Cathleen Bell is Vice President of Research and Insights at National Debt Relief, where she leads consumer research focused on understanding the emotional, financial and behavioral journey of people struggling with overwhelming unsecured debt. Since joining the company in 2019 as an early member of the Client Experience team, Cathleen has played a key role in building and scaling research as a strategic pillar of the organization.

With a career spanning publishing, creative writing and market research as well as volunteering as a peer-to-peer counselor, Cathleen brings a blend of analytical rigor and deep empathy to her work. Her research career includes work across financial services, education, nonprofit, and consumer branding, with a particular focus on uncovering the human realities behind financial decisions. At National Debt Relief, she helps ensure that products, messaging and experiences are grounded in real consumer needs, not assumptions.

Cathleen’s perspective on debt is shaped not only by decades of research experience, but also by lived experience navigating financial uncertainty while raising young children. She is deeply motivated by the belief that debt is not a moral failing, and she works to give people their agency back and take control of their finances through thoughtful, compassionate debt relief solutions.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Barnard College and a master’s degree in writing from Columbia University. A former young adult novelist with seven published books, Cathleen brings a storyteller’s sensibility to her work, helping translate complex consumer insights into clarity, strategy and action.