About

I recently experienced one of the biggest shake-ups of my career. Practically overnight, I was moved from my Procurement position into a Risk and Compliance Advisor role after our company brought in a new CEO and President. The transition was abrupt—honestly, the entire organization felt like it had been hit by a tidal wave. Leadership changes tend to do that. Executives were replaced almost instantly, communication was practically non existent and people were buzzing with anxiety in every hallway. But even in the middle of all that chaos, I made the choice to welcome the challenge. Something in me was ready for a new chapter.

When I started working through the Consumer Protection learning activities, I realized it wasn’t just “another course requirement.” It actually opened doors for me. For the first time, I found myself engaging with our Legal Department in a way that felt confident, knowledgeable and—dare I say—exciting! I was learning the language they speak: tort law, product liability, warranties, marketing regulations, the whole world of consumer rights. It was empowering to finally understand the framework behind the rules I had heard referenced for years.

Tort law stood out to me immediately. It’s one thing to hear it described in annual compliance training, but it’s another to dig into real cases and see the human impact. My research led me straight into one of the biggest tort stories in recent years—the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder lawsuits. I had no idea the scale was so massive. Reading about thousands of individuals who alleged that a product they trusted for decades caused ovarian cancer was gut-wrenching. And then learning that J&J is attempting to resolve these cases with an $8 billion settlement really drove home how serious product safety and corporate responsibility truly is. It made everything I was learning feel real, not theoretical. Much of my continuing education at work touches on tort law, product liability, warranties and marketing regulations like Regulation Z, TCPA and other consumer-protection rules. But for the first time, I wasn’t just clicking through modules, I was connecting the dots. Even warranties suddenly made sense to me in a more personal way. For years I joked about the classic meme: the robotic voice saying, “Hello, I’d like to talk to you about your car’s extended warranty.” I thought warranties were basically a running punchline. Then I bought a used Honda Odyssey—and for once, I actually purchased the extended warranty. To my surprise, it paid for several major repairs. That experience shifted my thinking. Warranties aren’t just legal jargon; they’re consumer safeguards. When used ethically, they protect people from financial loss and defective products.

Through this learning experience, three major shifts happened in my behavior and mindset as a consumer:

1. I am far more diligent about researching products.

Before buying anything significant—electronics, vehicles, even appliances—I now look for safety recalls, warranty details, FTC reports and consumer reviews. I’m not just looking for the best price anymore; I’m looking for red flags.

2. I pay much closer attention to marketing ethics.

I’ve always been an advocate for ethical marketing, but now I see even more ways companies blur the lines. Deceptive “before and after” photos, targeting people with unrealistic claims, selling personal data through apps—these tactics are everywhere. I can spot them faster now, and I don’t fall for them as easily.

3. I am committed to reporting scams when I see them.

Instead of shrugging them off, I’m going to leverage the tools on the FTC website. There are so many resources available that I honestly didn’t realize all of them even existed. I plan to keep visiting the site to stay educated and help protect others.