South Orange, NJ—Wednesday, October 8, 2025—Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra and New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin received the Outstanding Public Service Award at New Jersey Citizen Action Education Fund’s (NJCAEF) Financial Justice Summit 2025.

The awards honored Chopra and Platkin for their exceptional leadership and integrity in government services, specifically recognizing Chopra’s “unwavering dedication to protecting the American people from financial harm” and Platkin’s “steadfast dedication to civil rights, fair housing, and consumer finance protection.”

"Crimes against consumers are on the rise, and regulators in Washington aren't lifting a finger to enforce the laws on the books," said former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "States like New Jersey are stepping up to protect people against corporate abuses and ripoffs. I'm grateful to New Jersey Citizen Action, whose work is needed now more than ever."

“I am humbled today to receive the Outstanding Public Service Award from New Jersey Citizen Action, an organization whose advocacy and outreach are helping ensure that every New Jerseyan enjoys economic opportunity and financial security,” said Attorney General Platkin. “New Jersey has some of the nation’s strongest consumer protection and civil rights laws because here we know that every person deserves to be treated fairly and equally under the law. And, as New Jersey’s Attorney General, it has been the honor of a lifetime to stand up for and defend the rights of each of the 9.5 million people who, like me, proudly call New Jersey home.”

“Consumers throughout America and New Jersey already struggle with high costs, and also against corporate actors that take advantage of their vulnerabilities,” said Beverly Brown Ruggia, Financial Justice Program Director for New Jersey Citizen Action.  “Through their tireless efforts Rohit Chopra and Matt Platkin have strived to ensure that millions of Americans and New Jerseyans—and in particular working families and people of color—have the financial and consumer protections they need for economic stability and prosperity.”

Rohit Chopra has devoted his career to standing up for consumers and taking on powerful financial interests, and is one of our nation’s most influential voices for consumer protection, financial fairness, and marketplace accountability. At the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), he was known for his sharp analysis and steadfast advocacy for fair competition, data privacy, and consumer rights. As Director of the CFPB, he championed the Bureau’s mission: to ensure that our financial markets are fair, transparent, and accountable to all Americans, especially for working families and vulnerable communities.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, in a video tribute to Chopra during the award ceremony, noted that Chopra had been instrumental in creating the CFPB following the 2008 financial crisis, and transforming it into the agency that has returned more than $21 billion to some 200 million consumers through the United States.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office has taken on multiple corporate interests to protect New Jersey consumers and workers. These efforts have included a lawsuit against landlords and software companies accused of colluding to raise rents in violation of state and federal antitrust and consumer protection laws, enforcement actions against employers who violate state wage and hour laws, and his office’s support for the CFPB’s multistate initiative to support the federal rule to expand supervision over nonbank digital payment apps like Venmo and Zelle.

Platkin has defended numerous laws that protect everyday New Jerseyans, including the Temporary Worker Bill of Rights and the State’s landmark 2024 affordable housing legislation. Under Platkin’s leadership, his office has also led the way in lawsuits to protect New Jerseyans from federal overreach, including challenging the executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship, rollbacks of Affordable Care Act protections, and numerous cases to preserve education and social services funding from federal termination.

NJCAEF’s Financial Justice Summit 2025 topics included possible solutions to New Jersey’s housing crisis; discussions on how state can protect consumers when the federal government fails to do so, the benefits of state Community Reinvestment Act, and addressing medical debt in New Jersey.