Yonkers, NY – Consumer Reports (CR), the mission-driven nonprofit organization, is pleased to welcome the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors: Willie E. May, Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Morgan State University, and Russell G. Noles, retired Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Nuveen, a subsidiary of Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association (TIAA).

These additions to the Board, announced at Consumer Reports’ Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 16th, come on the heels of the launch of CR’s Digital Lab, a groundbreaking effort to advance and protect consumer rights in the digital era. 

“The world we hope to build in the future is the same world we’ve been working to build since 1936 -- one in which consumers hold the power to keep the marketplace honest,” said Marta L. Tellado, President and CEO of Consumer Reports. “These two outstanding new Board members bring invaluable perspective and expertise to help CR stand with consumers in 2019 and beyond.”

“It’s a special honor to help guide an organization that offers people certainty and confidence in an ever-shifting world,” said Annette LoVoi, Chair of Consumer Reports' Board of Directors. “I look forward to working with Willie, Russell and fellow Board members, along with CR leadership, members and partners, to help deliver greater fairness, safety, and transparency to the marketplace.”

In addition to the election of May and Noles, the following Consumer Reports Board members were reelected to new three-year terms: Joaquín Alvarado, Founder, StudioToBe, and Executive Director, Project Accelerate-The Seattle Times; Annette LoVoi, Retired Director, Financial Access and Asset Building Program, National Appleseed; Willard P. Ogburn, Senior Fellow, National Consumer Law Center; A. Yeşim Orhun, Associate Professor, Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow, Associate Professor of Information, University of Michigan Ross School of Business; Micah L. Sifry, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Civic Hall.

About the New Members of the Consumer Reports Board of Directors:

Dr. Willie E. May is Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Morgan State University, where he supports research throughout the University and oversees IP and commercialization efforts. He previously served as the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology & Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and as the Director of Major Research and Training Activities at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. May’s laboratory-based research is described in more than 90 peer-reviewed technical publications. 

Dr. May also served as Vice President of the 18-person International Committee on Weights and Measures (CIPM); President of the CIPM’s Consultative Committee on Metrology in Chemistry and Biology; and Executive Board Member for the Joint Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM). He currently serves on the Science and Technology Advisory Boards for the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and China’s National Institute of Metrology. Dr. May earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Knoxville College and his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park. His numerous honors and awards include: Honorary Doctorates from Wake Forest University and the University of Alabama, Huntsville; the American Chemical Society’s Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry and Career Public Service Awards; the Department of Commerce’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals; NOBCChE’s Percy Julian Award; in 2015, being recognized as the Federal Government’s “Top Chemist” by Chemical and Engineering News magazine, and Federal Laboratory Director of the year by the Federal Laboratory Consortium.

Russell G. Noles retired in March 2019 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from Nuveen, the wholly owned asset management subsidiary of Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association (TIAA), a diversified Fortune 100 financial services company headquartered in New York City. He was responsible for executive oversight of the company’s finance, information technology, operations and risk management functions. Prior to this role Mr. Noles was the Senior Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer for TIAA for six years where he led a team that was responsible for strategic planning, corporate development and strategy consulting. Previously, Mr. Noles was Senior Vice President of Trust Products for TIAA for three years, which included executive oversight for TIAA-CREF Trust Company, F.S.B., and Kaspick & Company (Planned Giving business). Mr. Noles joined TIAA in July, 2004 in the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Internal Audit Executive for three years and served as the Acting Chief Financial Officer of the company for one year. 

Before TIAA, Mr. Noles spent three years with the St. Paul Companies, a property and casualty insurance company in Minnesota where he was the Vice President and Chief Internal Audit Executive for the company. Previously, he spent over seventeen years in the telecommunications industry in Denver, Colorado with US West and Qwest Communications in a number of accounting, finance and internal audit roles. Mr. Noles holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from Metropolitan State University of Denver and an M.B.A. degree in Finance from the University of Denver and is a licensed C.P.A. He serves on the Board of Trustees for Metropolitan State University of Denver.

For the full list of Board members, please visit: https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/about-us/our-people/our-board/index.htm

About the Board

Consumer Reports is governed by a board of volunteer directors. A slate of nominees is elected to the Board annually by Consumer Reports members for a three-year term. Nominees must have no conflicts of interest with commercial, business, manufacturing, or financial enterprises that could reasonably affect their independent judgment as directors. Board members receive no compensation, but are reimbursed for meeting expenses.