In a time of rising costs and shrinking safety nets, building wealth can feel like a luxury, both for the many Americans struggling to make ends meet and for the leaders working to support them. But financial stability and personal wealth are not competing interests—they are reinforcing pillars, and families need both to thrive. Watch the webinar to hear from visionary leaders demonstrating the viability and effectiveness of solutions designed to advance both stability and wealth. Together, speakers will offer practical and scalable examples of how we can empower Americans experiencing financial precarity to build lifelong, intergenerational financial security.
Speakers
Markita Morris-Louis, CEO, Compass Working Capital
Markita Morris-Louis (Lou-wee) serves as Chief Executive Officer for Compass Working Capital, a national nonprofit working to end asset poverty for families with low-incomes and narrow racial and gender wealth divides through policy advocacy, direct service, and capacity building. Her leadership centers equity and amplifies the voices of those Compass serves to shift narratives about communities experiencing poverty.
Before Compass, Markita served as Interim Executive Director of the Arts + Business Council for Greater Philadelphia and as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Clarifi, a nonprofit housing and financial counseling agency. She also spent a dozen years in real estate law, economic justice, impact litigation, and community development.
Markita has served on numerous boards, including the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and currently serves on the Board of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency as Chair of the Policy Committee.
She has been honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal, named a Social Mobility Innovator by the Social Innovations Journal, and named to the Pennsylvania Nonprofit Power 100 list. A proud native of North Philadelphia, Markita holds degrees from Brown University and New York University School of Law.
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.
Hope Wollensack, Executive Director, Georgia Resilience & Opportunity Fund
Hope Wollensack is the Founder and Executive Director of the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity (GRO) Fund, an organization dedicated to advancing bold, evidence-based, and community-driven solutions to eliminate poverty and narrow the racial wealth gap. GRO invests cash and capital directly into people through two flagship initiatives: In Her Hands, a $30 million guaranteed income program, and Freedom Futures: Cash for Today, Capital for Tomorrow, the first accelerated Baby Bonds pilot program in the country.
Hope began her career as an organizer, teacher, and assistant principal before serving as a senior strategist at the Economic Security Project. She holds a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University, where she was among the founding contributors to the Africana Studies program.
Trevor Rozier-Byrd, Founder and CEO, Stackwell Capital, Inc.
Trevor Rozier-Byrd is the founder and CEO of Stackwell Capital, Inc., an innovative fintech platform for emerging wealth builders that offers tools and resources to share knowledge, build confidence, and foster belonging. He has more than fifteen years of corporate development, business strategy, and corporate transactional legal experience focused on the asset management industry. Prior to founding Stackwell, Rozier-Byrd served as the Head of Strategy and BusinessDevelopment for the State Street Alpha Platform, as a Senior Associate at WilmerHale focused on mergers and acquisitions, and as associate at Sidley Austin in their Capital Markets and Investment Management practice. While receiving his law degree, he worked for the US Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement where he participated in investigations of possible violations of the federal securities laws. Rozier-Byrd is a member of the Financial Health Network Financial Services Standards Advisory Council, and of the Prudential Financial Blueprints to Black Wealth Advisory Board.
Joanna Smith-Ramani, Co-Executive Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (Moderator)
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.
