESI complies with all state regulations and Creditor guidelines. She manages all functions of the services department and maintains positive Creditor relations for the organization.

Christel holds a Credit Counselor Certification from the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Stuart Miller, Director of Creditor Relations

Stuart joined the CESI team in 2010 as Director of Creditor Relations. In this position Stuart is responsible to create, build and maintain relationships with creditors and financial institutions within the industry.  He will also work to develop partnerships and promote the value of Credit Counseling Agencies (CCA) relationships.

Prior to his position at CESI he was with JP Morgan Chase & Co in Delaware where he most recently served as Credit Counseling Agency Relationship Manager responsible for more than 400 CCAs. He has more than 17 years experience in the Card Industry leading and supporting consumer credit functions focused on credit counseling, product management and collection process improvements.

A graduate of Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y, Stuart earned a BA in Business Administration.

Leigh Lester Holmes, Housing Program Manager

A comprehensive understanding of economics, the housing industry and money management makes Leigh a dependable source for current information and educational advice to prospective and current homeowners. With CESI Debt Solutions Leigh manages the housing program, leading an effort to develop innovative ways to help families with their housing needs.

Leigh holds a masters degree in management and public administration from the University of Phoenix – her studies focused on human capital development and managing sustainable customer relationships.

Prior to joining the CESI team in 2008, Leigh served as a senior mortgage consultant with WR Starkey Mortgage in Raleigh, where the role as team lead honed her management skills while providing valuable insight into the challenges and benefits of the mortgage industry.

As a board member for the Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, Leigh has taken a personal interest in supporting the local housing and community development needs.

Tracy East, Director of Public Outreach & Social Media

Since joining CESI Debt Solutions in June of 2008, Tracy has completed the necessary coursework to become a certified personal finance counselor, and uses her knowledge in credit counseling and debt management to help consumers get out of debt. 

As director of public outreach and social media, Tracy builds and maintains partnerships with community agencies and groups and manages a team of community educators that provides education on financial literacy topics. Tracy also oversees the social media activities of CESI Debt Solutions including the corporate blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other media outlets.

Tracy is a graduate of Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana.