EMERGE Everywhere

DEI in the workplace has evolved dramatically over the last few years. As a new administration takes office, how can employers navigate the changing landscape and make sure they’re doing right by their workers? Yemi Rose, founder and CEO of financial wellness platform OfColor, sits down with Financial Health Network Vice President Matt Bahl to discuss his own journey as a DEI leader and strategies...

While the American dream is still alive, it’s no longer accessible to everyone. It has become harder to raise a family, earn a livable wage, and create generational wealth. What can we do to help more Americans believe in this dream again and improve their financial lives? Good jobs, and more of them, may be the solution. In this episode of our special EMERGE Everywhere Workplace mini-series, Tran...

As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s recent rule effectively banning noncompete agreements sends shock waves across the business world, this often misunderstood employment tool is in the spotlight. Typically considered the sole province of executives, nearly 1 in 5 workers are subject to a noncompete – including some fast food workers. So are these agreements essential to protect a company&#821...

Good leaders drive day-to-day results. Great leaders share visionary ideas and then inspire organizations and stakeholders to find a way to get there. The Financial Health Visionary Award recognizes those who have shown unparalleled leadership in building a more inclusive financial system and empowering the next generation of leaders to innovate solutions that improve financial health for all. Mee...

As people struggle to make ends meet amid a cost-of-living crisis, employers play a critical role in supporting workers’ financial health. Research shows that creating good jobs isn’t just the right thing to do, but also the profitable thing to do – improving employee satisfaction, company performance, and market competitiveness. Listen in as Zeynep Ton, Professor of the Practice at MIT Sloan Scho...

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, many large companies made commitments to advance equity. Nearly four years later, those commitments have largely faded away – despite the strong link between equity and business outcomes, innovation, and long-term value creation. How can we urge corporate America to make racial and economic equity a foundational part of their businesses, so that all of us can...

As the climate crisis deepens, it weighs most heavily on marginalized communities that are already financially fragile. How do we protect these groups from the economic impact of rising energy costs, pollution, and natural disasters as we combat climate change? Listen in as Anne Evens, CEO of Elevate, joins Jennifer to explore the climate-financial health connection and how government, financial,...

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 c...

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...

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...

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 Ken Lin speaks with Jennifer about how the company has embedded AI into its solutions, the b...

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...

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...

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 EMERE Everywhere with that vision, and over the past year, she’s hosted finhealth visionaries making change across sectors. Listen to this special so...

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...

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 th...

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 co-founded 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 discus...

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...

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 governmen...

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 f...

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,...

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...

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&#38...

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 Tamarah to talk about the pandemic’s effect on the medical community, how to approach healthcare from both a community an...