My significant FTC moment came when I realized I was in the best job of my lifetime. It happened in November 1995, four months into my new job as Deputy Director of BCP. I realized I had the best boss in the world (Jodie Bernstein), superb and dedicated colleagues to work with, and a range of new consumer protection challenges to address involving the emerging digital marketplace.
The Bureau had just held hearings on Consumer Protection in the High-Tech, Global Marketplace and was set to draft a strategic plan based on those hearings. Over the next six years under Jodie’s leadership, the Bureau successfully implemented that plan and went on to use strategic planning as a tool to implement a number of innovative management and enforcement initiatives. I continued to appreciate my good fortune in being able to be part of the “Jodie era,” and I still look back on that time as one of the highlights of my career.
—Teresa Schwartz