Meet two Financial Health Network alumni who have gone on to new industries to influence financial lives at scale.

Our 2021 Financial Health Visionary Award honoree shares why she’s committed to financial health and key opportunities for the movement in its next chapter.

What’s the key to financial security today? As technology and a shifting economy reshape how we save, spend, borrow, and plan for the future, mastering the art of money management is critical for achieving financial health. Join us as Jennifer speaks with Suze Orman – personal finance expert, author, Emmy Award winner, and Co-Founder of workplace emergency savings platform SecureSave – about the critical role of savings and the most important step companies can take to support employees’ financial success.

Financial inequity isn’t a problem unique to the U.S. – it’s a global challenge that prevents many women and their families from escaping poverty. How can we empower all women to achieve financial security? Increasing access to financial services and creating women-centered products are integral parts of the solution. Hear Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, paint a picture of the challenges facing women across the world and the unexpected solutions required to close the gender gap in financial health.

In honor of Women’s History Month and 20 years of financial health, we’re highlighting two women who have been a critical part of our journey and progress.

The last few years have given us a glimpse at technology’s vast potential to improve financial, physical, and mental well-being. Can it help us achieve financial health for all? Truly advancing equity through technology requires meaningfully investing in founders of color, women founders, and others who bring lived experience to tackle persistent disparities. Tune in to hear Nasir Qadree, Founder and Managing Partner of Zeal Capital Partners, share how Zeal is democratizing venture capital and what it will take to increase investment in underrepresented founders and markets.

Is artificial intelligence the key to providing personalized financial advice for all? While companies like Credit Karma are tapping into AI’s vast potential to help customers manage their money, the technology also raises weighty questions about how to use it responsibly. In this episode, Credit Karma CEO Kenneth Lin speaks with Jennifer about how the company has embedded AI into its solutions, the biggest opportunities and challenges right now, and what an AI-enabled future might look like.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across corporate America are facing a backlash from a growing chorus of voices. But as historically marginalized groups continue to fall further behind financially, creating a more equitable financial system has never been more urgent. So where do we go from here? Hear from Greg Cunningham, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for U.S. Bank, as he reflects on his own DEI journey and what it really takes to embed equity into business practices.

It’s been two decades since the Financial Health Network and a national movement to improve financial lives were founded. As we celebrate 20 years of creating financial change, what does the future hold? Listen in as longtime finhealth champions Ellen Seidman of the Urban Institute, Arjan Schütte of Core Innovation Capital, and Tilman Ehrbeck of Flourish Ventures reflect on our journey and what we can do next to make the biggest difference in financial health.

The demand for a global financial health platform that supports meaningful business investment is there. We just need the collaboration to make it happen.

The road to financial health for all is long, and Financial Health Network President & CEO Jennifer Tescher has been walking it for almost two decades. In that time, she’s learned that lasting change requires diverse ideas and voices. She started EMERGE Everywhere with that vision, and over the past year, she’s hosted finhealth visionaries making change across sectors. Listen to this special solo episode to hear Jen’s thoughts on the progress of financial health – and her hopes for the year ahead.

Dr. Bechara Choucair grew up in Beirut in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War, raised by parents that created stability in an otherwise unstable time. What he learned then informs his current work as Senior Vice President and Chief Health Officer for Kaiser Permanente: Stable environments create better, more equitable outcomes. In this episode, Dr. Choucair explains how health systems can promote health by fighting back against financial insecurity, which he sees as the next great health crisis.

In 1992, John Hope Bryant brought a bus full of largely White corporate leaders to witness the disinvestment in South Central LA. This was the first big move for Operation HOPE, Inc., a nonprofit that John founded to empower underserved communities through financial literacy. In this episode, John and Jennifer discuss everything he’s learned in the 30 years since that first bus tour – including the importance of financial inclusion and building Black wealth.

Tom Spann is no stranger to helping people tackle financial challenges without judgment. He founded Accolade in 2007 to help working Americans navigate their health benefits, then moved on to co-found employee financial wellness company Brightside in 2017. He did so to shed light on what he sees as a critical, yet underserved, part of health equity: financial health. In this episode, Tom and Jennifer discuss the role employers can play in improving financial well-being and using behavioral science to make managing money easier.

A longtime finhealth champion in the credit union industry, Gigi Hyland has spent her career empowering credit unions to work within their communities to address today’s unique financial health challenges. In this episode, Gigi and Jennifer discuss how credit unions can better serve their members' financial needs, technology's role in building financial well-being, and the deeply intertwined relationship between physical health and financial health.

As a doctor’s son, Michael Hsu sees many parallels between the financial health movement and the goals of medicine: “The point is not to administer medicine. The point is to have healthy patients so that they can go about their lives.” He applies that perspective daily in his work as Acting Comptroller of the Currency. In this episode, Michael and Jennifer discuss how growing the federal government’s focus on finhealth can serve consumers and their communities while rebuilding faith in our institutions.

Holly O’Neill believes in the importance of building a consumer-first culture, having spent most of her career designing banking products and services around the true financial health needs of customers. Now, as president of retail banking for Bank of America, Holly joins Jennifer to discuss her work advocating for the financial health of consumers and the role retail banks can play in improving financial wellness.

There are few people more familiar with the financial lives of Americans than Rachel Schneider. Her seminal research on working families has profoundly changed our understanding of the financial struggles faced by families and communities across the U.S. An author-turned-entrepreneur, Rachel joins Jennifer to talk about her work on the pivotal Financial Diaries project and her new endeavor, Canary, a fintech company aimed at helping workers during moments of financial challenge.

In this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Jennifer sits down with Shamina Singh, Founder and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, to explore her fascinating career from politics to the private sector. Shamina discusses her quest for a more sustainable and equitable future, and how she’s developing solutions to make the global economy work for everyone.

Honeybee CEO and co-founder Ennie Lim shares her experiences launching the financial wellness fintech in the wake of her own personal financial challenges. In this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Ennie joins Jennifer to talk about coping with gender discrimination in financial services, helping employers navigate operational transformation through the height of the pandemic, and uncovering effective solutions for vulnerable workers, like rainy day funds for workplaces. Listen to learn how Ennie and HoneyBee are bridging financial literacy gaps, and taking steps toward workplace equality.

Organization Focused on Promoting Financial Health for All, specifically in financial services, healthcare and workplace sectors

It’s time for employers to make environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and human capital management (HCM) projects tangible to workers, and to use these programs to address the real human needs in their workforce.

To CEO Jeff Jones, H&R Block isn’t just a tax prep company – it’s an engine for growing financial confidence. In this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Jennifer and Jeff talk about how his penchant for studying behavior and his own experience with financial hardship led him to center the company’s growth strategy on a sense of purpose. Tune in to hear how Jeff and his team are leveraging the H&R Block brand and deep customer relationships to turn tax time into an opportunity to improve Americans’ financial health.

Dr. Tamarah Duperval-Brownlee has spent her career working to solve social disparities in the healthcare space. Today, the Chief Health Officer at Accenture is one of the most respected health leaders in the country. In this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Jennifer sits down with Dr. Tam to talk about the pandemic’s effect on the medical community, how to approach healthcare from both a community and employee perspective, and the steps to create a more equitable healthcare system.

Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands’ passion for financial inclusion began as a child in Argentina, navigating the impacts of hyperinflation on families and desire to act. In her role as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), she champions access to affordable and safe financial services for communities around the world, especially underserved groups. Through close collaboration with public and private sector partners, her work has driven real progress for financial health. In this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, learn more about Queen Máxima’s experiences, accomplishments, and vision for the future of financial inclusion and financial health.

It’s been a roller coaster of a year. Still, one thing is certain: There is a growing chorus of leaders committed to improving financial health for all – teaching us that while the context in which we operate matters, acting in line with our values matters more. In a special year-end episode of EMERGE Everywhere, host Jennifer Tescher shares reflections from conversations with 18 visionaries who graced the podcast this year and the lessons we can learn from them as we prepare for 2022.

Can we predict the future? Brett King believes he can. The self-proclaimed futurist is known for his ability to see the social and economic changes coming and the opportunities they will bring. In this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Jennifer sits down with Brett to discuss his newest book, “The Rise of Technosocialism: How Inequality, AI and Climate Will Usher in a New World,” and how we can prepare ourselves to meet the most pressing challenges facing businesses and societies today.

Maria Flynn knows the importance of bringing together competing interests to create dynamic and sustainable solutions that work. As the CEO of nonprofit Jobs for the Future (JFF), Maria draws on her nearly three decades of experience at the intersection of education and work to lead the organization’s overall growth strategy. In this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Jennifer sits down with Maria to tackle some of the biggest questions in the workforce today, from the role of technology to the future of higher education.

Brandee McHale of Citi Foundation understands the vision of financial health – she’s dedicated her career to creating measurable change and improving the lives of those in need. In this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Jennifer sits down with Brandee to explore her professional path in the world of philanthropy, the importance of understanding the financial lives of Americans, and the latest findings of the Financial Health Pulse report.

Where you come from shouldn’t determine your worth. This is the underlying belief that fuels Abbey Wemimo, CEO of Esusu, in his quest to promote justice-based capitalism. On this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Abbey joins Jennifer to talk about his family’s immigration from Nigeria to Minnesota, how his experiences have shaped his views of the U.S. financial system, and his work to bridge the racial wealth gap.

Luz Urrutia’s passion for financial services developed early in life. Her own experience moving to the U.S. from Venezuela and trying to obtain credit as an immigrant lit a fire in her to help the Latinx community navigate similar financial barriers. As we recognize Hispanic Heritage Month, Luz joins Jennifer to talk about her work in underserved communities, how we can support entrepreneurs of color better, and the issues facing small businesses in the wake of the pandemic.

Helen Robb interviewed Tim Lucas of SaverLife about how consumers are balancing spending, savings, and earnings in the wake of the final stimulus payment.

Despite monumental progress, members of the LGBT+ community still face substantial social barriers and unique financial challenges. On this episode of EMERGE Everywhere, Rob Curtis joins Jennifer to talk about these obstacles and how his company, Daylight, is working to provide LGBT+ consumers with a tailored product that responds to their specific financial needs.

The handful of promising financial health efforts outside the U.S. have been isolated, lacking a centralized forum, practices, and priorities – until now.

Financial inequity and systemic racism are two of the most pressing policy issues in America today as the country moves out of the pandemic. Urban Institute President Sarah Rosen Wartell joins Jennifer to discuss the country’s progress when it comes to affordable housing, the labor market, and racial inequity, as well as the role of government in enabling individuals to thrive.