In January, Richard Dubois became executive director of the National Consumer Law Center, a Boston nonprofit that protects low-income and other disadvantaged people from exploitative financial practices. It has a staff of about 50, including about 20 attorneys. Dubois has worked for the organization since 1997, most recently as deputy director. He spoke about his new role with Globe reporter Sacha Pfeiffer.

1Dubois, who has an undergraduate degree from Yale and a JD from the University of Michigan, was attracted to consumer law as a result of both personal and professional experience.

“I was drawn to this work by the rampant unfairness that happens in the marketplace and by how huge corporations rig the system and take advantage of so many people,’’ he said. “When you see and hear what people go through, and the impact that has on their health and their children, you realize that financial distress is incredibly damaging. Until I was about 6 or 7, I grew up in a lower-income area, and it’s so clear to me that it’s outrageous how people can take advantage of others who are vulnerable. That’s something I’ve always felt very strongly about.’’

2Although the US economy is expanding and foreclosure rates have improved, Dubois says there remains a considerable need to protect consumers from predatory practices.

“The problems are still widespread, and they’re deep. Lower-income families are still struggling to make ends meet and falling behind on utility bills. They’re suffering from student loan debt and dealing with overdraft fees and medical debt. Their economic pain is still quite acute, and we’re seeing a lot of bankruptcy and enormous debt collection problems and people getting caught in the payday lending cycle. There are for-profit schools not providing a valuable education, so people end up with a lot of debt and a useless degree. All those things are still really serious issues.’’

3As NCLC’s new leader, Dubois plans to put more emphasis on a racial justice initiative and expand the practice of consumer law.

“Consumer abuses disproportionately harm communities of color. On issue after issue, that’s very striking, so it’s something we have made a priority to address. There are also a lot of low-income people who cannot afford a lawyer, and civil legal aid is underfunded across the country. A lot of people are sued by debt collectors, for example, and cannot afford representation, so we need more lawyers who are experts in consumer law, and we publish legal materials that help people effectively represent individual consumers.’’

4Dubois wants to continue a partnership with the state attorney general’s office called HomeCorps aimed at preventing foreclosures and helping distressed borrowers.

“The major banks are being very tight with their lending guidelines, by and large, and our objective is making sure home ownership is sustainable and people are in appropriate home loans — not just getting people a loan, but getting them the right loan and allowing them to have an affordable loan modification. That helps families going through difficult economic periods to get back on their feet and stay in their homes so you don’t have all the negative effects you get with a foreclosure.’’

5Although Dubois was raised in Long Island, N.Y., his parents are immigrants from the West Indies — they were born on the Caribbean island of Dominica. He still remembers traveling there as a child, although he hasn’t been back since.

“I was only about 6 when I was there, but I have pretty sharp memories that it was very different — the food, the roads, the accents, the landscape. It’s a beautiful island that’s mountainous and lush and big on ecotourism. It was a very intense experience as a kid to go somewhere that different. It was a French island at one point, so a lot of people have French last names, like mine; it’s pronounced doo-BWAH. My wife is from England, so we end up going to England for a lot of our vacations, but I do want to go back and take my kids there.’’

Sacha Pfeiffer can be reached at pfeiffer@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SachaPfeiffer.