Meet OUR PANELISTS
RUTH ATHERton, PhD , JD
Ruth is an attorney for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She advises on the legal and business aspects of making grants and investments to achieve social and health impact. She put herself through college and graduate school obtaining a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology and a JD in Law. She uses her scientific and legal background to interact with scientists, doctors and leaders across the foundation. Ruth and her family run a public charity that brings instruments and musical opportunities to children with unique life challenges.
REGINALD EXUM
Reginald is a Vice President/Community Relations Officer with Citigroup (Citi) and a member of its Community Investing and Development team, based in the Greater Washington D.C. area. Reginald joined Citi in 2008 and, in his current role, focuses on implementing strategies and building relationships with non-profit organizations and government entities that conduct programs in financial capability, youth economic opportunities, small business and affordable housing in low- and moderate-income communities. He also serves as a liaison to and provides technical assistance for organizations seeking financial grants from Citi.
Reginald has worked in the financial services industry for more than 30 years and has held positions in commercial loan analysis, marketing research, residential mortgage lending and bank operations. He currently sits on the advisory board of Year Up of the National Capital Region and the advisory council of Collegiate Directions Inc.
Previously, he has served on the boards of the Coppin State University Development Foundation, Housing Initiatives Partnership, Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, the Coppin State University Board of Visitors and the Greater Baltimore Urban League in addition to the advisory committee for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship-Baltimore, and the executive board of the James Mosher Youth Baseball League.
A native Baltimorean, Reginald is a graduate of Coppin State College (now University) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Science with a concentration in Economics and Finance.
Reginald has worked in the financial services industry for more than 30 years and has held positions in commercial loan analysis, marketing research, residential mortgage lending and bank operations. He currently sits on the advisory board of Year Up of the National Capital Region and the advisory council of Collegiate Directions Inc.
Previously, he has served on the boards of the Coppin State University Development Foundation, Housing Initiatives Partnership, Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, the Coppin State University Board of Visitors and the Greater Baltimore Urban League in addition to the advisory committee for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship-Baltimore, and the executive board of the James Mosher Youth Baseball League.
A native Baltimorean, Reginald is a graduate of Coppin State College (now University) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Science with a concentration in Economics and Finance.
Chawn A. Payton, CLTC
Chawn is a Financial Advisor at Northwestern Mutual. He is the oldest of 4 children and was born and raised in Valdosta, GA. He graduated with a Computer Engineering degree from Florida A&M University in 2008. Afterwards he moved to Atlanta and began his career as a management consultant for Accenture. After being successful in his current role, he realized he wanted a career that was impactful on a personal level. In 2017, after 9 years with Accenture he started his financial planning and advisory practice in the Atlanta area, affiliated with Northwestern Mutual. Chawn’s life mission is to positively impact the lives of everyone he meets. His current role as a financial advisor allows him to do this by serving his community in providing financial literacy as well as helping create generational wealth through comprehensive financial planning. He believes the first step in building wealth is having the appropriate mindset. Understanding this developed a passion for helping others in his community think differently about money. He currently lives in Kennesaw, GA with his wife Yolanda who is a high school chemistry teacher. They’ve been married 8 years and love to travel and try new restaurants. He’s an avid fan of all the sports teams in Atlanta and occasionally, will live on the edge by going sky diving. For more info: ChawnPayton.NM.com
Ka'neda bullock, cfp, MBA, AIF, APMA
Ka’Neda is the founder of Master Plan Investment Group, a comprehensive investment management and financial planning firm in Pennington, NJ. She and her firm are dedicated to helping individuals, families, business owners and organizations across the county, organize and secure their financial future and invest to build generational wealth as Wealth Managers and Retirement Plan Advisors. After graduating from Smith College in Northampton, MA and completing a Fulbright fellowship in South Korea, Ka’Neda began her career in the financial services industry with one of the largest investment firms in the nation. In 2011, she left her corporate role and became a Financial Advisor and established her own firm in 2019. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional her mission to serve clients in excellence and advance generational wealth planning, and women and communities of color’s involvement in investing. Ka'Neda, her husband, Eric, and their two daughters, Bella (5) and Madison (4) reside in New Jersey and love traveling, spending time with family and supporting the arts. She is also an active member of the Trenton Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, NJ. www.masterplaninvestmentgroup.com/
Jarell moten, MBA, MSA
Jarell has an undergraduate degree in Agriculture Business Management with a minor in Accounting from North Carolina State University. He completed a Masters of Business Administration degree from East Carolina University and has obtained professional experience in the financial industry as a Leader/Manager and Financial Analyst III. Jarell passed the FINRA Series 7, 63, 9, and 10 exams, and all four sections of the CPA exam. He completed a second Masters degree in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the founder of The Financial Shack Inc, a non-profit organization focused on career development and financial literacy for minority and low income populations. Jarell also is the owner of a small accounting services organization, Shack Accounting Services, LLC.
Dawn Mabery Chestnut, CFEI
Dawn is the founder of Mabery Consulting which was started 10 years ago and provides comprehensive personal financial planning education. Her work stems from the belief that personal money management is a basic yet vital life skill that should be available to everyone. She is also the author of curriculum that helps individuals with strategies and tips on finance. She has a Certificate of Financial Planning from Georgetown University including her Series 65/Uniform Investment Advisor License and Certificate of Financial Education Instruction. She is a proud Spelman College graduate and enjoys gardening, cycling and jogging with her husband in DC. For more info, visit maberyconsulting.com/financial-planning.html
Myles gage
Myles Gage is the Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Rapunzl Investments a mobile application that allows individuals to simulate stock portfolios for utilizing real time market data. In his current role, Myles oversees every aspect of investment competitions hosted on the Rapunzl platform from identifying sponsors that support scholarship prizes to driving user engagement and participation. Prior to joining Rapunzl full time in 2019, Myles began his career as credit analyst at CIBC upon graduating from the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business as Finance major in 2016. For more info visit: www.rapunzlinvestments.com
BABilal Afolabi, CFP, ChFC
Bilal is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Northwestern Mutual. He assists individuals and businesses in achieving the future they envision. This is accomplished through a holistic process which identifies where the client is and what their priorities are. Subsequently, he develops customizable and comprehensive financial plans. He serves as a Chief Financial Officer for the Hartford Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. Bilal was born in Togo, Africa and moved to Hartford, CT when he was eight-years old and attended the same elementary school as his girlfriend Aaliyah.” For more info: BilalAfolabi.NM.com
TOM BARONE, MBA
Tom has an Electrical Engineering degree and an MBA in Finance – both from Purdue. Tom has worked at Procter & Gamble in a variety of finance roles over the last 23 years. As a father of three teenagers, he has a passion for helping kids learn the fundamentals of personal finance!
Donna Alston, CPA, MBA
Donna has a passion for financial literacy since working as a credit analyst at American Express 25 years ago. She has worked in the biotech industry the past 15 years in finance and data management roles. She holds degrees in electronic engineering technology, accounting and business administration and is also a Certified Public Accountant
Sean Allen
Sean has worked in financial services since 2008 and graduated with a double major in finance and marketing from Lehigh University. He currently works for Fidelity Investments with a focus on educating clients interested in financial planning. He holds his series 7 and 66 licenses and is an avid soccer fan.
Pieter De Graaf ca (SA)
Pieter is a Finance Director at Procter & Gamble where he has worked for 25 years. Prior to that he worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers for four years. He holds a master's degree in finance and accounting and is a registered chartered accountant. He has taught finance at college part time and has actively participated in the Ohio CPA Chapter "Accounting for Kids" program.
Joe Ferrer
Joe is a graduate and former football player at the University of Notre Dame who has worked in financial services for 20 years. He holds his series 6 and 65 Licenses. He also has multiple designations and has won a number of industry awards. Joe has now authored two best selling books Mailbox Money and Journey to the 5th. He also created an organization built on Micro-Philanthropy which has members in 16 states. The focus of the organization is that you don't have to be rich to give and Joe spends many hours helping to inspire people to commit to giving. The organization uses the dollars and commits random acts of kindness in hopes of spreading joy and making an impact on those who see these acts. Joe is in the last stages of his own fintech APP. Joe is a proud husband and father of four who enjoys coaching youth sports.
Joshua Lowery, M.S.
Joshua has his Master of Science degree in Community & Economic Development. Joshua is a Managing Partner of the Strategic Management & Development Group. The SMD Group is a consulting firm focused on increasing contracting equity for small, local, minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses. For the past few years, he has been a sales and marketing leader in the Diversity Management Software industry. In addition, Joshua a Licensed Commercial & Residential Realtor and high school basketball Associate Head Coach. He is passionate about empowering underrepresented business owners, building sustainable communities, and mentoring the youth. Joshua believes in being the change you want to see in the world.
Kori Vernon
Kori is a forward-thinking, hardworking, outgoing student at NYU studying Computer Science and minoring in Mathematics. He is the recipient of the MLK Jr. Scholarship and founded the Organization for Melanin Empowerment and Ahia Solutions. He is passionate about empowering underrepresented businesses and ultimately wants to go into the field of Quantitative Research to fulfill his dreams of solving the world’s problems through mathematics and artificial intelligence.
Jabez & Christopher Jenkins
Jabez and Christopher Jenkins are 15 and 14 year old kidpreneurs and the owners and designers of Kings and Gents Accessories. They are Atlanta, GA. They design and sew bow ties for boys, they choose, cut and sew the fabrics. They wrote a book called Bow Tie Brothers that follows their kidpreneur journey. They were chosen as first prize finalist in the national Sunny D “Show Your Bold” teen contest in 2019 and are Atlanta’s Hottest Kidpreneur nominees. They have also created their own YouTube show, Kidpreneur Check-In, that will highlight young kidpreneur-boys like them. Their show will be featured on YouTube as well as their Roku TV network, Kings and Gents TV. They also believe in having a positive impact on their community. Through their Suit Up event for kidpreneur-boys they have donated suits to up-and-coming kidpreneurs to encourage entrepreneurship to their peers. They host monthly Kidpreneur Workshops to teach the importance of entrepreneurship and financial literacy in the community. They have have been recognized as Kidpreneur Catalyst in their hometown and given their own holiday, Kidpreneur Day, in their honor. To learn more about Jabez and Christopher and their business, Kings and Gents Accessories, go to www.thekingsandgents.com
FB and IG: @kingsandgents
FB and IG: @kingsandgents
Aaliyah Duah
Aaliyah Duah is an 18-year-old sophomore from Brooklyn, New York studying Business Management at Virginia State University. Aaliyah is passionate about building generational wealth in the black community and strongly believes that the pathway to doing so is through teaching financial literacy. Aaliyah has worked at the Board of Elections in New York, served as the Office Administrator for the Jackson Legal Group P.C., and has led many volunteer programs in her community. When reflecting on the wealth gap and the economic disparities in the Black community, she was inspired to start her own business and serve her community. Her business, Financial Revolutionn, is a platform created to expose people to basic financial literacy terms and concepts, investing tips, and the importance of building generational wealth in the black community. Also, Aaliyah has published an eBook, The Blueprint for Investing Vol. 1, that educates readers on the fundamentals of investing, investing resources, stock market tips, and other concepts relating to financial literacy. Aaliyah has been featured on the show “Brooklyn, 45” and has sold over 100 copies of her eBook within the first two weeks of release. As time progresses, Aaliyah plans on releasing more creative and fun ways for people of color of all ages to become financially literate through music, films, courses, books, podcasts, and many more.
Dr. Marlon Fuller
Dr. Fuller is a philanthropist, father of 4, pharmacist, inventor, entrepreneur, mentor, and founder of CoolKids.org