Robert D. Manning is author of the widely acclaimed Credit Card Nation, the inspiration behind the provocative documentary In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts, which explores the relationship between Congress and the credit complex and how it is having an enormously negative impact on the country's financial health.

Dr. Manning is a specialist in consumer finance, financial education, retail banking deregulation, race and ethnic studies, and globalization. A frequently invited expert at US Congressional Committee hearings (US Senate Banking, Judiciary, US House Financial Services), Professor Manning's research has influenced public policy debate on consumer debt in the US and several countries including Canada, the UK, India, China, and Australia. Currently, he is involved in developing national financial literacy programs for college students, community-based alternatives to high cost rent-to-own stores, and an informal bankruptcy option for consumers seeking to retain their homes.

He is also co-organizer of the national Fair and Responsible Lending Campaign, which seeks to mobilize grassroots coalitions to reform the consumer lending/debt collection industries. He also has served as an expert witness/consultant in many federal, class-action, and civil suits on behalf of consumer borrowing rights.

In his keynotes, Robert Manning addresses the wide-ranging effects of our nation's debt, from shrinking household debt to credit card use on college campuses, and how we can responsibly deal with this growing crisis.