Blue and Gold Pathway Conference

 Gerri Walsh | President, FINRA Investor Education Foundation and Senior Vice President, Investor Education, FINRA

Gerri Walsh is Senior Vice President of Investor Education at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). In this capacity, she is responsible for the development and operations of FINRA’s investor education program. She is also President of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, where she manages the Foundation’s strategic initiatives to educate and protect investors and to benchmark and foster financial capability for all Americans, especially underserved audiences. Ms. Walsh was the founding executive sponsor of FINRA’s Military Community Employee Resource Group. She represents FINRA on the Federal Trade Commission’s Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group, IOSCO’s standing policy committee on retail investor education, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, NASAA’s Senior Investor Advisory Council and the Wharton Pension Research Council.

Prior to joining FINRA in May 2006, Ms. Walsh was Deputy Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Assistance (OIEA) and, before that, Special Counsel to the Director of OIEA. She also served as a senior attorney in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, investigating and prosecuting violators of the federal securities laws. Before that, she practiced law as an associate with Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Walsh received her J.D. from N.Y.U. School of Law and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Amherst College. She is a member of the New York and District of Columbia bars.

 Zach Ingrasci | Film Director and Co-Founder of Optimist

Zach Ingrasci is a film director and the co-founder of Optimist, a production company committed to making documentaries that nurture optimism and create impact. Best known for directing the feature documentaries Living On One Dollar, Salam Neighbor, This Is Not Financial Advice and Five Years North, Zach’s films have been released by Netflix, Amazon Prime, National Geographic, PBS and HBO.

Every Optimist film is accompanied by an impact campaign to create measurable outcomes. His projects have raised over $119 million for the films’ causes and have changed over 606,869 lives.

   Claudia Villicaña | Chief Program Officer, MyPath

Claudia Villicaña has over 15 years of experience working with young people in both the nonprofit and higher education sectors. She is passionate about creating social change and breaking down systemic barriers using quality programming and public policy advocacy. At MyPath, she currently oversees all organizational programming where the ultimate social goal is for youth to have the knowledge, confidence, and tools they need to get on a path to building wealth. Prior to MyPath, Claudia worked at UC Berkeley where she focused on building financial literacy programming on her campus and serving on the leadership team of the Higher Education Financial Wellness Alliance (HEFWA) where she helped to elevate the field of higher education financial wellness at the institutional, state, and national levels. Her expertise is in program development, implementation, and evaluation. Claudia has a BA from the University of California, Irvine and an MPP from Arizona State University.

Simon Beilin | Financial Wellness Coach, Center for Financial Wellness

Simon Beilin is a senior at UC Berkeley majoring in Economics with a minor in Data Science. She has been part of the Center for Financial Wellness for over two years, where she is committed to making personal finance more accessible through peer mentorship. After graduation, she will be joining Goldman Sachs in New York City as an Asset Management Analyst. Simone is especially passionate about empowering students with practical knowledge in credit cards, saving strategies, and personal investing.

  Haiau Ho Nguyen | Workplace Financial Consultant, Fidelity Investments

Haiau Ho Nguyen has more than eight years with the company. She was previously a relationship manager with Fidelity’s Personal Investing Group. Ms. Ho Nguyen promotes financial wellness for plan participants through one-on-one planning and educational events. An investment advisor representative and registered securities representative, Haiau holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Colorado at Denver. Haiau is a bilingual representative who is fluent in Vietnamese.

  Martha Gil | Community Manager, JPMorgan Chase

Martha Gil brings her passion for empowering communities right to the heart of her work. A proud Cal Alum, Martha is dedicated to equipping people with financial tools and resources they need to thrive.  By building strong relationships with the community and community leaders, she delivers financial health education that makes a real impact. When she’s not driving change in the community you can find her enjoying her weekends outdoors with her three sons.

  Angely (Angie) Miranda | Director of Student Loan Empowerment Project, MyPath

Angely Miranda has 20+ years of youth development experience, having spent her entire career in the nonprofit sector providing a wide variety of services (education, employment, coaching/mentoring, case management, foster care services, etc.) to community members. An immigrant born in El Salvador and raised in the Bay Area, she was the first in her family to graduate from high school and college. She is committed to working with BIPOC youth and young adults from diverse socio-economic backgrounds to help them to meet their fullest potential. She believes that everyone, especially underserved and marginalized young people, have a right to access information and resources (access to post-secondary education options and college admissions information, financial aid opportunities, career and employment opportunities, opportunities to build their financial capability, etc.) that will help set them up for success in their lives. As the Director of the Student Loan Empowerment Project, her role presents a unique opportunity to lead the design and implementation of a groundbreaking student loan counseling program, which will be the first of its kind in the country and a brand new program offering for MyPath. She is a huge proponent of change and fully supports positive system and policy changes to create a more equitable and just world for youth and young adults.

   Sam Olesky | Lecturer, Berkeley Haas School of Business

Sam Olesky is the Managing Member of Olesky Capital Management, LLC, an independent investment advisory firm that conducts principal investing and trading, and manages separate accounts for trusts, partnerships, individuals, retirement plans, endowments, and foundations. From 1998 through 2010, Mr. Olesky managed an Olesky Capital hedge fund. Prior to founding Olesky Capital in 1998, Mr. Olesky was employed with TD Waterhouse, Inc. (now Charles Schwab) where he was First Vice President over a large group of areas, including Client Services, Electronic Brokerage, Banking Services, Corporate Actions, Retirement Plans and Regulatory Response and Quality Assurance. Mr. Olesky joined TD Waterhouse in 1989.

Sam is a UC Berkeley Haas faculty member (since 2004). He teaches and has taught several courses about financial markets, financial institutions and investing including Portfolio Management, Hedge Fund Strategies, Haas Investment Fund Management, Investments, Alternative Investments, Financial Institutions and Markets, Equity Investment Strategies, and the Haas Sustainable Investment Fund courses.

  Pedro Moura | CEO & Co-Founder, Flourish Fi

Pedro Moura is the co-founder of Flourish Fi, a B2B financial wellness and loyalty platform designed for banks, fintechs, and credit unions. With a passion for transforming banking through engagement and behavioral science, Pedro has led Flourish Fi’s expansion across the Americas, licensing its technology to financial institutions seeking to drive customer engagement and loyalty.
Pedro and his team coined the term Behavioral Hacking, a unique approach that combines nudging, gamification, and data insights to build positive money habits. Before launching Flourish Fi, Pedro spent time at both Chase and Morgan Stanley and played a key role at Oportun, where he led retail operations and helped scale the company’s mobile product, contributing to its growth from 250 to over 3,500 employees.
Originally from Brazil, Pedro has lived in Mexico and the U.S., shaping his multicultural perspective on financial empowerment. He holds an undergraduate degree from UC Davis and a master’s from Berkeley Haas.

Jacqueline Nguyen | Capital Markets Analyst, SoFi

Jackie Nguyen is a Capital Markets Analyst at SoFi, specializing in financial analysis and market strategies. A proud graduate of UC Berkeley, Jackie holds degrees in Economics and Business Administration. During her time at Berkeley, Jackie was deeply involved in the Center for Financial Wellness, where she served as a coach and briefly as the Interim Financial Wellness Coordinator. Her passion for financial wellness continues to drive her career, and she is committed to empowering individuals to make informed financial decisions. With a strong background in both academia and industry, Jackie is dedicated to promoting financial education and well-being in both professional and personal capacities.

Jennifer Shaw | Commercial & Investment Banking Risk Analyst, JPMorgan Chase

Jennifer Shaw is a Commercial Banking Analyst at JP Morgan in San Francisco, where she identifies business risks, formulates financial strategies, and navigates growth opportunities across various industries. Jenny is a proud UC Berkeley alumna, having earned her degree in Environmental Economics and Policy. Throughout her time at Berkeley, Jenny developed a passion for financial wellness, leading her to run a financial literacy program within Berkeley’s Women in Business organization. Through this experience, she cultivated a strong commitment to helping others achieve financial independence and security. Jenny’s dedication to empowering individuals with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed financial decisions inspires both her professional and personal life.