Meka West – Financial Literacy Educator and Advocate

Personal Notes

I grew up with very humble beginnings, the eldest daughter of a single mother. As a result of money being scarce; sports, clubs, trips, dances, etc. were luxuries we could not afford. As an adult I discovered a passion of healthy money habits through accounting and personal finance. I learned that if financial literacy had been taught we wouldn’t have missed out on so much. Today, it is my personal mission to teach financial literacy to everyone that is receptive, discover their own money story and money style in a non judgmental way. And even more importantly, to help them keep more of the money they work so hard to earn, fulfill their dreams and have a healthy relationship with money.

Meka West Bio

Meka West is the Founder of Team West Solutions. The financial literacy component of TWS is the heart and soul of the organization.  She developed her leadership and business skills beginning with her own initiative at age 12 while working for her high school faculty in her home state of Illinois. She brings over 10 years’ experience working with non-profits, government and corporate agencies in an accounting and business capacity. She has an accounting degree and is also a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor. However her love of a balanced checkbook went beyond the typical accounting and extended to personal finance.

A dedicated advocate, Meka has volunteered over 900 hours for financial literacy education over the past two years in her community by teaching, conducting outreach and raising awareness. She is a member of several financial literacy non-profit collaboratives; including Financial Empowerment Providers Network (FEPN) and is on a mission to make money skills a part of your comfort zone. Financial knowledge and basic assets are crucial in empowering individuals to break the poverty and debt cycle. In addition, Meka has worked in an Asset Building Specialist capacity with the United Way, Seattle-King County Asset Building Collaborative (SKC ABC) and AmeriCorps to deliver one on one support to the disabled community and low income families by way of workshops, financial fitness days and outreach.  She has worked with high schools to educate youth as a FAFSA advisor on financial aid and student loan debt.  These roles have enabled her to realize the full scope of the outreach still needed. The financial literacy movement has been mounting as more people become aware they are not alone in their money struggles.  One way to gain success is through collaborative efforts. Partnering with agencies allow a much wider impact for those seeking help.

Meka is passionate finance speaker that talks about transforming your relationship with money!  She eases money worry and enables you to embrace a fresh outlook on getting financially healthy. She shares with you the healing power of knowing your own personal “money story”. Growing up with humble beginnings taught her money lessons that shaped her future. She passes those great lessons on to those she coaches by keeping it real and letting them know she understands firsthand the struggle and how hard we work to earn our money. Her goal is to help you not only keep more of what you work so hard to earn, but to also create a life that promotes achieving goals you thought were just out of reach.