Let's Talk About Money - Bios

 

Judge Ninfo is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of New York, and founder of the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) program.  CARE is a personal financial literacy education outreach program that provides judges, trustees, attorneys, and court staff members from the bankruptcy community to high schools and colleges in all 50 states to help students become financially responsible and lead debt-free lives.  Ninfo recently launched the Greater Rochester Area Financial Literacy Initiative.

 

Gayle Jagel is the CEO and Founder of The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!), a entrepreneurial educational program for middle and high school students which teaches how to make a job- not just take a job. She founded the program in 2004 while serving as the Director of the University of Rochester's Office of Special Programs, with support from the Kauffman Foundation. In November 2008 she successfully “spun-off” the program from the University of Rochester and expanded the reach of YEA! to six locations. YEA!’s direct mission is to help students embrace their passion, energy, creativity and talents and to bring the program to high schools and colleges nationwide, bringing the power of entrepreneurship to more than 40,000 students in the next five years.

 

LaVigna-Wixted is Executive Director of the New York Credit Union Foundation.  The foundation strives to empower all New Yorkers to be economically self-sufficient.  It emphasizes financial education, especially for young people through the National Endowment for Financial Education(r) (NEFE(r)) High School Financial Planning Program(r), LifeSmarts, the brass|STUDENT PROGRAM, Money & Me, Biz Kid$, and Kid'sCash Kits.

 

Masiello is a member of the Greater Rochester Area Financial Literacy Initiative, a professional financial planner, and a local instructor for the Wi$eUp financial education program.  Wise-Up program was developed by the National Women's Bureau of the US Dept of Labor as part of its “Strengthening the Family” initiative. 

 

Laytricia Towery has extensive experience as a Financial Literacy Educator for youth and adults.~ She is a Housing/Financial Literacy Counselor for the Urban League of Rochester’s Home Store Program, which provides services to promote home ownership and financial literacy.