The Central Alabama Financial Education Coalition 3rd Annual Financial Summit, themed “Financial Education for Every Stage of Life”, will be held Thursday, March 3 from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Birmingham Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Cost will be $35 for CAFEC members and $50 for non-members.
Summit Agenda
Download printable agenda
Welcome
Julius Weyman, Regional Executive of Birmingham Branch of Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
William Bell, Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama
Diane Christy, Chairman, CAFEC and Communication Director of ASCPA
Opening
CAFEC Website Launch Presentation
Presenter: Julie Beckham, Level Up Services
Description: Demonstration of new CAFEC website vehicle, its uses and benefits to members and attendees.
Objectives: The CAFEC Website is one of the key tools of the Coalition to serve its current and future members by providing resources and advocacy for the advancement of Financial Education throughout Central Alabama. This demo will show attendees how to take advantage of the site and Coalition membership.
Plenary I
Adult Consumer Financial Literacy…. The next 5 years
Presenter: Martin Sher, Owner of AmSher Receivables Management and President of ACA International
Description and Objectives:
- Insight into financial literarcy opportunities in the workplace
- How to develop the adult learners’ attitude for success
- The tortoise or the hare, how fast do we go?
- The genius of the 5 day positive change
- The big picture, what are the possibilities
- How the US debtload can be a catalyst for financial literacy
Workshop Sessions I
A) Life Cycle Financial Education and Budgeting
Presenter: Inger Giuffrida, Financial Education and Asset Building Consultant
Description: People in different life stages have different financial needs and often different financial goals. Planning financial education as a one-size fits all or driven by a singular curriculum often misses these life stage or age-based differences. This session will focus on financial education content relevant for different life stages or ages. In additional to financial planning considerations, participants will also explore generational attitudes toward money and financial issues. Life stage budgeting is the process creating a basic financial plan taking into consideration an individual’s current circumstance. A life stage or life cycle budget will reflect the goals, income, expenses, and savings of an individual’s age, familial status, values, and events that will enhance or inhibit the ability meet a goal.
Objectives:
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Define life stages and life stage budgeting.
- Identify typical financial education needs and goals at different life stages.
- Describe generational attitudes about money and financial issues and the impact these may financial education efforts.
- List the financial concerns specific to different age groups or people at different life stages.
- Identify life events that have budgetary or financial impacts.
- List the financial implications or consequences of these life events.
- Anticipate and plan for life events that have yet to occur.
B) Financial Literacy – Who Really Benefits?
Presenter: Sallie Lawrence, Career Development Coordinator, Birmingham City Schools
Description: Turn the news on today and you will hear about the sad state of the economy. How does the economy impact our students? Is a financial education even important for a teenager? Birmingham City Schools has successfully implemented a Financial Literacy program which has been extremely successful and will provide great benefit to our students, community and beyond. In this session, you will learn about the program and the benefits it is providing to the future of Greater Birmingham.
C) Impediments to Financial Security
Presenter: Dr. Paul Cleveland, Professor of Economics, Birmingham-Southern College
Description: This lecture will focus on the main reasons why people fail to achieve their financial goals and reach financial security. Page 3 of 9
Learning Objectives:
- Guarding against complacency
- The need to learn self discipline.
- Protecting yourself against government.
Plenary II
The Future of Innovation and Creative Collaboration in Financial Education
Presenter: Stephen Black, Founder and President, Impact Alabama
Description and Learning Objectives: To increase awareness of the most serious challenges facing low income families today, and some of the most innovative and collaborative approaches to address these challenges – including campus community partnerships, prize-linked savings programs, social entrepreneurship initiatives and documentary film projects.
Workshops Session II
A) Financial Education for Youth
Presenter: Inger Giuffrida, Financial Education and Asset Building Consultant
Description: Providing financial education for young people can be challenging. Keeping them engaged, making the information contextually relevant and ensuring the financial education is reflective of their priorities are obstacles financial education providers often face. This training will provide participants with information on how financial education for young people differs from financial education for adults in terms of content, approach and necessary skill set for staff leading financial education for youth.
Objectives:
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Define the young people in terms of their characteristics, their financial education needs and the resources (knowledge and skills) they bring to financial education programs.
- Explain the key objectives and competencies youth should achieve in financial education.
- Describe major areas in which financial education for young people differs from financial education for adults.
- Review engaging and effective approaches for delivering financial education to young people.
- Explain key elements of effective financial education for young people.
B) New Money Smart Curriculum Module
Presenters: John Olsen, Community Affairs Specialist, FDIC
Description: This session introduces the new Module in the MoneySmart Financial Education series. The new FDIC Money Smart module Financial Recovery describes steps that class participants can take to recover financially and rebuild their credit after experiencing a financial setback.
Objectives:
This session will prepare educators to lead the financial Recovery module, after which class participants will be able to:
- Assess their current financial situation
- Identify ways to increase income and decrease and prioritize expenses
- Develop a financial recovery plan
- Identify steps to successfully implement a financial recovery plan
- Recognize how to guard against credit repair scams
- Identify timeframes to review and adjust their financial recovery plan
C) Financial Emergency Preparedness
Presenters: Julie Kornegay, Economic and Financial Education Specialist, Birmingham Branch of Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Description: Whether you teach financial education or you are looking for ways to improve your family plan, this session will identify what everyone needs to know about having a financial plan during a crisis. Participants will receive a complimentary copy of Katrina’s Classroom: Financial Lessons from a Hurricane. This is a four-chapter, DVD-based curriculum that teaches financial responsibilities such as budgeting, banking, savings, and wise use of credit. Are you prepared?
Objectives:
- Analyze what you should know and be prepared to do in an emergency
- Evaluate the importance of having an emergency plan from a personal and financial standpoint
- Identify supplemental resources that compliment the curriculum
Workshops Session III
A) NEFE High School Curriculum
Presenters: Adena Whitman, Director, and Amber Tynan, League of Southeastern Credit Unions
Description: This session will provide coaching for utilizing “Financial Education for a New Generation,” a targeted high school Financial Planning program. The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) High School Financial Planning Program® (HSFPP) consists of a seven unit student manual, instructor’s guide, and a dynamic suite of Web pages that offer a large, continually growing collection of resources, articles, and financial tools for teachers, students, and parents. Attendees will receive a free complete copy of the NEFE curriculum to keep. NEFE is an independent nonprofit organization committed to educating Americans about personal finance and empowering them to make positive and sound decisions to reach financial goals. For more information, visit www.nefe.org.
Objectives: The HSFPP guides students to take action and increase their financial IQ. The presenters will demonstrate how to best make use of the materials, which are flexible and easy to use, noncommercial, available at no cost, created by top educators and financial professionals and linked to education standards in all 50 states and to several national subject-area standards. This session will address the following topics:
- Your Financial Plan: Where It All Begins
- Budgeting: Making the Most of Your Money
- Investing: Making Money Work for You
- Good Debt, Bad Debt: Using Credit Wisely
- Your Money: Keeping It Safe and Secure
- Insurance: Protecting What You Have
- Your Career: Doing What Matters Most
B) Coaching for Financial Survival
Presenters: Doug Horst, Program Director, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Alabama
Description: Interactive workshop to help financial “coaches”/counselors identify, prioritize and coach the client on how to best respond to financial survival issues – with the ultimate goal of moving them from beyond survival to some level of self-sufficiency.
Objectives:
- Identify difference(s) between “survival crises” and other “crises”
- Identify priority order of different crises
- Discuss techniques for handling crises/survival issues with clients (including working with collectors)
- Identify steps for moving beyond survival
C) Panel Discussion – Reaching Consumers Without the Internet
Workshop leaders:
Renee Green-Jones, Aliant Bank
Julie Beckham, Level Up Services
John Olsen, FDIC
Description: Experts provide advice and tools for promoting Financial Education services to consumers who do not regularly use the internet.
Objectives:
- Attendees will gain insight from professionals experienced in reaching the “unwired” consumer demographic.
- Panel will provide tools and advice on the best and worst practices.
Speakers
Julie Beckham, Level Up
Julie Beckham is the owner of Level Up, a company that provides graphic design, web design, and marketing solutions for small businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Julie Beckham has been a graphic designer as a professional, freelancer, or student for more than ten years. Julie most recently served as the Executive Director of The Literacy Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing illiteracy rates in Central Alabama by strengthening and supporting literacy programs.
Since graduating from The University of Alabama with an advertising major and graphic design minor in 2001, Julie has spent her career working for mainly small businesses and nonprofits. Beginning her career in marketing and graphic design, Julie excelled in print and editorial layout, winning design and marketing awards from the Florida Press Association. As Executive Director of Alabama Lions Sight Conservation Association, she coordinated strategic planning, increased grant revenue, and updated marketing collateral.
It has been Julie’s long-time dream to go into business for herself serving clients who see a need or an opportunity in the community and have the ambition go after it full-throttle. In August, Julie completed a prestigious Ladder to Leadership fellowship with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in conjunction with the Center for Creative Leadership, which is an internationally acclaimed institute for professional development.
Julie and her husband, Josh, live in beautiful Smoke Rise, Alabama, with their son, Lucas, who shows promise as the next great LEGO engineer.
Honorable William A. Bell, Sr., Mayor
Honorable William A. Bell, Sr. was sworn in on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 as the 33rd Mayor of the City of Birmingham.
He was inaugurated to the Jefferson County Commission on November 12, 2008. On that day he was also elected to serve as President Pro-tem for the County Commission. He leads the County Commission in the Departments of Health and Community Services and District One.
During his tenure on the Commission, he was responsible for the Department of Health and Community Services. This department included the Jefferson Rehabilitation and Health Center, Cooper Green Hospital, Coroner, Central Laundry, Community Development, Economic Development Workforce Development.
Mayor William A. Bell, Sr. was a city councilman for District 5 City Council seat returning in November 2005 after a short absence that interrupted a political career that spanned 22 years.
In 1985 during his third term, he was elected by his fellow council members to serve as the first African-American President of the Birmingham City Council. He was again chosen as Birmingham City Council President in 1987 and 1997. In 1999, he also served as Interim Mayor of Birmingham.
As one of the longest serving public officials in the City of Birmingham, Councilor Bell was instrumental in implementing the council consent agenda, which allowed the Council to approve with one vote any item that was non-controversial. With senior citizens in mind, he also assisted in funding a fitness track around Legion Field as well as a mini park. Councilor Bell is also responsible for the first Hope VI Project in downtown Birmingham that transformed a local inner city housing development into an affordable, mixed housing community.
He also has generated more than $197 million dollars for Birmingham schools. The University of Alabama at Birmingham also received more than $87 million for capital improvements during Councilor Bell’s tenure.
Mayor Bell is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he received his Master’s Degree in Psychology and Guidance Counseling. He also holds a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Miles Law School. Mayor Bell has extensive professional experience in community and economic development in both the public and private sectors.
Mayor Bell believes that he is first a servant of God and second, a servant of the people. Dr. Bell has been married for more than 32 years to Dr. Sharon Carson Bell and has 2 children, both graduates of Ramsay High School and the University of Alabama.
For more information concerning Mayor Bell to schedule an appointment or engagement, please call 205.254.2283.
Martin Sher, Co-Owner, AmSher Receivables and President, ACA International
Martin Sher is ACA International’s President for 2010-2011. Martin has more than 30 years experience in the credit and collection industry. He is co-owner, with his brother, David, of AmSher Receivables Management in Birmingham, Ala.
Martin has been actively involved in ACA for his entire career. He has served as president of the Alabama Collectors Association and is a longtime director on the ACA International board. He has been active on many national committees and has chaired ACA’s public relations, ethics, and political action committees.
Martin is an ACA scholar, a certified instructor and a member of the International Fellowship of Certified Collection Executives. He is a graduate of ACA’s Future Leaders program and participates on the ACA Committee of 100.
Martin has co-authored 3 books about collections: How to Collect Debts and Still Keep Your Customer, Championship Collections, and The Masters of Impact Negotiating.
Both Martin and his company have received many awards recognizing their leadership. AmSher has appeared on the Inc500 list of the nation’s fastest growing companies. In 2006, Martin was selected Entrepreneur of the Year by the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Martin received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama.
In addition to his passion for the collection industry, Martin enjoys just about any sport including golf and tennis, coaching, being a volunteer and watching University of Alabama football. Martin has been married to his wife, Debbie, for 33 years. They have three children; Emily, Robert, and Amanda.
Inger Giuffrida, Financial Education and Asset Building Consultant
Inger Giuffrida is currently a training and technical assistance consultant focusing on financial literacy education and asset building strategies in rural and urban communities for diverse populations. She directed a regional nonprofit microenterprise development organization in Michigan, developed a small business development and financial education program for a credit union in upstate New York, led the Individual Assets Team at a national nonprofit/think tank in Washington, DC, and served in the U.S. Page Peace Corps in East Africa. She has created four nationally distributed financial education curricula, developed the national Individual Development Account Training Institute, wrote Individual Development Accounts for Youth, and developed and delivered financial education training for trainers to thousands of people throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Having run her own consulting business for eight years, Inger has had many clients. Her current clients include: Jim Casey Youth Opportunity Initiative, United Way Worldwide, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Abt Associates (the Assets for Independence Program), Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Bridges (a residential program for youth), Financial Stability Partnership of Alabama, The State of Minnesota (Department of Economic Opportunity) and the Pioneer Library System.
She has served on numerous community boards and has volunteered in every community in which she has lived. Currently, she serves on the board of the Oklahoma JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, the steering committee of the Oklahoma Asset Building Coalition, the Family Impact Council for United Way of Cleveland County, the Truman Elementary PTA Board, and the Cub Scout Pack 217 Committee. She also founded Touch a Truck Day, a fundraiser for the Pioneer Library System to which over one thousand children attend each year. She holds an MBA from Western Michigan University and a BS in Business Finance from Miami University. She lives in Norman, OK where she resides with her spouse, two young children and a house full of pets.
Sallie Lawrence, Career Development Coordinator, Birmingham City Schools
Sallie K. Lawrence is the Career Development Coordinator for Birmingham City Schools Career and Technical Education Department. Sallie’s eighteen-year career in education has allowed her to serve as a Special Education teacher and Transition Coordinator prior to moving to the Career Tech department. In her role as Career Development Coordinator, Sallie is the system administrator for the Kuder Navigator Career Development System and oversees the development and implementation of the Financial Literacy Course. She was appointed to represent CTE on the Region 4 Governor’s Workforce Development Council. Sallie is a graduate of Troy University and is an active member of Hunter Street Baptist Church as well as serves on the Board of Directors for Easter Seals of Greater Birmingham. Sallie is married to Ed Lawrence and has two children Hunter, age 11 and Brantley age 9.
Dr. Paul Cleveland, Professor of Economics, Birmingham-Southern College
Paul A. Cleveland is a Professor of Economics at Birmingham-Southern College. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Texas A&M University and began his career at SUNY-Geneseo in 1985. He spent one year as a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Central Florida in Orlando before joining the faculty at BSC in 1990.
His principal academic research is focused on the study of free enterprise and political economy. In pursuing his studies, he reads extensively in the areas of philosophy, theology, and history which are helpful in exploring the morality of free markets. Within this context, he is interested in examining the proper role of government in society and the problems created when it enacts policies beyond its appropriate boundaries. He is the author of two books: Understanding the Modern Culture Wars and Unmasking the Sacred Lies and the co-author of the third edition of Basic Economics with Clarence B. Carson. In addition, his articles have been published in numerous places including the Journal of Private Enterprise, the Independent Review, the Journal of Markets & Morality, Religion and Liberty, Areopagus Journal, Mises Daily Articles, and The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty. Beyond his writing, he has lectured on free enterprise in numerous places including universities in Lithuania, Poland, China, and Taiwan. Finally, he serves as an adjunct scholar for the Alabama Policy Institute and a part time scholar for the Apologetics Resource Center.
Paul is married and is the father of two children. He enjoys activities with his family and plays golf when time allows. He is a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church, where he is a ruling elder.
Stephen Black, Founder and President, Impact Alabama
Stephen Black studied American history at The University of Pennsylvania, where he completed his bachelor degree Magna Cum Laude in 1993, before attending Yale Law School where he graduated in 1997. Following law school, Black moved to Birmingham to become involved in public affairs and to practice law at the firm Maynard, Cooper and Gale. After three years in private practice, he spent a year serving as an assistant to the Governor, where he researched policy issues and worked on economic development projects.
In 2004, he created Impact Alabama: A Student Service Initiative – the state’s first nonprofit organization dedicated to developing high-level service-learning projects in coordination with universities and junior colleges throughout the state.
For example, since the launch of the FocusFirst program in November 2004, more than 2,000 FocusFirst student volunteers from twenty campuses have screened over 100,000 children in 67 different counties across the state of Alabama. A potential vision problem was detected in approximately 12% of those children, all of whom received subsidized follow-up care as necessary
In June, 2005, Black was appointed to the UA faculty and asked to create and then direct a new Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility.
In October, 2008, Stephen was selected, out of more than 800 nominations, as one of ten outstanding Americans to receive the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders Award for his work in creating FocusFirst.
John Olsen, Community Affairs Specialist, FDIC
John is currently a Community Affairs Specialist with the FDIC in Montgomery, Alabama. He began his FDIC career in Jackson, Mississippi during August 1985 and achieved commissioned bank examiner status in January 1989. John began a supervisory compliance examiner career with the FDIC in Montgomery, Alabama during July 1993 and served in this capacity until October 2002. He joined the FDIC Community Affairs staff during 2002, and has been significantly involved with promoting the FDIC’s Money Smart Program. Mr. Olsen has been responsible for organizing and instructing over 70 FDIC Money Smart train-the-trainer workshops in Alabama and Florida. John’s responsibilities include serving as a technical advisor to the Alabama and Florida JumpStart Coalitions, which promote personal financial literacy for kindergarten through college. He also serves as a technical advisor for the Alabama Asset Building Coalition and the Florida Asset Building Coalition, as well as being a member of the Florida Prosperity Partnership. Mr. Olsen currently resides in Montgomery, Alabama, with his wife and two sons.
Julie Kornegay, Economic and Financial Education Specialist, Birmingham Branch of Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Mrs. Kornegay has her B.A. in Political Science and a M.A. in Secondary Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has earned the designation of Certified Educator in Personal Finance.
Mrs. Kornegay is a former high school government and economics teacher. She joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Birmingham Branch in February of 2005 as the Economic and Financial Education Specialist. Mrs. Kornegay conducts workshops for educators that examine personal finance and economic concepts.
She currently serves on the Board of the Alabama Jump$tart Coalition, Alabama Career Tech Education Advisory Council, Commerce and Information Technology Advisory Council, College Access Challenge Grant Advisory Committee, and the Academy of Finance Regional Advisory Committee.
She has presented programs at several conferences including the Council for Economic Education, National Council on Social Studies, Southern Business Educators Association, and Alabama Mega Conference.
Adena Whitman, Director, League of Southeastern Credit Unions
Adena Whitman is currently Director, Member Relations at the League of Southeastern Credit Unions. With more than 20 years experience in media and communications, Adena is a strategic leader who always keeps at the forefront the best interests of the client, its members, employees, and the public. She is skilled at providing relevant and cost-effective solutions and dedicated to maintaining a reputation built on quality, service, and uncompromising ethics.
Amber Tynan, League of Southeastern Credit Unions
Amber Tynan is a Member Relations Specialist for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions (LSCU), a position she has held since February 2010. Overall, Amber has served in several capacities since joining the LSCU. in July of 2003.
She began her career as an audit assistant at Foresight for Credit Unions. She then moved departments and worked as a Business Development Associate for HRx and KNOWMORE to generate awareness of the executive recruiting and HR-related product offerings, as well as the League educational meetings.
She also worked within the Marketing Department managing numerous partners’ marketing activities. Duties included Convention sponsorship management, email and direct mail campaigns, internal strategy meetings, and website development.
In February 2007, Amber was promoted to Business Development Manager for the Service Group. Her responsibilities include managing five vendor partnerships, ensuring their success in Florida, as well as, creating valuable relationships with credit union executives. Amber was again promoted in February 2010, to Member Relations Specialist, a position that allows her to work one-on-one with small asset sized credit unions assisting in the implementation of their strategic business planning, budgeting, community relations events and activities, as well as, financial education coordination to provide a successful banking environment for credit union members.
Amber personifies both the expertise and goals that the LSCU strives for in their efforts to serve their credit unions, which gives her the insight into the leadership needs of credit unions and what they need to grow and compete in a competitive marketplace. This blend of profit-driven business and relationship-oriented work experience, along with education path, gives her a unique perspective and insight on the particular needs and mission of member-focused credit unions.
Amber also acts as the Marketing & Business Development Leadership Council Liaison. She is a graduate of Florida State University with a B.A. in English and is currently pursuing her MBA in Business.
Doug Horst, Program Director, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Alabama
Doug Horst has spent the last 10 years with Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS), more than 7 of which as Program Director. CCCS empowers individuals and families through education, compassion and quality service, to become self-sufficient and financially stable members of our community. In his roles at CCCS, he has counseled hundreds of individuals and families and provided hundreds of financial education events in a wide variety of settings.
Prior to this Doug spent 6 years serving with UAB’s TASC – Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime Program – teaching job interview skills, completion of job applications, and advocating to employers on clients’ behalf. Doug holds a B.A. in Business Administration with minors in Accounting and Youth Ministry from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and in addition is a licensed Associate Pastor of “Grace and Truth” where he still serves.
Doug, husband and father of 4 children, enjoys all sports and coaches children’s soccer.
Renee Green-Jones, Relationship Manager, Aliant Bank and Aliant Mortgage
Renee Green-Jones joined Aliant Bank/Mortgage in 2008 and brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. She has a Business Management degree from Miles College and has been in the real estate and mortgage industry for ten years. Renee sold real estate for Century 21 the Wiley Reed Team and she was an Account Executive for AIG United Guarantee where she sold PMI to brokers and small banks in Alabama. She also sold FHA, VA, and conventional loans to brokers and small banks in the state of Alabama for Guarantee Bank of Houston Texas. Renee currently plays a dual role for the bank: Specializing in serving as the bank CRA and HMDA relationship manager, with unique focus on reaching out to urban communities and consumers, and originating FHA, VA, and Conventional loans for the mortgage division of the bank.
Renee believes that her customer comes first and she puts 100% into every transaction. When not serving and expanding her extensive customer base, she enjoys spending time with her teenage son and nurturing his successful career as a student and athlete.
