Meet Our State Chapters & Advisory Board Leaders
Driving Financial Education Impact Across the Nation

Charles Fisher

Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship Mentor

Music industry veteran Charles Fisher – mentor, entrepreneur, author, and activist – was born in Brooklyn, New York and subsequently moved to Queens where he attended Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson High Schools and also CUNY’s York College. His commitment to community empowerment has spanned over four and a half decades, with early efforts that included founding a nonprofit in 1978 to target juvenile delinquency prevention; serving as Executive Director of LL Cool J’s Camp Cool J Foundation in the 1990s; and entertainment consultant to the White House, helping launch President Bill Clinton’s AmeriCorps program.

Fisher is well-known as the former manager of a two-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist and co-star of the CBS hit TV show NCIS LL Cool J, as well as the sensational gold-selling Hip-Hop recording group The Lost Boyz. Charles was also a consultant working with songwriter, composer, musician, TV, film, and music producer legend Quincy Jones on the NBC and UPN 9 hit TV Show, “In the House,” starring LL Cool J. Quincy has been a member of the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council’s (HHSYC) Advisory Board for 22 years.

Charles maintains strong connections with the Hip-Hop industry as well as its artists and executives. He founded the nonprofit HHSYC in 2001 and leads this organization toward accomplishing its mission of using the positive influence of Hip-Hop music to promote the economic, social, and political empowerment of youth and young adults, especially those in poor and disadvantaged communities.

In 2008 they co-published 50 hot Hip-Hop books featuring some of the biggest stars in Hip-Hop, including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Will Smith, Nas, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, Snoop Dogg, and a host of others. The books were created to improve reading and literacy grades and to promote the importance of learning financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

In 2012 they partnered with iHeart Radio and Power 105.1 to launch several initiatives to improve public safety by addressing gun and gang violence prevention. Since 2012, the Hip-Hop Against Gun & Gang Violence Project has been recognized by three U.S. Presidents for its national work to improve public safety and end gun and gang violence.

More recently, Charles is Mentor and Consultant to “The People’s Shark” Daymond John, who is the founder and CEO of globally recognized FUBU Apparel; co-host of the four-time ABC Emmy Award-winning hit TV show, Shark Tank; and author of five New York Times bestselling books. Their collaboration has yielded several community-related projects and youth opportunities. In 2019 the HHSYC, with Daymond’s support, released the “Call 2 Action” App designed to call together a cadre of activists across the U.S. to address social issues such as gun violence, the opioid crisis, and sexual abuse against women and girls. They also collaborated on developing a financial literacy curriculum based on Daymond’s New York Times best-selling children’s book, Little Daymond Learns to Earn, which Charles’s team has delivered to NYC schools. They also launched the Little Daymond Money Club that teaches financial literacy and entrepreneurship to young students during the school day and after school. Parents are also engaged with this project, as financial literacy is important when it comes to balancing the family budget and the children’s educational future.

Charles Fisher brings his strong background in advocacy, activism, and the music industry to his contributions on the New York Financial Educators Council Advisory Board. His plan of action for the financial literacy movement includes forging relationships between the NYFEC, celebrities, media, elected officials, and influencers to inspire educational, legislative, and social change. Using their collective resources, he hopes to make a positive impact on young people’s lives in both schools and communities in the U.S. and abroad.