Erik P. Shumar is a Doctoral Candidate in Social Policy & Administration at Columbia University School of Social Work. His research interests include the cultural development of adolescents in East Asia, international adoption, and nonprofit organizational decision-making. Mr. Shumar is currently writing his dissertation on behavioral finance and its application in financial education to create positive behavioral change in consumers with regard to how they conceptualize and understand their personal finances. In addition to his doctoral work, he is the Vice President and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Officer at a large, New York-based bank.  His responsibilities at the Bank include creating programs and products to ensure that the Bank meets the needs of the community and supports local small businesses, as well as identifying, sourcing, and assisting in the underwriting of community development and small business loans.

Mr. Shumar is also actively engaged as a freelance consultant for for-profit, not-for-profit, and governmental organizations regarding operational and financial management. He currently teaches Financial Management and the Columbia School of Social Work, and has also previously taught courses on research methods and quantitative analysis.

Formerly, Mr. Shumar was the Director of Programs and Finance at the Coalition for Debtor Education, where he conducted financial education classes and assisted with a successful, revenue-generating social enterprise arm of the organization. Utilizing his concentrated studies in and specialized understanding of low and moderate-income populations as well as underserved communities, Mr. Shumar has served as a consultant on banking and behavioral finance-related issues for governmental agencies including the FDIC, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. He has extensive international experience and is fluent in both Japanese and Korean.  While in South Korea, he worked as the Educational Director for Kaplan Center Korea.  In New York, he has worked as the Operations Manager for City Harvest and as a Regulatory Consultant at ING Financial Markets, LLC. Mr. Shumar is a summa cum laude graduate (with honors) of Bucknell University and also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs as well as Master of Philosophy and Master of Social Work degrees from the School of Social Work.   

Last updated April 07, 2011.