Members of the Seminole State College President’s Leadership Class attended a financial literacy event on Oct. 5 in the Utterback Ballroom, located in the Enoch Kelly Haney Center.

Students engaged with two speakers through Zoom, a videoconferencing platform. The guest speakers were Elaine Dodd, Executive Vice President/Fraud Division for the Oklahoma Bankers Association, and Melanie Rinehart, Director of Financial Assistance at SSC. Dodd provided insight into safeguarding personal information and guided students on what to do if their identities were stolen. Following Dodd’s presentation, Rinehart spoke to students about budgeting, payment options, savings, debt and repayment, and managing credit.

Dodd spent 22 years in law enforcement doing investigative work for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, retiring in 1995 as the director. Her tenure there allowed opportunities for investigating white-collar crimes as a diversion investigator, as well as training for officers and medical professionals.

Dodd joined the Oklahoma Bankers Association in October 2003 and since then has provided fraud training to thousands of bankers and customers across the state. In February 2013, she was awarded the Brad Edwards Consumer Champion Award by the Oklahoma Attorney

General’s Office. And, in April 2013, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame.

For six years, she coordinated the community outreach effort for Leadership Oklahoma, helping to start local leadership groups, facilitating retreats and teaching and enhancing skills on a local level.

Dodd holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma.

Rinehart has worked in higher education financial aid for seven years. She currently holds 11 National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Credentials, including the new Financial Aid Administrator Certification. She has earned her Certification as a Financial Education Instructor from the National Financial Educators Council. She serves as the current Oklahoma Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA) Treasurer Elect, Southwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’s Oklahoma Delegate at Large and Boot Camp Committee Chair.

Other notable accolades are being the 2019 Seminole Rotary President, 2019 OASFAA Philo Brasher Award winner and involvement in multiple committees on SSC’s campus.

She holds a master’s degree in business administration from St. Gregory’s University and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Oklahoma.