April 29, 2011

Keeping Your Credit Scores High

Do you know your credit score? Is it changing? Many Americans credit scores are plunging. We'll hear why, and what you can do about it. Then, youre on a business trip or a vacation, and you think your belongings are safe in your hotel room. Think again. Hotel crime is soaring. But we'll tell you how to stay safe.

Episode Segments:

InfoTrak: Improving Your Credit As more consumers struggle with bills, the average Americans credit score has fallen. John Ulzheimer, President of Consumer Education at Credit.com explained what specific behaviors can cause credit scores to drop and what consumers can do to improve their credit score.
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InfoTrak: Crime on the Rise in Hotels Michael Brown, PhD, Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Ball State University and co-author of a study of crime at hotels in Miami Beach discusses the results of his study that found that as the recession continues, crime is on the rise at many of the nations hotels. He explained what types of crimes are most common at hotels and vacation spots, and offered suggestions for vacationers to protect themselves and their valuables.
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InfoTrak: Racism and Mental Health Dr. Tumaini Coker is the co-author of a study of that found that fifth-graders who feel they've been mistreated because of their skin color are much more likely to have symptoms of mental disorders, especially depression. She explained why racism can have such a profound effect on youngsters, and how parents and pediatricians can help.
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

John Ulzheimer John Ulzheimer is a nationally recognized expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft. He is the President of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com and the credit blogger for Mint.com. Formerly of FICO, Equifax and Credit.com, John is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry. He has served as a credit expert witness in more than 75 cases and has been qualified to testify in both Federal and State court on the topic of consumer credit.John is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry.Since 2006 John has been a regular guest lecturer at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta and the University of Georgia in Athens. He also volunteers his time to speak about consumer credit to the Georgia Consortium for Personal Financial Literacy and the Atlanta Union Mission. He has also taught courses at Emory University’s Center for Lifelong Learning and guest lectured at The Walker School, both in metro Atlanta. John's Website

Tumaini Rucker Coker Tumaini Rucker Coker, MD, MBA is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCLA and Associate Natural Scientist at RAND. Dr. Coker\'s research has focused on delivery system redesign for child and adolescent preventive health services, as well as socioeconomic disparities in health and health care. She investigates alternative models of health care delivery to improve the quality of primary care services delivered to children in low-income urban communities. She is currently principal investigator of a 5-year NIH-funded study to design and pilot-test a new model of well-child care delivery for low-income families with young children. Dr. Coker’s work has also focused on racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in family-centered care, the health and health care of homeless children, perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and its effects on child mental health, racial/ethnic disparities in mental health care utilization, and the health and health care of LGBT youth. Her work has been published in various journals including JAMA, Pediatrics, the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of Adolescent Health, and Academic Pediatrics, and has been covered by mainstream media outlets including CNN, USA Today, NBC, The Boston Globe, Time, Fox News, Reuters, WebMD, and HealthDay News. She is a recipient of the 2008 Academic Pediatric Association’s Young Investigator Award and practices general pediatrics at UCLA. Dr. Coker completed her undergraduate education at Stanford University and received an MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She received an MD at the Drew/UCLA Medical Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and completed a pediatric residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Coker was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Chicago from 2004-2006. Dr. Coker is a health services researcher at the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion (a CDC-funded Prevention Research Center). More About Dr. Coker