Jim McCarthy 

Jim McCarthy is a resident of Dayton, Ohio, and is the President/CEO of the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, Inc.  He attended the University of Cincinnati and Wright State University. 

Mr. McCarthy is one of the architects the Predatory Lending Solutions (PLS) project, a pioneering project that addresses the epidemic problem of predatory mortgage lending in the Montgomery County, Ohio area.  Mr. McCarthy has secured more than $2.0 million dollars of local funding since 2001 to support the PLS project.  The PLS project is a multi-component project developed by the Fair Housing Center and its collaborative partners and has been used by other communities as a model in creating a program to address the problem of predatory lending.  Mr. McCarthy also recently secured an additional $206,000.00 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development to continue to the work of the PLS program through 2005.  Through the PLS project, the Fair Housing Center staff assist residents of Montgomery County by providing outreach and education on the dangers of predatory mortgage lending, and provide intervention and rescue services to those residents who have been victims of predatory mortgage lending.

In his role as the President/CEO of the Fair Housing Center, Mr. McCarthy has been primarily responsible for the implementation of the PLS project throughout Montgomery County since its inception in 2001.  He has traveled to many communities across the country to present about the problem of predatory mortgage lending and the PLS project.  Mr. McCarthy has worked closely with and presented at seminars and conference organized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AARP, the National Fair Housing Alliance, the Coalition on Homelessness & Housing in Ohio, the National Association of Counties, and the National Association for County Community & Economic Development.

In April 2002, Mr. McCarthy was recognized by The Dayton Business Journal as one of the Dayton Area’s top “40 Under 40”.  The 40 Under 40 honors Dayton's brightest young leaders under the age of 40. Past winners include politicians, business owners and community leaders who continue to impact the Dayton region. Award recipients are chosen based on their leadership qualities, success in business and community involvement. 

Mr. McCarthy is also a board member of the Dayton Fund for Home Rehabilitation, the Montgomery County Housing Advisory Board, and a member of the American Society of Public Administrators.  Jim is also the Second Vice Chair of the National Fair Housing Alliance based in Washington, DC.