Brad Conner Joins the Foundation's Board of Trustees

(DUBLIN, OH) July 1, 2009 – The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption elected Brad Conner to its board of trustees at its June 12 meeting.

Conner is Vice Chairman, Consumer Finance at Citizens Financial Group, a multi-state bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. He is in charge of the company’s residential lending, national auto finance, consumer credit card services and student finance businesses. He is a member of CFG’s 11-member Executive Management Committee, the company’s most senior leadership team. With nearly 25 years of management experience in financial services, Conner has an impressive track record of success in leading consumer finance businesses, including mortgage, home equity and student finance.

"We are so pleased to welcome Brad to our Board," said Rita Soronen, executive director of the Foundation. "He brings great expertise, energy and an incredible personal passion for helping foster care children find permanent, adoptive families, and we believe he will be a wonderful asset in furthering our mission."

'I'm truly excited and honored to serve on the board of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. It's a wonderful organization, and more importantly, we share a true passion for helping kids find forever, adoptive homes. I look forward to playing a meaningful role in helping the Foundation be even more successful in fulfilling its mission,” said Conner

Before joining CFG in June 2008, he was President of JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s Home Equity and Mortgage Home Loan Direct business, headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz. He previously oversaw the combined home equity business of JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank One after the companies merged in 2004, and served as CEO of Chase’s Education Finance businesses.

Conner, a native of St. Louis, has a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Arkansas.
He is based in Providence, RI.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a non-profit 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the adoptions of the more than 140,000 children in North America’s foster care systems ready and waiting to be adopted. Created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas who was adopted as a child, the Foundation spearheads programs such as Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, with adoption recruiters in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada to find permanent, loving families for children in the foster care system, and Adoption-Friendly Workplace, which encourages employers to offer adoption benefits to their employees. The Foundation also works with adoption advocates and officials to streamline the adoption process and make adoption more affordable. As the only foundation dedicated exclusively to foster care adoption, we are driven by Dave’s simple value: Do what’s best for the child. To learn more about the Foundation’s work, please visit www.DaveThomasFoundationforAdoption.org

CONTACT:
Rita Soronen, Executive Director
614-764-8482
rita_soronen@davethomasfoundation.org