Leading Financial Wellness Advocates

An NFEC Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI) and 2021 recipient of the Financial Education Instructor of the Year award, Bola Sokunbi is founder and CEO of Clever Girl Finance and a bestselling author. As her inspiration for entering the financial literacy field, Bola credits her mother, who decided to go back to school in her 30s after witnessing the heavy financial problems many of her women friends faced due to life circumstances like divorce. Now Bola Sokunbi is helping propel the financial education movement forward with her own advocacy, receiving media recognition across multiple high-profile channels.

Clever Girl Finance is an online personal finance community designed to empower women with financial knowledge in a safe, nonjudgmental environment. The goal is to help women become financially secure by building wealth and avoiding debt. Sokunbi also hosts the Clever Girls Know podcast and has been featured in Investopedia, The Motley Fool, MSN.com, NerdWallet, and many more platforms.

Charity Ezenwa-Onuaku earned her doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Argosy University in Virginia. She also has earned credentials as a Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI) from the NFEC. Dr. Ezenwa-Onuaku is founder of WealthyGen, a charitable organization that seeks to help eradicate world poverty by educating and empowering people with the knowledge, skills, resources, and confidence to make sound financial decisions. Beneficiaries of WealthyGen’s resources are primarily women and youth.

Dr. Ezenwa-Onuaku’s efforts as a Social Entrepreneur were inspired by her family background growing up in Nigeria, where she observed that many families work very hard, yet struggle to make a living and set their children up for success. Dr. Ezenwa-Onuaku speaks, educates, and inspires others from her wealth of experience. She and WealthyGen recently were covered in The Sun’s online opinion page. In 2021, Dr. Ezenwa-Onuaku was awarded a Prince George’ County Council grant for her WealthyGen Financial Education and Scholarship Program. In 2022 She partnered with Sitar Arts Center for a 7-week Financial Empowerment for Young Adults (WealthyGen FEYA Program).

With a BS in Public Health from Ohio State, a Certificate in Women’s Entrepreneurship from Cornell, and NFEC recognition as a Certified Financial Education Instructor, Ray’Chel Wilson is well-positioned to advocate for financial wellness. Wilson is an international speaker, author of the “Black Wealth Freedom” workbook series (please see her website for more information), and one of the top “20 Under 2 [years]” honored educators in the state of Oklahoma. As of June 2022, she will take a role as Development Director of KIPP Tulsa Public Charter Schools.

To support the financial wellness movement, Wilson’s efforts focus on breaking down economic barriers and systemic issues among minority populations to raise up a new generation of minority entrepreneurs. Her work was featured on Tulsa, Oklahoma’s News 6 Live.

Currently a junior at Oakton High School in Northern Virginia, Eric Chen has already founded his own entrepreneurial enterprise where he puts the Certified Financial Education Instructor designation he earned from the NFEC to good use. Even at his young age, Chen has developed a strong interest in personal finance, particularly investing. As executive director of Elevate Investing, he offers the Investing Basics workshop, an in-person, six-week program that teaches elementary and middle school students the fundamentals of investing in stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.

Chen has been a member of his school’s investing team competing in the annual Wharton Global High School Investment Competition for the past two years. His work with Elevate Investing earned him a 2022 grant award from the Plutus Foundation.

Dedicated to molding the next generation of financial leaders, Patrina Dixon is a Certified Financial Education Instructor, best-selling author, and international speaker who holds a Financial Management Certificate from Cornell University. Dixon also owns P. Dixon Consulting, through which she puts her passion for serving her community into practice by coaching clients on money management and how to monetize their skills.

Dixon’s brainchild is the It’$ My Money® Financial Summit and journal book series for high school students. The goal of this workshop is to teach teens personal finance basics – like budgets, savings, credit, and side hustles – in a relatable, easy-to-understand format. Dixon was awarded a Plutus Foundation grant for It’$ My Money® in 2022.

A CPA, award-winning author, speaker, and Certified Financial Education Instructor, Holly Reid Toodle demonstrates dedication to helping youth and young adults become responsible stewards of their personal finances. Through her financial wellness education company, The Master Playbook, Toodle has applied her award-winning book Teach Your Child to Fish: Five Money Habits Every Child Should Master – along with her training and personal experience – to close the financial literacy gap by educating thousands of people in sound money management principles.

In 2022, Toodle received a grant from the Plutus Foundation for her four-week learning experience, Future Millionaire Money Camp for Kids. This innovative curated program for youth aged 8-14 combines live instruction, activities, demonstrations, videos, and follow-up practice to deliver and reinforce key personal finance skills.

Nigerian Solape Akinpelu is a Certified Financial Education Instructor and member of the NFEC’s Personal Finance Speakers Association in the US; director of the Nigerian chapter of international organization Women in Tech®; and member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK. To follow her passions as a financial feminist, Akinpelu founded HerVest, a women-focused and inclusive tech platform for underserved women in Africa. HerVest empowers women – particularly Nigerian smallholder farmers – to save, select impact investments, and gain access to credit. Akinpelu’s dual goals are to close the financial literacy gender gap and help women embrace technology.

Akinpelu spent 12 years working in top-name banks and investment firms before launching HerVest. In 2021, her firm was chosen from among thousands of applicants to present at the world’s largest startup launch competition at TechCrunchDisrupt. Akinpelu recently received media attention from ConnectNigeria.com, among other outlets.

San Antonio-based Certified Financial Education Instructor Jasmine Paul states her overarching mission as “raising wealthy kids.” Her first book, A Boy, a Budget, and a Dream, won recognition from both Readers’ Favorite and Parents.com Top Ten Best Money Books to Teach Kids About Money. Recently Paul has penned two new books – Granny’s Vintage Camera and The Wealth Playground Financial Literacy Activity Workbook – that are now available on Kickstarter. “I hope my books will spark a change in the lives of children and families,” Jasmine remarks.

In 2021 Paul’s company, CreateFinStew, donated more than 200 books to Delaware, Florida, and Texas Barbershops. This initiative was picked up by the Central Delaware Chapter of the NAACP, which modeled its monthly “Books for Barbershops” Program to increase literacy in the Dover inner-city area after Paul’s efforts. Her campaigns were recently featured in OpenPR.

Certified Financial Education Instructor Crystal Lynn Thomas’s book, Pearls of Wisdom: Money Management from a Woman’s Perspective, was published by Born to Prosper Books in 2021. This book is a captivating, entertaining read that highlights the money management journeys – both individual and collective – of eight unique women. Through personal stories and experiences, the reader connects with these women and learns money management techniques as the characters move down their pathways toward financial freedom.

The book also includes a financial lifestyle journal and 7 Steps to Financing Your Lifestyle and Your Future. Pearls of Wisdom is available on Amazon.

Jamila Souffrant is a money coach and NFEC Certified Financial Education Instructor who hosts a podcast that takes people on a step-by-step journey to financial freedom. On Journey to Launch, Souffrant guides her faithful listeners – aptly dubbed “Journeyers” – to build wealth, tackle debt, and gain empowerment as business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives. This cutting-edge weekly podcast showcases Souffrant’s professional advice alongside guest interviews with experts in financial fields ranging from real estate to creative entrepreneurship.

Souffrant was recently featured in an article on The Everygirl about career and finance podcasts hosted by people of color.

On her online money management platform Money for the Mamas, Kari Lorz describes herself as a “money nerd mama.” She’s also a Certified Financial Education Instructor with an MBA and a passion for helping women find the tools and skills they need to uncover the path to financial freedom. With her stated “(almost) obsessive nature with all things planning,” Lorz uses her platform to educate, inspire, and provide practical steps to help women reach their financial goals.

In a recent article on GoBankingRates, Lorz was interviewed regarding the potential for the US to adopt a $15 per hour minimum wage rate. “A $15 federal minimum wage is a significant step forward for many Americans, yet that means that for many, you need to be just as careful (if not more so) with your budgeting strategy,” she was quoted.

Rahkim Sabree is a nationally Certified Financial Education Instructor, life coach, TED speaker, mentor, and community leader who advocates for financial empowerment through publications, interviews, podcasts, and his own published work. Working exclusively with leaders who have a mission to improve people’s lives, Sabree feels passionate about helping others embrace their limitless possibilities and find greater flexibility and freedom using the power of money. He has authored two books, Financially Irresponsible and Mentorship: The Playbook.

In addition to blogging on his own website and on platforms such as Black Enterprise, Sabree has been featured on The New York Post, Yahoo! Finance, Business Insider, CEOWorld Magazine, Experian, and Entrepreneur, among others.

A former zookeeper who switched careers after her son was born, Steffa Mantilla puts her Certified Financial Education Instructor designation to use by guiding people over the financial hurdles they face and helping them benefit from her former mistakes. With 12 years of experience using operant conditioning with a focus on positive behavior change, Mantilla teaches families how to save money, live debt-free lifestyles, and build wealth.

Mantilla was recently quoted in an article on money and relationships in MEL Magazine. She’s founder of Money Tamer and has also appeared in Nasdaq.com, US News and World Report, GoBankingRates, MarketWatch, and NerdWallet.

Not only is Fred Brandon a Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI), he’s also an author, international speaker, Certified FinTech Professional (ChFP), business strategist, educator of blockchain with Althash University, and founder of Brand New Technologies. Brandon helps people and businesses find solutions to their pain points through technology and brainstorming. With over 20 years of IT experience, he specializes in teaching and inspiring others in business, financial literacy, STEAM, cryptocurrency, and children’s literacy.

Brandon’s book, Adopting Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: Embracing a Digital Future, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He is an international speaker who has appeared at various venues around the world, and recently was featured on the Malik’s First Job podcast on Apple Podcasts.

With a Bachelor’s in theatre from Stephens College in Columbia, MO and status as an NFEC Certified Financial Education Instructor, Brianna Firestone describes herself as “one of those lucky ones that is really stubborn and can dig in and find the willpower to make what I want happen.” And what she wants is to help people change their money game, and their lives. Toward that end, Firestone founded The School of Betty, an online educational platform geared toward helping people manage their money, time, and energy so they can build financial freedom and reduce stress.

Firestone’s advice has received media attention from Money.com, Real Simple, and Business Insider, and she writes a column featuring interviews with self-made millionaires for mindbodygreen.com.