Brenda J. Cude

Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia 

Brenda J. Cude is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics at the University of Georgia. She earned a Ph.D. in Consumer Economics at Purdue University.

Dr. Cude has served as a funded consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners since 1994 and on the Board of Directors for the Consumer Participation Program since 1996. A specific area of expertise is consumer communication through websites, disclosures, and information/education targeted to consumers. She was a member of the U. S. Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance from 2014-2016.

Dr. Cude’s primary research interests are in consumer decision-making, with an emphasis in personal financial literacy. She has published more than 200 articles and presented more than 80 papers at professional conferences. In 2024, Dr. Cude will be Executive Editor for the prestigious Journal of Consumer Affairs.

Dr. Cude has been engaged in outreach throughout her career. From 1986 through 1998, she was a state extension specialist in Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois. In Georgia, she was the Statewide Coordinator of the Georgia Peer Financial Counseling (PFC) Program from 2004 to 2010.

Dr. Cude has served in a variety of capacities representing consumers. The most recent of these are Public Member of the American National Standards Institute–Conference for Food Protection Accreditation Committee (2007-2014); the Board of Directors, Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (2006-2011); and the Direct Selling Education Foundation Board, 2011-2016.

Dr. Cude has received numerous teaching recognitions, including ones from the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois, the Direct Selling Education Foundation, and the American Council on Consumer Interests.