Donna Cirillo
Financial Services Professional & Financial Literacy Advocate
Personal Notes
What difference would a financial education have made in your life? I have witnessed the transformative power of financial education in my professional and personal life.
As a Bank Officer/Manager, I realized that the bank employees had a knowledge deficit on the financial products and concepts they needed to know to answer customer questions. When I initiated a financial training program, not only did the level of quality service increase, but an unexpected benefit was the profound transformation in the professional and financial lives of the employees.
My personal inspiration was my own mother, who suddenly became a widow at age 55 and successfully transformed her financial life through self-education in personal finance. Unfortunately, I have also witnessed many others in similar situations who have not been as successful as my mother in securing their financial future.
These impactful experiences have lead me to become a financial educator. For me, there is no greater reward than transforming lives through financial education.
Bio
Leveraging a strong foundation in financial services management, Donna Cirillo has transitioned her professional and educational background to deliver quality, customized, engaging, and results-oriented financial education programming and content. As a Financial Services Professional turned Financial Educator, Donna is committed to equipping individuals with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to take control of their financial future. After earning her B.S. in Finance and her M.B.A. from St. John’s University, New York, Donna spent over 14 years in the financial services industry, at U.S. Trust and J.P. Morgan Chase, as a Second Vice President, Bank Officer and Manager in Investor Services and Operations. Here, she met many bank customers, who, while successful in their chosen professions, were essentially financially illiterate. This observation motivated her to fill the need for financial literacy by becoming a financial educator. Earning her credentials from the NFEC, Donna now is an Accredited Personal Finance Instructor (APFI), Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI), and Certified Financial Literacy Professional (CFLP). Donna has volunteered at public and parochial elementary and middle schools in the New York City area. She has worked with Junior Achievement as a Community volunteer for ‘JA For A Day’ and ‘JA Finance Park’. Donna also guided a semester long middle school honors research project and presentation called “Can You Become A Millionaire Without Really Trying?: The Power of Compounding Interest.” Currently, Donna is serving as a member of the Academy Board of Trustees of a parochial elementary academy in Queens, New York.
In addition to elementary and middle school students, Donna has designed and delivered customized financial education for corporate employees, young adults who are just starting out (recent college graduates, young women aging out of foster care, and college-bound high school girls), and those forced to start over again due to a traumatic life change (recently divorced and widowed individuals). Donna also inspires, motivates, and transforms financial lives through her financial education website and blog, Smart Money Changes Everything.
Donna believes that financial education is so much more than solely providing financial knowledge. With the right instruction, inspiration, and motivation, the participants make positive behavior changes and improve their financial mindset to gain the confidence, personal growth, direction, and resiliency they need for their financial transformation and to give them hope and a future.
The NFEC & Your Selected Speaker Follow a Four Step Process
Nominate yourself or another deserving educator for Financial Education Instructor of the Year
Join over 80,000 people who have taken the NFEC’s Financial Literacy Test and see the latest results