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Introduction
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50 Heroes, 50 States*
By Sinash Shajahan
* Plus Washington, D.C. Throughout the U.S., people are making extraordinary efforts to improve the personal finances of others. Meet ... Read More »
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Heroes of the Week
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Katie Stagliano
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 16 Hometown: Summerville, S.C. Cause: Healthy produce for low-income families Participating in a school gardening project in the ... Read More » -
Scott Niederjohn
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 40 Hometown: Sheboygan, Wis. Cause: Early financial education An economics professor at Lakeland College, Niederjohn launched the ... Read More » -
Derrick Roman
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 51 Hometown: Detroit Cause: Financial literacy for children As a 12-year-old in Philadelphia, Roman was so impressed by a ... Read More » -
Eric Lee
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 19 Hometown: St. Louis Cause: Helping victims of Ferguson riots When riots erupted Nov. 24 after a grand jury declined to indict ... Read More » -
Beth Givens
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 64 Home state: California Cause: Privacy Working on a grant in the early 1990s to teach Californians about telephone technology, ... Read More » -
Douglas York
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 52 Home state: New York Cause: Financial literacy Fourteen years ago, York’s boss at the New York utility National Grid asked ... Read More » -
David Lesser
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 59 Home state: Maryland Cause: Consumer protection A onetime bank general counsel who was winding down his own small manufacturing ... Read More » -
Annamaria Lusardi
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 52 Hometown: Washington, D.C. Cause: Financial literacy Stirred by studies of financial illiteracy, the Italian-born Lusardi in ... Read More » -
Stacy Francis
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 40 Hometown: New York City Cause: Financial education for women Troubled that her grandmother stayed in an abusive relationship for ... Read More » -
Donald Gore
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 78 Home State: California Cause: Volunteer tax preparation Upon retiring as an attorney for Lockheed in 1995, Gore soon found a way ... Read More » -
David Maurice Sharp
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 52 Hometown: New York City Cause: Teaching money skills to actors Sharp, a former professional dancer who began working full-time ... Read More » -
Odell Riley
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 54 Hometown: Monroe, La. Cause: Teaching personal finance to colleagues, congregants, and kids One of six kids raised by a single ... Read More » -
Jamie Woo
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 63 Hometown: San Francisco Cause: Teaching personal finance in immigrant communities Woo, a stay-at-home mom who emigrated from ... Read More » -
Letha L. Sparks
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 75 Home State: Texas Cause: Exposing investment scams Sparks, an accounting major who finished college at age 41, found she had a ... Read More » -
Claudia Burch
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 64 Hometown: Houston Cause: Assisting patients on the road Over the past four years Burch has logged about 25,000 miles as one of ... Read More » -
Dave Phillips
By Sinash Shajahan
Age: 42 Hometown: Detroit Cause: Career support for technology professionals An Internet systems architect, Phillips was sick of the ... Read More »
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Military Heroes
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Michael-Logan Jordan
By Sinash Shajahan
Michael-Logan Jordan Age: 15 Hometown: Kailua, Hawaii Cause: Raising funds and awareness for different charities Of the dozen or so ... Read More » -
Carol Levine
By Sinash Shajahan
Carol Levine Age: 74 Hometown: Portland, Ore. Cause: Free mental health care for veterans Levine, a psychotherapist, was shocked at the ... Read More » -
Michael Pasquale
By Sinash Shajahan
Michael Pasquale Age: 43 Hometown: Newton, N.J. Cause: Veterans’ Benefits Over the past seven years, Newark-based attorney Michael ... Read More » -
Kyle Smolek
By Sinash Shajahan
Kyle Smolek Age: 27 Hometown: Minot, N.D. Cause: Guidance for fellow service members Educated about the family’s finances from an ... Read More » -
William Folmar
By Sinash Shajahan
William Folmar Age: 77 Hometown: Millsboro, Del. Cause: Aid for veterans He spent 22 years in the military before becoming a postmaster, ... Read More » -
Marcel Minutolo
By Sinash Shajahan
Marcel Minutolo Age: 45 Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa. Cause: Tax Preparation As an Army intelligence officer deployed to such areas as ... Read More » -
Nicole Mandeville
By Sinash Shajahan
Nicole Mandeville Age: 43 Hometown: Chicago, Ill. Cause: Women’s Entrepreneurial Skills Women, who constitute 15% of the military, ... Read More » -
Holly Petraeus
By Sinash Shajahan
Holly Petraeus Age: 61 Cause: Consumer protection for military families Petraeus, 61, has spent years protecting the wallets of those ... Read More » -
Dick Power
By Sinash Shajahan
Dick Power Age: 73 Hometown: Walpole, Mass. Cause: Free financial advice A retired Army colonel, Power led the charge—first in his ... Read More » -
Brittany & Robbie Bergquist
By Sinash Shajahan
Brittany & Robbie Bergquist Ages: 23 & 22 Hometown: Norwell, Mass. Cause: Low-cost phone calls At ages 12 and 13, after hearing ... Read More » -
Maj. Dan Rooney
By Sinash Shajahan
Maj. Dan Rooney Age: 41 Home state: Oklahoma Cause: Veterans’ Education Flying from his home to a family-owned golf course in ... Read More » -
David Block
By Sinash Shajahan
David Block Age: 66 Hometown: San Diego Cause: Veterans’ financial planning Block’s concern for people with disabilities ... Read More » -
Caroline Ciraolo
By Sinash Shajahan
Caroline Ciraolo Age: 45 Hometown: Baltimore Cause: Tax litigation Drawn to cases off ending her sense of fairness, Ciraolo volunteers ... Read More » -
3 Financial Perks for Veterans
By Sinash Shajahan
Business Coaching: Veterans Business Outreach Centers, run in cooperation with the Small Business Administration, offer startup boot ... Read More » -
3 Strategies for Job Hunting If You Have a Disability
By Sinash Shajahan
1. Put People at Ease Many people are awkward about interacting with someone with a disability — at least at first. The more ... Read More »
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Northeast
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Connecticut
By Sinash Shajahan
Rebekah Harriman-Stites, Rob & Debora Accomando Age: 36, 48 & 42 Hometown: Sandy Hook Cause: Support for victims Within days of ... Read More » -
Maine
By Sinash Shajahan
Dr. Leonard Brennan Age: 61 Hometown: Portland Cause: Dentistry for disabled and aged patients Over the past 34 years, Brennan has ... Read More » -
Massachusetts
By Sinash Shajahan
Karen King Age: 55 Hometown: Monson Cause: Disaster assistance and emergency preparation The night after a tornado ripped through her ... Read More » -
New Hampshire
By Sinash Shajahan
Juliana Eades Age: 61 Hometown: Canterbury Cause: Affordable loans for low-income home buyers When, three decades ago, 13 homeowners in ... Read More » -
New Jersey
By Sinash Shajahan
Michael Pasquale Age: 43 Hometown: Newton Cause: Veterans’ Benefits Over the past seven years, Newark-based attorney Michael ... Read More » -
New York
By Sinash Shajahan
Christopher Kui Age: 54 Hometown: New York City Cause: Community development Kui, who immigrated from Hong Kong as a child, started ... Read More » -
Pennsylvania
By Sinash Shajahan
Annika Grasso Age: 8 Hometown: Chalfont Cause: Fundraising for a service dog When Annika Grasso’s mother Meridith told her ... Read More » -
Rhode Island
By Sinash Shajahan
John Perino Age: 16 Hometown: Westerly Cause: Home heating assistance for low income families In 2008, when Perino was a fifth grader ... Read More » -
Vermont
By Sinash Shajahan
Martha Robertson Age: 56 Hometown: Peru Cause: Money for heating bills Suffering through a long winter in 2001, Robertson decided she ... Read More »
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South
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Alabama
By Sinash Shajahan
Michelle Kurtz Age: 55 Hometown: Daphne Cause: Advocacy for homeowners insurance customers In 2006, Kurtz, a community consultant, began ... Read More » -
Arkansas
By Sinash Shajahan
Jim Rollins Age: 67 Hometown: Hindsville Cause: Financial education in public schools “Imagine a fairground setting, a major arena ... Read More » -
Delaware
By Sinash Shajahan
William Folmar Age: 77 Hometown: Millsboro Cause: Aid for veterans He spent 22 years in the military before becoming a postmaster, so ... Read More » -
Florida
By Sinash Shajahan
Tiffany Homuth Age: 41 Hometown: Marco Island Cause: Help for first-time homeowners Homuth had hammered many nails for Habitat for ... Read More » -
Georgia
By Sinash Shajahan
Karen Lynn Age: 53 Hometown: Tucker Cause: Job training for adults with developmental disabilities and autism Sixteen years ago, Lynn ... Read More » -
Kentucky
By Sinash Shajahan
Jay Davidson Age: 71 Hometown: Louisville Cause: Helping homeless drug addicts and alcoholics When alcoholism threatened to end Jay ... Read More » -
Louisiana
By Sinash Shajahan
Tonia Pence Age: 53 Hometown: Luling Cause: Hurricane reliefs In 2002 Pence, a single mother, sighed with relief when her daughter ... Read More » -
Maryland
By Sinash Shajahan
Mona Negm Age: 72 Hometown: Silver Spring Cause: Immigrants’ retirement In 1972 Mona Negm saw poor African-American seniors in ... Read More » -
Mississippi
By Sinash Shajahan
Karen Robison Age: 53 Hometown: Madison Cause: Education for residents living in poverty For nearly 30 years MadCAAP, an organization in ... Read More » -
North Carolina
By Sinash Shajahan
Roy Fralin Age: 48 Hometown: Morrisville Cause: Financial education For four years Fralin has taught money skills for Citizen Schools, a ... Read More » -
South Carolina
By Sinash Shajahan
Katie Stagliano Age: 15 Hometown: Summerville Cause: Healthy produce for low-income families Participating in a school gardening project ... Read More » -
Tennessee
By Sinash Shajahan
Richard Gygi Age: 68 Hometown: Franklin Cause: Providing jobs, education and charitable funding through a local business Inspired by a ... Read More » -
Texas
By Sinash Shajahan
Johnny Deas Age: 40 Hometown: Lewisville Cause: Financial literacy through hip-hop When Deas was getting his MBA, he took free classes ... Read More » -
Virginia
By Sinash Shajahan
Ken Semple Age: 86 Hometown: Glen Allen Cause: Personal finance information for the blind In 1952, Semple decided to quit his radio job ... Read More » -
Washington, D.C.
By Sinash Shajahan
Corinne Cannon Age: 36 Cause: Diapers for the Needy Shortly after giving birth to her first child in 2009, Cannon was struck by the high ... Read More » -
West Virginia
By Sinash Shajahan
Dayton Carpenter Age: 65 Hometown: Charleston Cause: Home repair for the elderly In 1994, Carpenter first got a taste of building ... Read More »
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Midwest
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Illinois
By Sinash Shajahan
Sylvia Rudek Age: 65 Hometown: Mount Prospect Cause: Protection for the infirm “I’ve had two lives,” says Rudek. ... Read More » -
Indiana
By Sinash Shajahan
Lisa Orr and Linda Hicks Age: 48 and 52 Hometown: Indianapolis Cause: Career education and financial literacy for girls Orr has been ... Read More » -
Iowa
By Sinash Shajahan
Martha Jo Ennis Age: 81 Hometown: Marion Cause: Raising awareness about financial scams Ennis, a retired elementary school teacher, ... Read More » -
Kansas
By Sinash Shajahan
C. Clyde Jones Age: 91 Hometown: Manhattan Cause: Financial education Jones has given so much to his community that he’s got an ... Read More » -
Michigan
By Sinash Shajahan
Molly MacDonald Age: 63 Hometown: Beverly Hills Cause: Financial assistance for breast cancer patients MacDonald was in between jobs in ... Read More » -
Minnesota
By Sinash Shajahan
Sandra Olson Age: 52 Hometown: Woodbury Cause: Educating refugees Olson has never been out of the country yet she teaches refugees from ... Read More » -
Missouri
By Sinash Shajahan
Faith Sandler Age: 53 Hometown: St. Louis Cause: Financial aid to low-income students Started in 1920 as a program offering financial ... Read More » -
Nebraska
By Sinash Shajahan
Dr. Rob Rhodes Age: 46 Hometown: Lincoln Cause: Free health care On a week-long mission trip with his church to Reynosa, Mexico in 2002, ... Read More » -
North Dakota
By Sinash Shajahan
Kyle Smolek Age: 27 Hometown: Minot Cause: Guidance for fellow service members Educated about the family’s finances from an early ... Read More » -
Ohio
By Sinash Shajahan
Nancy Slezak Age: 49 Hometown: Springboro Cause: Financial education Supplementing her 27 years in the banking industry with volunteer ... Read More » -
Oklahoma
By Sinash Shajahan
Henrietta Mann Age: 80 Hometown: Weatherford Cause: Native American education After nearly four decades as a college professor teaching ... Read More » -
South Dakota
By Sinash Shajahan
Robin Salverson Age: 39 Hometown: Lemmon Cause: Business education for farm and ranch women Salverson grew up on a South Dakota farm and ... Read More » -
Wisconsin
By Sinash Shajahan
Ronald Smith Age: 71 Hometown: Madison Cause: Financial advice for students As an adjunct University of Wisconsin investing professor, ... Read More »
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West
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Alaska
By Sinash Shajahan
Bill Gross Age: 47 Hometown: Anchorage Cause: Help for beleaguered farmers Gross comes from three generations of farmers. But his ... Read More » -
Arizona
By Sinash Shajahan
Levi Esquerra Age: 45 Hometown: Glendale Cause: Financial literacy and business education for Native Americans Esquerra, a member of the ... Read More » -
California
By Sinash Shajahan
Marne Dunn Age: 43 Hometown: El Dorado Hills Cause: Digital and financial literacy for homeless women Though they grew up below the ... Read More » -
Colorado
By Sinash Shajahan
Beth Bryant Age: 58 Hometown: Denver Cause: Estate planning for LGBT and non-traditional families “Things have changed,” ... Read More » -
Hawaii
By Sinash Shajahan
Michael-Logan Jordan Age: 15 Hometown: Kailua Cause: Raising funds and awareness for different charities Of the dozen or so causes ... Read More » -
Idaho
By Sinash Shajahan
Barbara & Lyn Bidstrup Age: Both 77 Hometown: Idaho Falls Cause: Small-business counseling After three decades of running a ... Read More » -
Montana
By Sinash Shajahan
Dennis Trudell Age: 67 Hometown: Fairview Cause: Support for mineral rights holders In 1982, Trudell was introduced to the Northeast ... Read More » -
Nevada
By Sinash Shajahan
Miriam Lira-Hickerson Age: 40 Hometown: Las Vegas Cause: Consumer protection After moving to Nevada from Mexico in 2006, it occurred to ... Read More » -
New Mexico
By Sinash Shajahan
Glenys Carl Age: 70 Hometown: Santa Fe Cause: Free home health care for low-income families Inspired by caretaking needs for her ... Read More » -
Oregon
By Sinash Shajahan
Carol Levine Age: 74 Hometown: Portland Cause: Free mental health care for veterans Levine, a psychotherapist, was shocked at the number ... Read More » -
Utah
By Sinash Shajahan
Art Sutherland Age: 77 Hometown: Sandy Cause: Fighting predatory lending practices After retiring as an aerospace engineer, Sutherland ... Read More » -
Washington
By Sinash Shajahan
Jill McGovern Age: 34 Hometown: Seattle Cause: Free tax preparation McGovern had been volunteering for a year in various opportunities ... Read More » -
Wyoming
By Sinash Shajahan
Neal Stelting Age: 36 Hometown: Pinedale Cause: Horse Therapy for the Disabled Sitting at dinner with friends in 2011, Stelting learned ... Read More »
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Heroes on Video
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Advice From the Heroes
