Financial Literacy Camp 2.25.21 – 2.27.21
Girls attending the Career Girls Financial Literacy virtual mini-camp learned about managing money, saving and investing from women experts working in banking, finance and investing fields.
This mini-camp consisted of three, one-hour sessions geared towards ages 10-14, via Zoom, to earn a Career Girls Financially Literate Certificate.
Thank you to our sponsors and all of our individual donors and volunteers who made this a free event for all girls who attended.
“I learned that it takes time and lots of patience to save up for what you want but it’s more important to get what you need. I also learned that there are different ways to save your money and different strategies.”
“I will budget more, be more mindful of what is coming in and going out. Make a plan on the items I want instead of looking to my parents to buy it.”
“My favorite part/most inspirational moment of this program was the first day when we talked about what we would like to do in the future 20 years from now.”
“I learned a lot of different names for financial stuff and I learned the difference between a credit card and a debit card.”
Faye Mellos, Financial Advisor (Sponsor)
Faye has been involved in the financial services industry for 38+ years. She has enjoyed helping individuals and families make informed decisions related to their financial well-being by tapping the breadth of her experience. Many of her clients are women and she enjoys the opportunity to help them address their unique issues and help assure their financial security now and in retirement. Faye is a graduate of the University of Utah. Additionally, in 2001 she completed the Executive Education Program at the Wharton School of Business.
Danetha Doe, Financial Writer, Entrepreneur
Danetha Doe is a financial psychologist, money mystic, and leading expert on financial wellness in the workplace. Money & Mimosas®, her financial well-being blog, is enjoyed by readers and paid members in over fifty countries. Danetha was named a personal finance expert by TIME, Fast Company, and the Wall Street Journal. She is a sought-after corporate financial well-being speaker, teaching employees from Google to Postmates to CPA firms and others on how to foster financial well-being in the workplace. A former NFL cheerleader turned money maven and entrepreneur, Danetha believes that charting your own path is the key to financial freedom.
Nicole Civitello, Hedge Fund Consultant
Nicole Civitello is a hedge fund consultant in the financial industry. In her role, she advises and consults with hedge funds on how to grow their businesses and works with both startups and billion-dollar funds. Nicole advises girls to consider a career in finance so they can learn to invest and be in control of their money.
Lorena King, Events Producer
Lorena King is a Live Events Producer working at a large tech company in Silicon Valley. She is passionate about education, equality, and her Latinx heritage. She graduated at the top of her class with a B.A. in Multimedia Communications from Academy of Art University. She is a U.S. Army veteran and her career has led to work in production, media, government, and tech. Lorena is in the process of establishing a non-profit organization that offers scholarships and mentoring to women and people of color.
Shelby Washington, General Manager & Senior Director at NerdWallet
Shelby’s career began with a foundation in traditional finance, working as a Finance and Credit Analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase in Chicago. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, Shelby pivoted to working at the intersection of finance and tech, also known as Fintech. She is now General Manager & Senior Director at NerdWallet, a personal finance website that seeks to help consumers make financial decisions with confidence. When she’s not working, Shelby loves traveling the world, investing, and staying busy as a mother of two girls under age three.
Lorena King, Events Producer
Lorena King is a Live Events Producer working at a large tech company in Silicon Valley. She is passionate about education, equality, and her Latinx heritage. She graduated at the top of her class with a B.A. in Multimedia Communications from Academy of Art University. She is a U.S. Army veteran and her career has led to work in production, media, government, and tech. Lorena is in the process of establishing a non-profit organization that offers scholarships and mentoring to women and people of color.
Yasi Agah, Executive Director
As a Business school graduate of Cal Poly SLO, Yasi has years of experience in marketing, sales, community outreach, public speaking, data analysis, social media marketing, project management, and much more. One of her passions includes travel which led her to live abroad three different times throughout her college and post-graduate life – the most recent experience working as a tour guide in Florence, Italy for six months. Yasi has always had a love for helping people – through her work as the Executive Director of a nonprofit, the 5 Buckets 4 Shovels Foundation, she is excited to give back to her community while impacting young people’s financial education.
Louise Fiona Cochrane, Certified Public Accountant
Before opening her CPA practice in 2012, Louise spent close to 10 years in public and private accounting at small, regional, and Big Four firms. Louise feels her background in both audit and tax makes her more analytical and enables her to look at the numbers differently, ask questions differently, and relate to her clients differently. She has 3 kids (9, 7, 2.5) but they don’t stop her from feeding her adventure for travel.
Kim Crosslin, Commercial Banking Leader
Kim Crosslin is a Commercial Banking Leader in the Technology Banking Group of Wells Fargo Bank. She has over 25 years of experience in providing capital market products and treasury solutions to professionally sponsored (venture capital/private equity) and publicly traded technology companies across all industry verticals. Her team of relationship managers is committed to bringing value and financial intelligence to the technology ecosystem. Kim graduated from California State University, Chico with a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration and a Minor in Business Administration.
Liz Groeger, Vice President, Financial Advisor
Liz Groeger worked in wealth management and loves working with individuals and families to help them solve their complex financial needs. She specializes in fixed income, having worked as a Corporate Bond Specialist at UBS and at Morgan Stanley as a Tax-Exempt Municipal Bond Specialist. She graduated from Duke University (Durham, NC), St. Paul’s School (Concord, NH), and The School of American Ballet (NY, NY). In her free time, she likes to hike with her family and friends and make music videos at The Children’s Creativity Museum with her daughter.
Samantha Hobart, Certified Financial Planner TMA
Certified Financial Planner, experienced Financial Advisor, and co-founder of The Catalyst Group at Morgan Stanley, Samantha has dedicated her career to serving the specialized needs of successful professionals, business leaders, and families living in the greater San Francisco area and around the country. She enjoys educating clients on how to create and implement an effective financial plan, freeing their time to spend on the activities they enjoy and people they love. Outside of the office, Samantha loves to spend her free time exploring anything athletic or outdoors, either on a bike or on foot. She enjoys cooking, gardening, and hanging out with her cat, Elbert Frank Cox.
Eileen McPeake, Principal
Eileen McPeake is a Certified Financial Planner. She works with women going through major life transitions. Sometimes they’re unexpected, as from death or divorce. Other times they’re planned, like moving from a demanding, but secure and highly remunerative, corporate role to pursuing a life’s passion in partial or full retirement. For all of her clients, she builds personal financial plans so that they can take control of their financial futures and say “yes” to themselves.
Kim Miranda, Chief Financial Officer
Kimberly Miranda, Alameda Health System Chief Financial Officer, provides direct oversight and administration of the financial services division, including policies and procedures, financial plans, and ensuring the financial viability of the organization. With a strong background in California managed care, she plays a key role in advancing the AHS strategic vision that promotes wellness, eliminates disparities, and optimizes the health of diverse communities served while developing and implementing innovative opportunities to ensure sound fiscal performance. Additionally, she has served on governing boards providing health and social services to healthcare clinics, assisted living centers, and homeless shelters.
Laura Patnode, Chief Operating Officer
Laura Patnode is Chief Operating Officer for Investment Portfolio Strategy & Analytics, Managing Director, Wells Fargo. Her pragmatic leadership style combined with a clear focus on long-term business strategy and continual invitation to debate and challenge, allows Laura to successfully connect with individuals at all levels of an organization – maintaining continual buy-in from the team, ability to quickly pivot strategy when needed, while achieving business goals and without increasing risk.
Alisa Sharp, CFP, Financial Advisor
Alisa is a member of the Opus Group at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management and a Certified Financial Planner. With over 12 years of experience in the wealth management field, Alisa seeks to provide solid professional advice on ways to work towards a client’s financial goals. She takes an active role in educating clients and her goal is to deliver professional wealth management through sound advice while helping create value, focus, and understanding. A native of Idaho, she has lived in San Francisco for over 20 years. She spends her free time traveling, snowboarding, and exploring the Russian River and Alexander Valley with her husband.
Vicki Shipkowitz, Technology Executive
Vicki works with startups that use the Internet-of-Things to create social and economic impact. Her career as a technology executive has focused on enabling collaboration, and she has built platforms and ecosystems for flagship products at Adobe, Sun, SAP, and Yahoo, as well as for several successful startups. Aside from her passion for innovation, she is committed to the arts, the support of women, and girls. She attended UCLA for her BFA in Design and for her MBA.
Holly Smith, Business Development Manager
Holly Smith is the Business Development Manager for Morgan Stanley in their Northwest Private Wealth Management organization. In her role, Holly works as a member of the leadership team to deliver the global resources and network of Morgan Stanley to Private Wealth Advisors and their clients. Holly joined Morgan Stanley in 2013 as a consulting group analyst with a stock plan services and corporate executive wealth planning team based in Boston. Holly earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management from James Madison University. In her spare time, Holly enjoys traveling and skiing with her husband Greg, as well as all things outdoors – particularly when possible, riding her horse.
Sarah Adams, Chief Sustainability Officer and Co-founder
Sarah is the Chief Sustainability Officer and Co-founder at Vert Asset Management. Vert was founded to bridge the gap between financial services, capital markets, and environmental advocacy. Before Vert, Sarah started a consultancy educating financial advisors on sustainable and impact investing in the UK and US. Sarah has a BA in History from UCLA (US), an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development from University College London (UK), and an MA in Environmental Law from SOAS (UK).
Jennifer Cabalquinto, Special Advisor and Chief Financial Officer
Jennifer Cabalquinto most recently served as Special Advisor and Chief Financial Officer of the Golden State Warriors. In this role, she oversaw all day-to-day and long-term strategic and financial planning, accounting, and treasury operations for the organization. She was also responsible for the planning and leadership of their IT and Procurement departments. Jennifer earned a Bachelors’s degree in Accounting from SUNY, Binghamton’s School of Management. She and her husband reside in Oakland with their son Jack.
Erin J. Cox, Executive Coach & Consultant
Erin J Cox is a leadership coach and consultant, a tech co-founder (wiseHer), and a non-profit growth specialist. She is passionate about figuring out what makes something special – whether it be an organization, a program, a product or a person, and growing it/them to achieve incredible results. Erin is a graduate of Tufts University (BA, cum laude), Boston University (MBA, highest honors), and the Institute for Professional Education in Coaching, and is a kidney donor.
Lynn DeSantis, Systems Director
Lynn earned a BS in Marketing and Accounting and an MBA in Project Management. She currently works at CommonSpirit in the Enterprise Consulting Group. Some of her projects have included: process improvement within hospital operations, onboarding new entities into CommonSpirit, and the startup of DignityHealth’s International division.
Leslie Miller, Principal and Financial Advisor
Leslie Miller is a financial planner and investment professional. She is principal of Miller Pacific Financial Advisors, where she manages investments and provides financial planning for individuals, families, and small businesses throughout Northern California. Leslie earned BAs in economics and international relations from UC Davis; an MBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University; and a Master of International Management from American Graduate School of International Management. She currently serves on the Northern California Girl Scouts board, and is committed to its mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.
Dominique Pacheco, Financial Advisor
This is Dominique’s third career. After college, she started out in the art business and worked with clients like Steve Jobs. Later, she owned a video production company and worked with companies like Nike, Ford and American Idol, doing marketing and advertising campaigns before coming into the financial education business four years ago. She is passionate about developing leaders for the 2020s, and she is currently building a team of professional How Money Works coaches nationwide.
Shreya Ramaswamy, Senior Finance Manager
Shreya Ramaswamy is a Senior Finance Manager at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA. She grew up in Bangalore, India, where she did her undergraduate studies in Computer Science. She earned a masters from CS in Eastern Michigan University and an MBA from Kelley School of Business. She loves helping in community outreach events to get students interested in STEAM. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her family, trying out culinary experiments, yoga, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
Alisa Sharp, CFP, Financial Advisor
Alisa is a member of the Opus Group at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management and a Certified Financial Planner. With over 12 years of experience in the wealth management field, Alisa seeks to provide solid professional advice on ways to work towards a client’s financial goals. She takes an active role in educating clients and her goal is to deliver professional wealth management through sound advice while helping create value, focus, and understanding. A native of Idaho, she has lived in San Francisco for over 20 years. She spends her free time traveling, snowboarding, and exploring the Russian River and Alexander Valley with her husband.
Marilena Stavrides, Senior Director of Strategy
Marilena first learned about earning money when she cleaned her aunt’s garden for a dollar when she was seven. She started tracking what she earned and spent in an exercise book down to the penny. She studied for a PhD in Mathematics in London, and went to work in Strategy & Analytics in Financial Services in New York and then San Francisco. Her work involves analyzing data to identify the right business decisions including which customers to target, which products to offer, and which markets to expand in. Marilena loves exploring museums and spending time in nature, and she still tracks her expenses, but now in an Excel sheet.
Fong Wang, Co-Founder, Stealth Start Up
Fong is a licensed attorney in California. She has nearly 20 years of operation, legal, and compliance experience in financial services. She has successfully launched two online mortgage companies and the beta launch of an enterprise-grade fintech platform.
April Watson, Financial Analyst
April is a manager of financial planning and analysis at Goodwin. She is a graduate of the MBA Program at Boston University and holds a B.S. in Finance from Syracuse University. April is a past Co-Executive Director for The National Black Women’s Society, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to empowering professional women of color in Greater Boston through professional development, civic engagement, and networking.
Kathy Wheadon, Founder of Clarelane Consulting
Kathy Wheadon, founder of Clarelane Consulting, has over 30 years of experience in banking and financial services. Kathy started Clarelane in 2015 in order to work with financial services firms on strategic operations and compliance projects. Kathy also worked at Bank of America for nine years, heading up the US operations for foreign exchange and derivatives processing in the Capital Markets group. Kathy has a B.S in Business from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Gwen Wong, C-Suite and Senior Executive
Gwendolyn Wong is an accomplished C-Suite and Senior Executive with success at a wide range of financial institutions including large international, national, and regional banks, credit unions, and privately owned community banks. Gwen is valuable to companies who are interested in growth within a safe and sound regulatory environment. She has expertise in profit and loss management, regulatory compliance, training, and development critical to retention of high performers, finance, audit, and operations. Her hands-on experience brings practical solutions for strategic and visionary growth.
Anne Chambers, President
In 2004, Anne Chambers launched a consulting practice, Chambers & McAlpine Associates, Inc., specializing in innovative financial technology strategies for the financial services industry. She began her career at Deloitte and Touche and has a BA and MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. Anne is on the board of the Financial Women of San Francisco, where she previously held the role of president (2013-2014), and is also on the Cal Alumni Association board.
Nancy Corrigan, Owner
Nancy Corrigan, CFA, holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and actuarial science from the University of Illinois. She began her career in the actuarial program at Connecticut General (now CIGNA). In 2005, Nancy felt ready to switch from the corporate world to helping real people with real problems, and she established her financial management firm, Corrigan Financial Inc. She is committed to empowering individuals, families, and business owners to make smart decisions and stay on track.
Karen Crowley, Senior Engineering Manager
Karen Crowley is a Senior Engineering Manager for ICONIQ Capital. She has designed and implemented Salesforce solutions for private equity and family office firms. She has 15 years of experience leading systems projects through their full development life cycle — requirements gathering, design, development, testing, training, implementation, ongoing enhancements, and user support. Karen holds a BA in Economics from Pomona College. She is proud to serve on the board of the Financial Women of San Francisco, advancing the success of women in finance in the Bay Area.
Sarah C. Forney, Wealth Manager, Morgan Stanley
Sarah grew up sailing on the Long Island Sound in Connecticut. She went on to help run the community sailing program there and joined the nonprofit board at 18 years old. Staying plugged into the nonprofit world continues to be a priority. Sarah focuses on advocating for women and children, education, and (financial) literacy. Today, Sarah is committed to helping clients navigate transitions and simplify their financial lives. Sarah hosts a women’s educational luncheon series, Navigating a Women’s World, where she is dedicated to helping empower women to understand and take control of their financial lives.
Lauren Krikke, Director Enterprise Consulting Group
Lauren is a Director with the Enterprise Consulting Group at CommonSpirit Health, formally known as Dignity Health. She is responsible for supporting and collaborating with cross-functional teams to successfully manage the planning, design, deployment, and sustained user adoption of enterprise-wide technology, business solutions, and process improvement efforts. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Project Management Professional (PMP®), Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB), and Change Acceleration Process (CAP) certifications. Although she has many, her most important passion is spending time with her two incredible teenage sons. They make all the hard work worth every minute!
Lauren Middleton-Pratt, Assistant City Manager
Lauren Middleton-Pratt became the Assistant City Manager of Buda, Texas in April of 2019. Prior to city management, Lauren worked in urban planning in both public and private sectors from city-wide redevelopment projects to consulting higher education institutions with their real estate development demands. Lauren is a native of San Antonio, Texas with strong roots in New Orleans, Louisiana where she earned a BA in Communications & Business Administration from the Xavier University of Louisiana. She also holds a Master of City Planning degree from Boston University. Lauren and her husband, Brandon, are the proud parents of their two sons Turner (age 4) and Tristan (age 2).
Kirsten Muetzel, Finance and Risk Management Executive
Kirsten Muetzel is a finance and risk management executive who is passionate about financial services innovation. Her career spans working on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs, in Silicon Valley at several FinTech startups, in Washington D.C. at the World Bank, within the Federal Reserve System in both New York and San Francisco, and in emerging markets. She is the recipient of two graduate degrees from Columbia University: the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and Columbia Business School. She resides in Marin County with her son.
Gita Rao, Investor and Portfolio Manager
Gita Rao is a managing partner with East Horizon Investments in Cambridge, MA and a Senior Lecturer in Finance, and Associate Faculty Director of the Master of Finance program at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She has served as a president of the Society of Quantitative Analysts, on the editorial board of the Financial Analysts Journal, on the board of trustees of the Research Foundation of the CFA Institute, and as Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a Ph.D. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Rochester, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a BA in Economics from Delhi University’s St. Stephen’s College in India. In her spare time she enjoys travel, practicing yoga and organic gardening.
Tanya Van Court, Founder and CEO
Tanya Van Court is the Founder and CEO of Goalsetter. Goalsetter is a family saving, financial literacy and smart spending app that makes it easy for the whole family to go cashless and learn how to be financially savvy. Goalsetter is Nickelodeon meets Fintech – it combines the best of Fintech companies like Acorns and CashApp with financial education and gaming that appeals to the whole family. As such, Goalsetter is the first money app for the whole family, giving kids – from cradle to graduation – healthy financial habits that will last a lifetime.