National Financial Literacy Campaign:
Nurturing Economic Empowerment Through Financial Education Across the United States

Ellis Cropper

Registered Representative, New York Life Insurance, ChFC®, CLTC®, Major, U.S. Army, Retired

Retired Army Major and MFEC Advisory Board Member Ellis Cropper, who holds Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) and Certification in Long-Term Care (CLTC®) credentials, has worked as a Life Insurance Agent and Registered Representative for New York Life since 2018. He is currently expanding his expertise to make a positive difference on a broader scale – spearheading campaigns to bring financial education to his Worcester community and across the state of Massachusetts. It is Cropper’s rich, varied background and experience, along with his passion to make a positive community impact by helping people move toward financial freedom, that align his vision so strongly with the goals of the MFEC Advisory Board and its parent company, the National Financial Educators Council.

Originally hailing from Louisiana, Ellis Cropper earned his BS in Biology with concentrations in Nuclear Medicine Technology from Worcester State University in 1996. His 34-year career in the U.S. Army included 22 years of active service plus the honor of serving as an Assistant Professor of Military Science at Widener and Villanova Universities. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts. Cropper feels highly motivated by the opportunity to serve as a founding member of the MFEC’s Advisory Board.

Equity and Progress through Financial Stability and Freedom: Ellis Cropper

As an ‘A’ student third in my high school class, I was accepted into all the colleges I applied to, including Louisiana State University. But I decided to go into the Army because I believed that was the chosen path for me. Even as an 18-year-old enlisted soldier making $8,000 a year, I was always good at accounting for my money. But like John Maxwell said, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” Well, I knew where my money went, but I didn’t tell it where to go. Learning how to tell your money where to go is part of becoming financially free.

My passion for teaching financial literacy is born out of that concept of freedom. In the Army, as a reserve officer, I had a lot of autonomy and flexibility – but I wasn’t free. It wasn’t until I retired from military service that I first felt any kind of freedom. And true freedom comes with financial freedom. Money has an impact on every area of life, and I believe this country won’t see the change it needs to start moving in the right direction until more people have achieved financial stability. Once people become financially stable enough to be active in the world, to change things that affect them – that’s when we’ll see more equity and progress.

My deep-rooted passion for raising financial literacy lies behind my goals as a founding member of the MFEC Advisory Board. Ultimately I want to help my alma mater provide scholarships to college students in financial services. And as I’m working in elementary and middle schools, I’ll be looking for philanthropists to donate to those kids’ college funds, enough to where the kids can see the money grow over time and start to manage it themselves.

I feel privileged to become a founding member of the Massachusetts Financial Educators Council’s Advisory Board. I am looking forward to a long-term partnership that brings greater financial stability and financial freedom to Massachusetts and around the country.