Celia Winslow
President & CEOAmerican Financial Services Association
Celia is the President & CEO of AFSA. She was elected to the post by the AFSA Board of Directors in January 2025 and formally took the role in July 2025. She joined AFSA in 2006 and has been leading AFSA’s federal government affairs department, which promotes AFSA’s mission of expanding and protecting access to consumer credit with policymakers on Capitol Hill, the administration, federal regulators, and in the courts. Her expertise covers a wide range of regulatory, legislative, and legal issues associated with consumer credit and she is a frequent speaker on those topics.
Before joining AFSA, Celia worked in the Development Office at the Pontifical North American College. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from The Catholic University of America.
My Areas of Expertise: i.e. strategy, marketing, team building, executive management?
Government affairs, consumer credit policy, & non-profit management.
Areas of expertise upon which I would like to continue learning.
Data science and marketing.
What three keywords best describe you?
Conscientious, determined, & empathetic.
Personal Motto:
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians
What are you passionate about?
My faith, my family, my friends, & my work. And also: vacationing near water, group texts, American political history, the Golden Age of British detective fiction, creative art projects, finding tv shows that aren’t terrible, Flavor-blasted Goldfish, the Oxford comma, Boggle, and not getting an iPhone.
What is something interesting about you that members might not know?
I hiked the Inca Trail.
Who has been a role model for you?
My parents, Bill Himpler, and Tip O’Neill.
What are you most proud of?
Surviving a year as PTA president.
MENTORING:
a. What would you say are the key success factors for a mentoring relationship?
Trust, open-mindedness, availability, and compatibility.
b. What advice would you give yourself as a young executive?
Push the envelope!
c. What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started your career?
That the extra work, while it might be frustrating at the time, generally pays off in the long run.
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