Michael F. Gerber
Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Financial Scholars
My perspective on financial security has been shaped by a career spanning finance and public service, including serving as Chair of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), which administers the federal government’s retirement program, the Thrift Savings Plan. Throughout my work, one truth has remained clear: economic mobility begins with access to financial knowledge.
When I founded Financial Scholars in 2020 amid heightened national conversations around racial wealth gaps, my goal was to address a fundamental, universal need: ensuring every student receives a practical financial education, regardless of background or ZIP code. We deliberately began in historically under-resourced school communities. Young people entering adulthood with smaller financial safety nets have far less room for error. While financial education cannot dismantle every structural barrier, it equips students with the knowledge, confidence, and agency to navigate real-world decisions about banking, credit, and investing, which will shape their trajectories for decades.
We chose Philadelphia as our launching ground because it was both meaningful and demanding. The birthplace of American democracy and home to the nation’s first bank, Philadelphia also presented the realities facing many urban school districts: scarce resources, high teacher turnover, and competing priorities. Our ambition was never just to build a successful local program, but to design a durable model that could thrive under real-world constraints anywhere in the country.
The model worked. By pairing Next Gen Personal Finance’s high-quality curriculum with ongoing teacher coaching, district support, and student enrichment, we helped schools become vibrant hubs of community financial empowerment. We proved that high-quality financial education can be implemented sustainably and at scale.
Today, that proof of concept meets a national moment. Serving 12,500 students annually, Financial Scholars is poised to scale as states nationwide expand personal finance graduation requirements. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn policy promises into life-changing classroom experiences.We began in Philadelphia with the belief that financial education could open doors. Today, we have the opportunity—and the responsibility—to make sure those doors are open to far more young people across the country.
Michael F. Gerber
Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Financial Scholars
When I founded Financial Scholars in 2020 amid heightened national conversations around racial wealth gaps, my goal was to address a fundamental, universal need: ensuring every student receives a practical financial education, regardless of background or ZIP code. We deliberately began in historically under-resourced school communities. Young people entering adulthood with smaller financial safety nets have far less room for error. While financial education cannot dismantle every structural barrier, it equips students with the knowledge, confidence, and agency to navigate real-world decisions about banking, credit, and investing, which will shape their trajectories for decades.
We chose Philadelphia as our launching ground because it was both meaningful and demanding. The birthplace of American democracy and home to the nation’s first bank, Philadelphia also presented the realities facing many urban school districts: scarce resources, high teacher turnover, and competing priorities. Our ambition was never just to build a successful local program, but to design a durable model that could thrive under real-world constraints anywhere in the country.
The model worked. By pairing Next Gen Personal Finance’s high-quality curriculum with ongoing teacher coaching, district support, and student enrichment, we helped schools become vibrant hubs of community financial empowerment. We proved that high-quality financial education can be implemented sustainably and at scale.
Today, that proof of concept meets a national moment. Serving 12,500 students annually, Financial Scholars is poised to scale as states nationwide expand personal finance graduation requirements. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn policy promises into life-changing classroom experiences.We began in Philadelphia with the belief that financial education could open doors. Today, we have the opportunity—and the responsibility—to make sure those doors are open to far more young people across the country.
Michael F. Gerber
Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Financial Scholars
