Adam Cole
Adam Cole is an NGPF Fellow and dedicated educator committed to preparing students for life after high school. He has been teaching personal finance for over a dozen years and also teaches statistics, accounting, and data science. Outside of the classroom, he coaches the boys’ swim and golf teams and runs Infinite Summer Financial Planning, a registered investment advisory firm focused on helping educators and families plan for retirement and manage college costs.
Adam Wang
Adam has been teaching math for over a decade, but in recent years he has been dedicated and focused on bringing financial literacy and empowerment to his scholars in South Los Angeles. He is excited to grow his capacity as a personal finance educator and help develop his scholars’ confidence and ability to master their money.
Alicia Matthias
Alicia has been teaching for over 25 years in three states. She graduated from Miami University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education in social studies and received a master’s degree in educational administration and leadership from New Mexico State University. She currently teaches and coaches at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, NC.
Allison Saiki
Allison Saiki discovered NGPF in 2019 and has been advocating for personal financial education ever since. She brings real-world financial literacy into her math classes and supports fellow teachers through professional development in her community.
Christine Germain
Christine has been a Certified Financial Instructor at Nashua High School South in Nashua, New Hampshire for the past four years. They provide students with a hands-on internship to learn how to be tellers for Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union while learning personal finance at the same time. She lives with her husband Tim, daughters Kadyn and Kylie and crazy French woman Chester.
Cindy Schultz
Cindy teaches Family Consumer Science courses for grades 7 through 12, including Transitions and Careers and Personal Financial Management (Toledo Public Schools required this before the state law mandate). Her teaching career includes extensive experiences inside and outside the classroom. Returning to the classroom in 2017 was the best decision she ever made. She is also a blessed mother to graduates of The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan.
Daniela D’Amato
Daniela has been a math teacher for 25 years. In addition to teaching Personal Finance, she also teaches Algebra 2 and PreCalculus.
Danielle Hernández
Danielle Hernandez taught Personal Finance for 18 years before taking on the role of Program Director at the nonprofit Philadelphia Financial Scholars in 2023.
Daphne Hessen
Daphne currently teaches mathematics at Beechcroft High School in Ohio. She has been teaching at BHS for 19 years (25 years total). She teaches the math behind financial literacy and accelerated Algebra II. Daphne is passionate about helping students become more aware of how to manage their money. In an urban school environment, she finds teaching financial knowledge especially important. She was introduced to the NGPF curriculum during COVID in 2020 and has completed the PD, certification courses and on-demand modules, as well as attending Fin Camp in Ohio.
David Fox
David Fox teaches Personal Finance and Business Administration in Salem, Oregon. His passion is personal finance and he believes in teaching finance through the lens of happiness.
Fursheila White
Furshelia White is a dedicated educator with a passion for empowering students with essential financial literacy skills. As a strong supporter of the NGPF’s mission to ensure that every American high school student receives a guaranteed personal finance education by 2030, Furshelia White actively utilizes the NGPF’s free curriculum and participates in their professional development programs.
Jacqueline Collins
Jacqueline Collins is a National Board Certified Teacher specializing in career and technical education, with a focus on business, marketing and financial services. She is passionate about advocating for financial literacy education and creating impactful learning experiences for all students. Jacqueline is committed to lifelong learning, volunteering for various educational organizations and continually expanding her professional expertise.
Jennifer Lee
Jennifer Lee has an MBA and is a dedicated teacher at Clark High School in Las Vegas, NV, where she teaches English and personal finance. She is a passionate advocate for financial literacy and has been recognized as a NGPF Distinguished Educator for her commitment to advancing her own knowledge on the subject.
Jennifer Sharp
Jennifer has been a teacher since 2005, specializing in business courses such as personal finance, economics and financial services, entrepreneurship, accounting and business ownership. In 2020, she founded the Business & Banking Academy for juniors and seniors at her high school, providing students with valuable internship opportunities at local businesses. Jennifer is passionate about empowering individuals to understand personal finance concepts, allowing them to live a financially stable life.
Jessica Zarnke
Jessica Zarnke is a dedicated advocate for personal financial literacy, recognized as a 2024 recipient of the Wisconsin Governor’s Financial Literacy Award, an NGPF Distinguished Educator, and a DPI PFL Fellow. She has been teaching K-12 financial literacy in the School District of Loyal for over seven years, where she brings a practical and lifelong approach to financial education.
Jim Naab
Jim has been teaching business classes for 27 years. He currently teaches Financial Literacy, Accounting, Corporate and Personal Law and Introduction to Entrepreneurship at Dublin Scioto High School. He has a master’s degree in educational leadership and athletic administration.
Joy Tavano
Joy Tavano has been a passionate business teacher since 2000. She currently teaches Personal Finance, Accounting & Teamship at North Kingstown High School in Rhode Island. She also serves as a Business CTE Internship Coordinator and DECA Advisor.
Julie Giglia
Julie is grateful to NGPF for awarding her a scholarship to attend the National JumpStart Educator Conference in Boston. This opportunity has allowed her to deepen my knowledge of financial literacy, connect with inspiring educators, and grow as a professional. She is proud to be an NGPF Fellow and appreciates all they do to support teachers and transform financial education.
Kelli Champagne
Kelli coordinates and overseas the financial literacy programs and financial literacy partnerships for MCPS and MCPS students in grades 6-12.
Kellie McDonald
Kellie is a business owner and teacher in her second career, teaching business, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy at Daniel C. Oakes Alternative High School in Castle Rock, Colorado. She played a role in passing House Bill 1192 in Colorado, which promoted financial education statewide. Kellie is honored to participate in this year’s conference!
Lisa Andresen
Lisa Andresen is in her 20th year of training and her 6th year as a Cross Categorical Teacher at Madison West HS, where she is the co-teacher for Earth Science and co-teacher for Independent Living. She is a co-advisor for HOSA and is currently working on a Spanish language certificate at UW Milwaukee. Lisa lives with her husband and two dogs in Viroqua, WI.
Lisa Salas Brown
Lisa is the Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services at the Ventura County Office of Education in Ventura, CA.
Marsha Iverson
With the generous support of NGPF and a Jordan Brand FEE Grant, Marsha is honored to expand and enrich Personal Finance in New York City high schools. By the final year of the three-year grant, NYC Public Schools will have provided professional development for more than 250 high school teachers at 136 schools to teach standalone Personal Finance courses to their students.
Melissa Gordon
Melissa graduated with honors in business administration, management, marketing and technology education and secondary mathematics from Eastern Michigan University, where she was also a member of the golf team. She also received her master’s degree in educational media and technology from EMU. She is in her 16th year as a teacher and enjoys teaching personal finance because preparing children for their future can change their world.
Melissa Solis
Melissa has been teaching a wide range of Social Studies courses for over 13 years. In her current role as a Social Studies Coordinator, she supports the implementation of personal financial literacy and is eager to explore innovative, cognitively engaging strategies that empower students to build a strong foundation for a financially prosperous future.
Michael Franken
Miche Franken has 25 years of experience in education. Currently works as the Personal Financial Literacy Coordinator for her district, supporting teachers of the Economics and Personal Finance graduation requirement. Other interests include coaching travel club volleyball and rescuing large breed dogs.
Sharon Thorne-Green
Sharon Thorne-Green, JD, serves as the curriculum coordinator at Katy ISD, supporting secondary social studies courses such as economics, personal financial literacy, and AP macroeconomics and microeconomics. She is passionate about equipping educators with effective strategies and tools to help students understand and appreciate the importance of personal finance.
Sheila Salehian
Sheila Salehian as a personal financial advisor, teacher advocate, and dedicated educator. Sheila works tirelessly to ensure that every middle and high school teacher has everything he or she needs to confidently teach the required academic content standards in financial literacy, math, social studies, and personal finance in Nevada.
Valerie Jackson
Valerie Jackson has been a teacher at Beaufort High School, her alma mater, for more than thirty years. She teaches Personal Finance and Modern World History. With the implementation of the South Carolina Personal Finance graduation requirement, she has dedicated her time to improving her knowledge and skills in Personal Finance topics so that she can better work with and serve her students.
Yonathan Tadesse
Yonathan Tadesse teaches at Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet High School in Dallas. He has taught pure mathematics for eleven years and recently began teaching a personal financial literacy course to students. He believes this is life-changing work.
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