While reading the Financial Health Network’s 2019 report on the financial lives of Hawaiians, Guanlin Gao, Ph.D., discovered a statistic that stuck with her: 69% of adults in Hawai’i were struggling financially. These challenges weren’t isolated incidents; they reflected the realities of high living costs, income volatility, and economic conditions unique to the islands. 

That research helped lay the groundwork for Gao, an economics professor, to launch the Economic Education Center for Excellence (EECE) at Chaminade University in Honolulu. Since 2021, EECE has worked to advance prosperity and economic justice in Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific through integrated economic education, teacher training, and financial health research. 

Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach to financial education, EECE develops culturally responsive programs rooted in the lived experiences of Hawaii’s educators, K-12 students, and community members. The center also conducts place-based research to better understand the various barriers and opportunities that shape financial health and economic mobility throughout the region. 

Today, EECE is working to advance financial health across Hawaii through K-12 teacher training and student financial literacy programs in local Title I after-school programs. Whether working with teachers, students, or community partners, EECE is guided by one core belief: Financial health solutions are most effective when they’re designed alongside the communities they serve.

Before launching EECE, Gao and her team first spent time listening closely to community needs and connecting with local partners who shared their vision. In particular, EECE worked to better understand the lived experiences of Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Asian American, and mixed-race communities—perspectives often missing from national financial health conversations. 

Like many new academic centers, EECE faced limited staffing and resources at first. To drive the greatest impact, the center focused on scalable programs like teacher training, student engagement, and community partnerships. Since 2021, EECE has empowered nearly 100 teachers with the knowledge they need to teach economics and personal finance, with the potential to reach nearly 32,000 students over time. 

Today, EECE’s teacher training programs serve educators from O’ahu and the Neighbor Islands across all grade levels and subject areas. Program evaluations show strong gains in teacher confidence, with the majority of participants moving from low to high confidence in teaching economics and personal finance. Educators describe the training as practical, engaging, and immediately applicable in their classrooms. 

EECE is also expanding what we know about financial health through place-based research in Hawaii and North Carolina. By examining how culture, family, community, and trusted sources of financial information influence financial health, the center is helping build the case for financial education rooted in community experiences.

EECE’s partnership with the Financial Health Network has been instrumental in strengthening and refining its place-based approach to financial health. Through access to relevant research, measurement tools, and other frameworks, the center continues to refine its place-based approach while connecting local insights to the broader financial health movement. 

Measurement has been a cornerstone of that effort. EECE has incorporated the FinHealth Score® as a concise, evidence-based strategy to measure financial health across multiple dimensions. By incorporating the Score into its research, the center is connecting local data with broader trends to examine how financial literacy, culture, and local context influence financial health outcomes. 

Ongoing collaboration with Financial Health Network researchers has also strengthened EECE’s work. In particular, the center has worked closely with Financial Health Network researchers on survey design and research methodology to ensure its findings are both locally grounded and nationally relevant.

That collaborative spirit extends to EECE’s local partnerships as well. Beyond institutional support from Chaminade University, EECE has forged collaborations with HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union Foundation and many other organizations to help bring its vision to life. “It is not an exaggeration to say that EECE would not exist without strong community support,” Gao says. 

Looking ahead, EECE is working to secure multi-year funding to expand financial education training, especially as new personal finance education requirements for high schoolers take effect in Hawaii. The center also continues to build the next generation of financial health leaders through student training and mentoring and is refining its research agenda. Ultimately, EECE’s goal is to translate place-specific findings into practical tools, policy insights, and community-rooted programs that can strengthen financial health for households in Hawai’i and shape national practices.