About Us

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job.  Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

Jessica has an undergraduate degree in finance, spent four years teaching math at a Brooklyn public high school, loves scouring the internet for interesting things to learn, and has a real soft spot for spreadsheets: It's as though this position at NGPF was created just for her. A graduate of Bank Street College of Education, she considers learning personal finance to be a matter of social justice and views the work perpetually through that lens. Having spent the previous six years as a school leader, Jessica misses the daily interaction with teachers but is glad she no longer has to monitor hallways.

After graduating with an education degree and spending 7 years in an elementary classroom, Laura made the switch to the non-profit world and loves interacting with students, educators and business professionals across the country.   She is passionate about all students having access to high quality education and views personal finance education as one way to ‘level the playing field’. When Laura is not locating or creating high quality educational resources, you can find her mountain biking or searching for the best ramen in town!

Sonia has always been passionate about instruction and improving students' learning experiences. She's come a long way since her days as a first grader, when she would "teach" music and read to her very attentive stuffed animals after school. Since then, she has helped students as a K-12 tutor, worked in several EdTech startups in the Bay Area, and recently completed her Ed.M in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her favorite part about working with students is helping them understand a concept they are struggling with and witnessing that "Aha!" moment. This energy is what drives her to create compelling personal finance management content that engages students and allows them to apply what they have learned in a meaningful way in their own lives. When she isn't crafting multiple choice questions and lesson plans, Sonia loves to spend her time singing, being outdoors, and adventuring with family and friends!

Melissa is extremely passionate about making abstract ideas more tangible for students. After teaching High School Physical Science for 5 years on the east coast, she has made the switch to a nonprofit in the hopes of reaching all types of learners. In her experience, students were interested in learning more about personal finance and she believes that all students should have access to this material. She first gained insight into inquiry-based and project style learning during her Masters in Education at the University of Pennsylvania GSE and believes these methods are ideal for students to connect financial concepts with their lives. Other than creating learning materials, Melissa loves live music, great food, and playing soccer.

Christian comes to NGPF from the world of classroom instruction, where he was a teacher for three years at a public middle school in El Sobrante, California. After leaving the classroom, he joined math tutoring company, Zeal Learning, to help grow their educator-facing sales and marketing efforts. He's no stranger to making a dollar stretch - while living in the Bay Area on his teacher salary he paid down over $40k in student loans in the span of 3 years. He's thrilled to share those lessons with teachers and students around the U.S.

Danielle is a native of Southern California and a recent graduate from the University of Maine, where she braved the frigid winters—a feat in and of itself—and earned her Bachelor's degree in International Affairs. She has a passion for working with non-profit organizations, as well as connecting students of all ages with the education they deserve. Her last job as an intern at Ventura County Government Center helped her fine tune the organizational skills necessary in order to be a valuable asset to NGPF. When Danielle isn't writing NGPF blog posts or working on various projects, you can find her raving about the movie she most recently watched, learning a new hobby, or cracking what she thinks are witty puns!

Rita has gained a lot of experience wearing many hats from working in various industries (web design, commercial real estate, mobile electronic accessories). She enjoys the challenge of organizing chaos and simplifying complex problems. Some of Rita's hobbies include travel, baking, photography, volleyball, and fitting square pegs into round holes.

Sid is currently a freshman at University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the former treasurer of the Palo Alto Youth Council and leader of the Youth Friendly Business Initiative. He enjoys playing lacrosse for his school team and in his free time. His dad is a money manager, gifting Sid with an early love for investing and personal finance. Sid uses his attention to detail and organizational skills to help NGPF with product launches.

Niko is currently a Junior at Palo Alto High School.  From selling homemade pies to umpiring Little League Baseball to repairing classic arcade games, Niko has always explored creative ways to make money through his interests. He also enjoys playing baseball for his high school and travel baseball teams. His logic oriented mindset is his most valuable asset in various NGPF projects.

Ren is currently a Sophomore at Lafayette College in Easton, PA. He plays rugby for his college and enjoys living on the East Coast. Thanks to going through the NGPF curriculum multiple times, he is able to be financially aware while at college (read more about what he learned here) . He is also the editor of the NGPF podcast and makes sure it is accessible to teachers on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play Music. 

Donnesh is a new addition to the team and is currently a freshman at Foothill College studying journalism. He loves writing blogs, and editing the curriculum's language. Using his investigative skills, Donnesh is careful to ensure that all content he combs through is accurate, updated, and insightful. In his free time, Donnesh loves skiing, playing lacrosse, making music, and writing short stories.

Cade is currently a Junior at Palo Alto High School. In her free time she rock climbs, spends time with her friends, and is currently learning Italian. She loves traveling and learning about different cultures. She is very excited to be part of the NextGen team!