NGPF Fellow Updates

Financial Literacy For Our Youth: A Marathon Not A Sprint!

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Apr 23, 2020
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NGPF Fellows
 Thanks for NGPF Fellow Jason-Lamont Jackson Sr. from West Orange HS in West Orange NJ for this guest post! --------------------- My rewarding career as both a teacher and a coach began simultaneously approximately 22 years ago.  I can vividly remember early experiences as if they happened just yesterday, both in the classroom and on the track.  Year after year I’ve added to my educational and athletic toolkit to improve in each area and I came to a quick conclusion back...

NGPF Fellow Karl Remsen: Why We Believe in Personal Finance Education for ALL Students

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Apr 16, 2020
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NGPF Fellows, Advocacy
Thanks to NGPF Fellow Karl Remsen, a math and personal finance teacher at Lake County High School in Leadville, Colorado for his inspired words and actions in his school community. He took this a step further and had an op-ed advocating financial education for all in his local paper, the Mountain Mail. ------------------------------- In 2017, Lake County High School reviewed and revamped our graduation requirements. As part of this process, we became one of the only schools in Colorado to...

Guest Post from Lana Main: Using NGPF for Computer Technology Instruction

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Jan 15, 2020
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Teaching Strategies, NGPF Fellows, Tips for Teachers
Thanks to NGPF Fellow Lana Main of West Central High School (Sioux Falls, SD) for this guest post! --------------------- In addition to my role as a Personal Finance teacher, I also teach a Computer Applications course for freshmen. For several years I’ve used NGPF's phenomenal, free resources in my Personal Finance course. As I’ve become more familiar with NGPF resources, I’ve realized that many of them fit well into many other courses too. Here are some engaging lessons and...

NGPF Fellows Honored at Jump$tart National Educator Conference

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Nov 07, 2019
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Featured Teachers, NGPF Fellows
Congrats to NGPF Fellows Jackie Prester, Joey Running and Laurie Gardner. They were recognized at the 2019 Jump$tart Educator Conference in Washington, D.C. as the first three recipients of the Jump$tart Chairmen's Scholarships.  Here are the details on the awards: Randy Lively, Jr. Pioneer Award – Jacqueline Prester Randy Lively was a co-founder of the Jump$tart Coalition and the organization’s first chairman who was recognized as a “pioneer” in the financial...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Finance Student of the Year Award, Edition 15

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Aug 29, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Finance Student of the Year Award, Edition 14

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Aug 22, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Finance Student of the Year Award, Edition 13

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Aug 15, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

The Rise of the Robocall: Do Not Answer That Call!

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Aug 11, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Scams, Current Events
Thanks to Renee Hochanadel, who recently attended Summer Institute and is now an NGPF Fellow, for sharing this blog post which was originally shared on her blog. _______________________________________________ The phone rings, you look at the number and you go through your mental checklist before deciding to answer or not. Is this one of my contacts? Is it a local number? Have I made an outgoing call to set an appointment and it might be them? If you have a cell phone, you do this dance an...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Finance Student of the Year Award, Edition 12

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Aug 08, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Finance Student of the Year Award, Edition 11

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Aug 01, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

NGPF Fellows Personal Finance Student of the Year Award: Edition 10

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Jul 25, 2019
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Featured Teachers, NGPF Fellows
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Finance Student of the Year Award, Edition 9

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Jul 11, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Student of the Year Award, Edition 8

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Jul 04, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Finance Student of the Year Award, Edition 7

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Jun 27, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

NGPF Fellows: Personal Finance Student of the Year Award, Edition 6

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Jun 20, 2019
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NGPF Fellows, Financial Literacy
To acknowledge the efforts that teachers put into their classes, NGPF Fellows have the option to award a 'Personal Finance Student of the Year Award' to one student with outstanding contributions in their personal finance class. The Fellow selects a student based on the following criteria: The student has taken the Fellow's personal finance class in the 2018-2019 school year The student has demonstrated outstanding performance in the class based on their participation, academic...

2019-2020 NGPF Fellows

Andy Gold, Hillsborough Community College (Tampa, FL)

Andy Gold, Ph.D., is a full-time faculty member at Hillsborough Community College. He co-founded the inLab @HCC, an interdisciplinary institute for innovation and Operation Startup, which serves HCC students, military Veterans, and social entrepreneurs. Andy co-authored a book that focuses on an urgent need for community colleges to prioritize entrepreneurship education to remain relevant in our changing economy, and to give students the critical skills needed for the future. He is a passionate advocate of financial education and serves on the board of the Florida Prosperity Partnership. Previously, Gold had a 12-year career in finance.

Carin Zinter, Holyoke Community College (Sunderland, MA)

Former COO turned professional educator, Carin teaches Management and Psychology at Holyoke Community College. As an EAS certified Master Beekeeper, Carin helps to keep life buzzing at C & C Orchards by providing raw, local honey to restaurants and pastry chefs in the northeast. In her spare time, Carin enjoys training for and racing ultramarathons and has her sights set on running a 100 mile race next year. 

Elizabeth Justema, Summit High School (Bend, OR)

After 20 years in the high tech marketing arena, Elizabeth changed careers into education. She teaches personal finance, economics, and AP US History at Summit High School in Bend, Oregon. Originally a native of Seattle, she is a graduate of the University of Washington with a masters from Oregon State University. When not surrounded by teenagers, either her students or her own kids, she loves to run, bike, ski, and read. She considers teaching personal finance to be one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences of her life.

Jason-Lamont Jackson Sr, West Orange High School (West Orange, NJ)

Jason-Lamont has been working with students since 1998 and has a passion for helping them reach their full potential in and out of the classroom. After entering the world of collegiate athletics from 2010-2016, he is entering his third year at West Orange High School and will continue teaching Personal Finance while adding Accounting, Business Law and Entrepreneurship to his yearly schedule. An avid runner, Jason-Lamont has been involved in coaching Cross Country / Track & Field for the past 21 years and enjoys teaching and coaching in the same community where he lives with his wife and four sons.

Karl Remsen, Lake County High School (Leadville, CO)

Karl teaches at a small high school in the mountains of Colorado. He advocated for and succeeded in making his semester-long personal finance course a graduation requirement, and now he works to make sure the course is as engaging and informative as possible. Karl works with many students who dream of being the first in their family to attend college, and he is constantly inspired by their grit and determination. Along with teaching Personal Finance, Karl also teaches Integrated III, Career Math, and Engineering and coaches the Nordic ski team.

Lana Main, West Central High School (Sioux Falls, SD)

Lana is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as a Next Gen Personal Finance Fellow during the 2019-2020 school year. Promoting the fabulous curriculum and resources provided by Next Gen Personal Finance, advocating for financial education for all students, and guiding students on their path to becoming financially capable young adults are a few of the goals she is most looking forward to accomplishing this year. In addition to teaching Personal Finance, she also teaches other business and computer courses at West Central High School in Hartford, SD. Her educational background includes Bachelor degrees in both Business Marketing and Business Education from Dakota State University and a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Sioux Falls. When she's not teaching, she can be found reading, hiking, or spending time with her friends and family.








Laura Schoenike, Menomonee Falls High School (Oconomowoc, WI)

Laura Schoenike is a fourth year business and computer science teacher at Menomonee Falls High School in Wisconsin. Her passion for financial literacy is fueled by students asking “But when are we ever going to use this?” because she loves answering “For the rest of your life!” Outside of the classroom Laura enjoys yoga, running, and meeting new four-legged furry friends.

Renee Hochanadel, Olathe South High School (Lenexa, KS)

Renee is an energetic, passionate new educator. She has previously run successful businesses and worked in higher education. She enjoys helping people and having fun. She does this by providing real world experiences to her students with projects and community connections. You can find her laughing with her two children, Gretta and Alton, when she isn’t inspiring students!

Renee Nelson, KIPP NYC Prep High School (Bronx, NY)

Renee has spear-headed a personal finance curriculum at the high school where she teaches. Over the years, the program started as a math elective, and has now grown into a college level course for students to earn college credit. Renee is also spreading personal finance lessons to the school community with workshops for staff, parents, and alumni. She's also reaching younger generations with at-home saving strategies for her young son. Renee believes the knowledge of money management is a life long skill that should be taught at any age to reach financial goals.

Stephanie Mills, South Warren High School (Bowling Green, KY)

Stephanie is a Business Teacher and FBLA Advisor at South Warren High School. She is very passionate about teaching personal finance because the students gain valuable knowledge and skills. In fact, she is advocating for the course to be a graduation requirement in Kentucky. She believes interactive lessons and real-world activities enable the students to make personal connections to the content.

Tara Kelley, Harwood Union High School (Stowe, VT)

Tara Kelley loves her job as a high school math teacher! Over the past 10 years, she has taught a variety of math courses in Massachusetts and Vermont, but personal finance quickly became a passion after taking over her school’s elective three years ago. Seeing how excited students are to learn the material motivates Tara to continue improving the course and seeking out ways to make personal finance available to more students. As a NGPF fellow, Tara will be better able to do this as she connects and shares best practices with other dedicated personal finance educators across the country.

Vincent Branch, Booker T. Washington High School (Houston, TX)

Vincent worked in the financial services field for many years before becoming an educator. He has taught US History and Personal Financial Literacy for five years, most recently at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston, TX. Vincent has undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. His teaching career has been concentrated in Title I schools in gentrifying communities. He is very passionate about providing his students with an equitable education that encompasses academic and social development. Vincent believes personal financial skills will help students fight against generational poverty.