The National Financial Educators Council has formed its Texas chapter, the Texas Financial Educators Council with a mission to develop and deploy financial wellness campaigns that reach individuals and whole communities with effective, sustainable, and scalable programming.

“We’re delighted to introduce the formation of our Texas chapter,” Vince Shorb, CEO of the NFEC, said in a statement. “The initiatives we imagine will support individuals, families, and organizations around the Lone Star State to reach greater financial wellness. The members of the advisory board, along with our partners and patrons, are on track to help us make a meaningful contribution to the financial health of all Texans.”

As part of a nationwide effort, the NFEC chose Texas as one of its initial launch states because of the demonstrated need for greater economic empowerment among Texans. For example, the organization said Texas stands higher than the national average for percentage of residents living below the poverty level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It said that many Texans also face food insecurity and the state ranks in the top six for housing insecurity, recent data show.

To help the TFEC accomplish these objectives, it selected a group of professionals to serve on its Texas Advisory Board. Members of the board serve in different roles to support the TFEC toward making a positive social impact.

The TX Financial Educators Council Board members include:

• Dr. Melissa Weathersby, president and CEO of 5-Star Empowerment
• Marlon Green, founder of Prosperous Athletes Financial Education
• Gerardo King, investment banker, member of the board of Peak 10 Energy
• Vince Shorb, founder and CEO of the National Financial Educators Council
• Sharita Humphrey, certified financial education instructor and small business adviser
• Paul Goebel, founder and director of UNT’s Student Money Management Center

In terms of financial education standards in schools, the NFEC said that Texas earned a “B” grade from the American Public Education Foundation as of 2022. The accomplishments leading to this grade include requiring a high school financial literacy course with standards in place; mandating that high schools offer financial literacy as an elective; and developing financial education standards for grades K-8.

The Texas Financial Educators Council said its mission has three central pillars:

• Increase and sustain access to financial education across the state.
• Gain support for and build awareness about financial education to increase economic empowerment, and
• Form strong collaborative partnerships that support implementation of financial wellness initiatives in Texas communities.

The NFEC makes financial wellness resources, processes, and materials accessible to individuals and organizations around Texas. Further, the NFEC said it trains a group of instructors through the Certified Financial Education Instructor program to make a well-qualified team of financial educators available to corporations and community groups across the region.

The Texas Financial Educators Council is a state-level branch of the National Financial Educators Council, an IACET Accredited Provider and Certified B corporation with a social impact agenda.

The NFEC said it empowers a global team of financial literacy advocates and champions with top-quality resources and training to spread the financial wellness message in communities worldwide.

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