Joanna Smith-Ramani, Co-Executive Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program

Joanna Smith-Ramani is Co-Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, a leading national voice on Americans’ financial security. Working with the team, she is building a cross-sector community of leaders (Joanna calls her “quirky Thanksgiving table”) who, together, are using their shared wisdom and humanity to deeply investigate and solve the most critical financial challenges facing U.S. households. Joanna has over 20 years of experience across community, personal finance, and financial security. Before joining FSP, Joanna served as Senior Innovation Director at Commonwealth, leading the unit that designs, tests, and evaluates promising financial service innovations. Additionally, Joanna led several federal grants, developed and sustained national coalitions, and built a network of industry partners. Joanna has led national and state legislative campaigns resulting in the passage of a federal law and more than ten state laws expanding savings innovation across the nation. She is a trusted expert on financial security and inclusion, having been quoted in numerous national and local media outlets such as the New York Times, National Public Radio, and Fox Cable News. Joanna holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University. She serves on the Board of the CASH Campaign of Maryland, Community Organizing and Family Issues, and Business for America’s Future Fund.

Genevieve Melford, Managing Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program

Genevieve oversees Aspen FSP’s strategy, activities, and operations. As Managing Director of the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (Aspen FSP), Genevieve oversees the program’s strategy, activities, and operations to illuminate and solve the most critical financial challenges facing American households and to make financial security for all a top national priority.

Genevieve joined Aspen FSP as its inaugural Director of Insights and Evidence, a role in which she built and led a team of talented researchers synthesizing knowledge and data on topics including consumer debt, financial stability, housing security, caregiving, the financial lives of workers, inclusive financial systems, household wealth, and the financial well-being of youth and young adults.

Before joining FSP, Genevieve worked at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where she led the Bureau’s work to define, measure, and study the drivers of consumer financial well-being and effectiveness research on financial education and capability strategies. While at the CFPB, she co-chaired the interagency Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC)’s Research and Evaluation Committee. Before that, she served as Director of Research at Prosperity Now, a national nonprofit dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for low-income families and communities. Genevieve holds an M.P.A. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a B.A. in economics from Wesleyan University.

Steven Brown, Director of Insights and Evidence, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program

Steven Brown is the Director of Insights and Evidence for the Financial Security Program. The Insights and Evidence team drives FSP’s efforts to promote data and research-informed strategies that advance household financial prosperity.

His professional work has focused on understanding the structural factors that impact wealth-building and inclusive economic opportunity. Prior to Aspen, he was a director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and served on assignment to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he supported their equitable research and policy implementation efforts. He also spent several years at the Urban Institute, where he helped stand up the Office of Race and Equity Research and authored numerous briefs and reports on racial wealth gaps, disparities in employment opportunities, economic mobility metrics, and advancing equity through data. His research and perspective have been cited in The Washington Post, CNN, Marketplace, NPR, and Vox.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree in sociology from Harvard University, where he was also an inequality and social policy doctoral fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.

Julie Stone, Director of Family Economic Mobility, Gary Community Ventures

Julie Stone, Director of Family Economic Mobility at Gary Community Ventures, is focused on self-sufficiency and wealth-building strategies for Colorado families. With a career that’s included leadership roles in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, Julie is committed to solutions that combine the best of all three to create shared ownership and opportunity — for everyone.

The child of small-business owners in rural Wyoming, Julie’s early career took the form of waitressing, shift manager, cashier and wholesale fuels purchaser at her family truck stop located on Interstate-80. After touring with UpWithPeople out of high school, she completed degrees in economics and environmental policy from the University of Wyoming, and went on to serve as a Social Policy Analyst for Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal. The most significant portion of her career was spent in data analytics and integration, providing human capital consulting, healthcare policy design and labor negotiations for a portfolio of our nation’s largest employers. Most recently, she led external affairs and served as the Interim Executive Director of Teach For America, Colorado. 

Julie is married to the world’s best partner, Jon Stone, and together they have two amazing kids. The Stones are often found skiing, biking and camping somewhere in the Colorado mountains.

Chris Wimer, Director, Center on Poverty and Social Policy at the Columbia University School of Social Work

Christopher Wimer directs the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at the Columbia University School of Social Work. He is also a Principal Investigator on the Robin Hood Poverty Tracker, which measures poverty and wellbeing in New York City. Wimer conducts research on the measurement of poverty, as well as historical trends in poverty and the impacts of social policies on the poverty rate. He also focuses on how families cope with poverty and economic insecurity, with a particular focus on how families manage food insecurity and other forms of material hardship. His work pays particular attention to the role of government policies and programs and their potential impacts on the wellbeing of low-income families and children. His work has been featured in leading scientific journals including Demography, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Social Service Review, Social Science Research, Criminology, and the Journal of Marriage and Family. Wimer received his PhD in Sociology and Social Policy from Harvard University.

Brenton Peck, Vice President, Financial Health Strategy, U.S. Bank

As part of the Community Impact & Inclusion team, Brenton leads the development and implementation of U.S. Bank’s financial health strategy. His work focuses on driving financial health outcomes for customers, employees, and communities that meet the business and social objectives of U.S. Bank.

Brenton has extensive experience in financial health. Prior to joining U.S. Bank in 2024, Brenton led complex consulting projects with clients across financial services, government agencies, and technology platforms at the Financial Health Network. Before his tenure at FHN, he held roles at the Filene Research Institute, J.P.Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.

Brenton holds a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and a Master of Business Administration from Aurora University. He is a Project Management Professional (PMP®), an active participant on Urban Institute’s Financial Well-Being Steering Hub Steering Committee, and an advisory council member of the Financial Resilience Institute.