Community Champion: Barry Feigenbaum
Barry Feigenbaum’s dedication to strengthening communities through economic empowerment shows across his personal – in addition to his professional – commitments. Having witnessed the damage caused by lack of financial knowledge during the Great Recession, Feigenbaum became inspired to gain the expertise in personal finances and effective instruction that would support his vision of bringing financial education to people from all ages and backgrounds – in his own community and beyond.
Barry shows us daily how working together we can help people advance their financial lives, increase access to essential financial education resources, and improve financial health on an entire community scale. Barry’s wide-reaching leadership and unwavering personal dedication underscore his reputation as a true champion of New Jersey communities.
Personal Statement
Barry Feigenbaum had been a banker for more than 25 years when the Great Recession of 2008 hit. He saw and understood the damage to workers and their families from the economic crisis; this experience motivated Barry to increase his own personal finance expertise and find platforms to deliver this knowledge within his regional community in northern New Jersey and the greater New York City area.
Today Barry is a financial educator who works with corporations to engage with employee groups and their age-specific needs. He works at the university level to teach insurance agents and brokers about retirement planning. He created and leads a 10-session financial literacy program for a women’s empowerment agency; he works with foster kids in a program through a NJ government agency to teach basic financial skills.
With an MBA in Finance and practical banking and teaching experience, Barry is well-equipped to address issues across the age spectrum. He helps people consider their alternatives and the impact of their choices on reaching their goals – whether these goals are retirement, education for the kids, down payment for a home, a vacation, or building an emergency fund. He knows that finding safe, sales-free places to focus on personal finance is not easy to identify and he believes we must develop additional educational opportunities to provide access for more people. This should be an American project, beginning in schools across our nation and supported by our workplaces, financial institutions, social welfare agencies, and government at all levels.
His key goal is to deliver meaningful financial information to help people lift their knowledge base and make sound financial choices at any stage of life. Barry does not sell any financial products but simply provides information people should know and analysis they should conduct so they can determine their best course of action. In this way people can control their own destiny, rather than chase after money to repair their financial lives. Success is defined as helping people live their dreams empowered by knowledge and smart choices.
Community Champion: Barry Feigenbaum
Barry Feigenbaum has made significant contributions to the financial wellness movement through his decades of experience providing high-impact financial education, in both compensated and volunteer roles. He also participates as a distinguished member of the New Jersey Financial Educators Council Advisory Board.
As a real community champion, Barry shows us how important it is to work together toward our shared mission of spreading greater financial wellness across the state of New Jersey and the whole U.S. His benevolence and tireless hard work are truly inspirational. On behalf of the NJFEC, we extend our sincerest “thank you” to Barry Feigenbaum for his support and commitment.
