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Written by Blake Allison
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I had the privilege and honor to attend the meeting of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy at the U.S. Treasury in Washington, DC. The meeting was a standing room event and presided over by Charles Schwab who is the chairman of the Council. The council itself was the created through an Executive Order by President Bush on January 22, 2008 and was charged with improving financial literacy among all Americans. Following the meeting yesterday, the Members presented its first Annual Report to President Bush which included 15 recommendations for financial literacy initiatives designed to improve the financial health of all Americans.
In addition to Mr. Schwab, the fifteen other members are a who’s who among leaders and executives representing for profit businesses, non-profits, associations, and academia. If that wasn’t enough, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th District in Texas delivered a powerful and empowering speech as she discussed the opportunities (and challenges) that we face in an effort to improve financial literacy. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also made an appearance and gave a brief yet very encouraging speech about his commitment promoting financial literacy initiatives. Always a constant and unifying figure at these meetings, John Hope Bryant serves as the Vice Chairman of the Council. John is a true visionary who has shaping the future of this country and the international community through his work as CEO and Founder of Operation HOPE (www.operationhope.org).
Needless to say, the meeting was encouraging, inspiring, and motivating – not only because of the leadership represented by the council but also by the other attendees members present. For a meeting that was packed (to say the least), it is hard to describe the energy and a palpable spirit of cooperation among the audience, who also represented a diverse group of individuals and unique collection of organizations.
In short, it is amazing to see what can be accomplished in such a relatively short period of time when people come together with a shared goal – and put politics aside. The President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy has built the foundation and developed a framework to bring much needed change to the financial health of all Americans – young and old. It seems the new administration is supportive of their work, which can only help these financial literacy programs gain momentum.
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