Celia Winslow
President & CEOAmerican Financial Services Association
Celia Winslow is the President & CEO of the American Financial Services Association (AFSA). Founded in 1916, AFSA is the primary trade association for the consumer credit industry. AFSA members provide consumers with many kinds of credit, including traditional installment loans, direct and indirect vehicle financing, mortgages, payment cards, and sales finance.
She was elected to the post by the Board of Directors in 2025 and has been with AFSA since 2006. Her career at the association began in the legal and regulatory affairs department, which she directed during a time of significant change in the regulatory environment in Washington, DC. For several years, she led AFSA’s federal government affairs department, promoting and protecting access to credit and consumer choice on Capitol Hill, with multiple administrations, 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.
Celia believes strongly in the importance of financial education and chairs AWARE (Americans Well-informed on Automobile Retailing Economics), a collaborative industry effort to provide consumers with information, tools, and other resources to better understand the vehicle financing system. In addition, she serves on the board of the AFSA Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides MoneySKILL, an online personal finance course for middle schoolers, high schoolers, college students, and adults free of charge. She is also a recovering PTA president, soccer coach, and Girl Scout leader.
Before joining AFSA, Celia worked in the Development Office at the Pontifical North American College, America’s seminary in Rome. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from The Catholic University of America. Celia lives in College Park, Maryland, with her husband and twin teenage daughters.
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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