Amanda Hughes
Nevada DOE, NV

Amanda serves as the K–12 Social Studies and Financial Literacy Education Programs Professional for the Nevada Department of Education. With more than 25 years of experience as a teacher, curriculum director, and state leader, she supports educators across Nevada through professional learning, curriculum resources, and statewide initiatives in civics and financial literacy. Amanda is passionate about equipping students with the knowledge and skills they need to become informed citizens and make sound financial decisions throughout their lives.

Anthony Miletta
Orchard Collegiate Academy, NY

Anthony is a teacher at Orchard Collegiate Academy in New York City who is deeply passionate about helping students develop the financial knowledge and confidence they need to make informed decisions about their futures. Eight years ago, he left banking to teach math and, for the last four years, has also taught a financial literacy course to help his students have the skills and confidence to make smart financial decisions long after they leave his classroom.

Christopher Jackson
Da Vinci Communications, CA
Joey Running Scholarship Recipient

Christopher teaches Financial Literacy at Da Vinci Communications High School in El Segundo, California, and every year his students leave with more than knowledge. They leave with a Roth IRA. As Founder of FinLit Garden, he created CFO parent workshops that help families save thousands for college, increase retirement savings, and replace financial reactivity with intentional, CFO-level decision-making.

Christy Dean
Buckhannon-Upshur High School, WV

Courtney Poquette
Winooski High School, VT
Joey Running Scholarship Recipient

Courtney has taught Business and Personal Finance at Winooski High School for over 20 years. A dedicated advocate for financial literacy, she connects classroom learning to real-world experiences through a student-run school store that funds scholarships and awards for students.

Drew Schaar
Mineral County High School, NV

Drew is a Career & Technical Educator at Mineral County High School located in Hawthorne, Nevada. Drew has taught Career & Technical Education in Business Management for the past six years. He is passionate about Financial Literacy and currently serves as Vice Chair of the State of Nevada Financial Literacy Council.

Dylan Dyer
Denver Public Schools, CO

Dylan has been teaching Economics and Financial Literacy for over two decades in Colorado. He's currently the Personal Financial Literacy Curriculum Specialist at Denver Public Schools, and he is excited to continue supporting financial literacy education.

Eileen Marks DiFabio
New York City Public Schools, NY

Eileen is in her 20th year as an educator with New York City Public Schools. For the past four years, she has led the development of a K-12 financial education program whose mission is to ensure that all students receive high-quality personal finance instruction from educators who possess the necessary content knowledge, pedagogical skills, culturally responsive mindsets, and standards-aligned materials.

Gina Collins
Port Allen High School, LA

Gina has taught Financial Literacy at Port Allen High School since 2019. She currently teaches Financial Literacy and Computer Science. She is a certified mathematics teacher for grades 7-12 in Louisiana. She earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Southern University A&M College and a Master's degree in Educational Technology from Grand Canyon University.

Jacqueline Collins
Mansfield High School, MA
Joey Running Scholarship Recipient

Jacqueline is a National Board Certified Teacher and financial literacy advocate with more than 20 years of classroom experience. She served on the writing team for the 2021 National Standards for Personal Financial Education, was recognized as the inaugural recipient of the Jump$tart Coalition's Randy Lively, Jr. Pioneer Award, and currently serves as Co-President of the Massachusetts Jump$tart Coalition.

James Meadows
Gretna High School, VA
Joey Running Scholarship Recipient

James is a Business Education teacher at Gretna High School in Virginia, where he teaches Economics and Personal Finance, Accounting I & II, Business Management, and Business Law. He is a Next Gen Personal Finance Distinguished Educator, the 2022 recipient of the H. Randy Lively, Jr. Pioneer Award from Jump$tart, and a 2025–26 Teacher Fellow with the Foundation for Economic Education. He is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration with an Accounting concentration at Longwood University.

Jeff Delezenne
Clinton High School, MI

Jennifer Carson
Hill Regional Career High School, CT

Jennifer has proudly taught business education in New Haven, Connecticut, since 2003, inspiring students with practical lessons drawn from her previous career as an accountant. She is passionate about helping young people build the knowledge and confidence to make smart financial decisions. She is a proud parent of a finance major with a minor in business analytics.

Jennifer Mitchell
Pine Tree Junior High, TX
Joey Running Scholarship Recipient

Jennifer “Mitchy” Mitchell, CFEI®, has been a Texas educator for 16 years and currently teaches seventh-grade math at Pine Tree Junior High in Longview, Texas. A passionate financial literacy advocate, she helped shape Texas's new high school personal financial literacy standards and founded Money Math with Mitchy to support educators through engaging resources and professional learning. Her mission is to help teachers prepare students for real life.

Jessica Jacobson
Eden Prairie High School and EP Online, MN

Jessica is a high school work-based learning and personal finance teacher at Eden Prairie Schools in Minnesota. With 15 years of experience in both special and general education, she is passionate about making financial literacy practical, engaging, and accessible so all students are prepared for life beyond high school.

Jessica Miller
Seckinger High School, GA

Jessica is a special education teacher at Seckinger High School in Georgia, the nation's first public AI-themed high school, where she believes every student deserves the opportunity to leave high school prepared for life, not just graduation. After transitioning from a career as a chef to education, she found her passion working with students with behavioral and learning differences and is excited to bring practical financial education back to her classroom.

Jill Wilson
Glenwood Springs High School, CO

Jill teaches the required Financial Literacy course at Glenwood Springs High School to over 200 students each year. NGPF's resources have kept her in the classroom and passionate about educating young adults in the financial skills needed for every life stage. She was an NGPF Fellow in 2017 and partners with them to advocate for financial literacy every chance she gets.

Kerri Herrild
De Pere High School, WI
Joey Running Scholarship Recipient

Kerri is in her 25th year of teaching Business Education in Wisconsin. Personal Finance is her passion, and that is fueled by the professional and personal relationships formed over the years with her FinLit Family. Joey Running was a special part of that family, and receiving this honor in her name is very special.

Lori Manship
Christoval High School, TX

Lori has been teaching at Christoval High School for 11 years. She teaches Algebra 2 and Financial Math. She believes every student deserves to graduate with the knowledge and confidence to make smart financial decisions.

Mandy Bredehoft
Wichita Public Schools, KS

Mandy serves as a support and resource to high school CTE teachers in Wichita Public Schools. She primarily supports business, IT, journalism, law, graphic design, and financial literacy teachers.

Matt Hayes
San Diego County Office of Education, CA

Matt is the History-Social Science Coordinator at the San Diego County Office of Education. In his role, he supports schools and districts implementing personal finance. He also served as a contributing writer for the California Personal Finance Curriculum Guide.

Michelle Barton
Crandall High School, TX

Michelle is in her second year teaching Financial Mathematics at Crandall High School after spending 32 years as a CPA in public accounting, specializing in forensic accounting and business valuation. She enjoys bringing real-world financial experience into the classroom to help students connect mathematical concepts to everyday life and future careers.

Michelle Zelenka
Dallas High School, OR

Michelle teaches Business Education and Personal Finance at Dallas High School in Dallas, Oregon. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Oregon State University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Pacific University. She is committed to helping students build the knowledge and confidence to make smart financial decisions and prepare for life after high school.

Nancy Koczera
Woonsocket High School, RI

Salima Abdullah
Fulton County Schools, GA

Salima is an educational leader with 27 years of experience in K–12 education. She supports economics and personal finance instruction for students in grades 6–12, helping educators implement high-quality, standards-based learning experiences that prepare students to make informed financial decisions. Her commitment to financial literacy and economic education empowers both teachers and students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in an increasingly complex economic environment.

Sandra Overly
Liberty High School, CA

Sandra is an Instructional Support Provider and Transition Specialist at Liberty High School in Brentwood, California, where she teaches Vocational Education and Work Experience.

Sarah Maloney
Dutchtown High School, LA

Sarah currently teaches at Dutchtown High School in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, and has been teaching at DTHS since 2019. She has been teaching math since she began her career in 2008. However, once she started at Dutchtown, Sarah also began teaching Personal Finance courses. She has really enjoyed teaching finance and now works as one of their content leaders on the subject for the parish.

Shreeta Ashley
Dallas ISD, TX

Shreeta is an Instructional Coordinator for Dallas ISD with 19 years of experience in education. She focuses on developing meaningful, district-supported learning for the Personal Financial Literacy and Economics course. Her passions include social studies instruction, reading, writing, and traveling.

Stephanie Yeckering
South Warren High School, KY

Stephanie has been a Business Teacher for 19 years. She is very passionate about preparing students for their futures. She loves being involved in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).

Susan Comparato
Swampscott High School, MA
Joey Running Scholarship Recipient

Sue has taught at Swampscott High School in Massachusetts since 1996. She teaches Personal Finance, Accounting, and AP Economics. She is the Co-President of the Massachusetts Jump$tart Coalition and a member of the Financial Empowerment Network. She is passionate about teaching students to become financially capable in their lives moving forward.

Suzanne Walter
Kohler High School, WI

For 20 years, Suzanne had the best job in America as a top CPG marketer. During those years, the Clark Howard podcast filled her drive-time with personal finance knowledge, and now she has the best job in America. She educates students and helps families make better financial decisions.

Tammi Strong
Airport High School, SC

Tammi has 27 years of experience teaching Business and English courses, with the past 13 years spent at Airport High School. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to helping students develop the financial literacy skills they need for success both in and beyond the classroom. Outside of teaching, she has been happily married to her husband, Peter, for the past two years. She values lifelong learning, meaningful relationships, and making a positive impact on her students' lives.

Tyson Emborg
Douglas County School District, CO

Tyson is the Douglas County School District Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator.

William Joy
Lucy Beckham High School, SC

Bill Joy teaches Honors Personal Finance at Lucy Beckham High School in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. LBHS was the first school in the state to make Personal Finance a graduation requirement. Bill has also been an advocate for making Personal Finance a required class in the state of South Carolina. His editorial in Columbia's The State newspaper may have had some influence, as soon after, South Carolina signed this bill into law. The column also set off a flurry of local news segments.