WESTERVILLE, Ohio, Dec. 1, 2022 (PRNewswire.com) — The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education® (AFCPE®) recognized 11 individuals, organizations, special projects, and initiatives expanding access to personal finance resources and education across the country as part of its 2022 AFCPE Awards. More than 20 award nominations were peer-reviewed, and honorees were awarded specifically for their innovation, expertise, and leadership in meeting communities’ financial needs.
“Now more than ever, our country is faced with personal finance challenges demanding that Americans make multiple financial decisions daily to stretch their dollars,” says AFCPE’s Executive Director, Rachael DeLeon. “Fortunately, AFCPE members, partners, and community members have stepped up to ensure Americans are receiving sound financial advice, tools, and resources to help them make the best decision for their financial future. We are honored to recognize those going above and beyond.”
The 2022 honorees are based in South Dakota, Washington, Texas, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania, with a national reach and impact, focused on underserved and overlooked populations that benefit most from reliable personal finance resources. The group included professors, researchers, entrepreneurs, spouses, and non-profit leaders focused on reducing racial disparities in finances, normalizing financial conversations, improving financial readiness in specific careers, and broad financial literacy topics.
Distinguished Fellow Award: Dr. Dottie Durband, AFC®, Associate Dean for Academics and Faculty/Professor of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University. Among her many professional accomplishments, Dr. Durband started the peer-based counseling group at Texas Tech, known as Red to Black, and served as the lead author of the newest financial counseling book used in the industry today. She has served as an AFCPE member for more than two decades and recently helped build out the financial counseling archives and interviews for the organization.
Setting the Standard Award: FINRA Foundation, for their ongoing efforts and partnership to increase financial readiness in the military community. The FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship program has made an incredible impact over the last 17 years – not only for the financial wellbeing of the military community, but also in the lives of the military spouses who have had the opportunity to earn their AFC. Additionally, they support military financial educators through FINRA Foundation-sponsored continuing education
Educator of the Year: Dr. Axton Betz-Hamilton, AFC®, Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Program Coordinator of Consumer Affairs in the School of Health and Consumer Sciences at South Dakota State University. Her primary research focuses on financial abuse within families, including familial identity theft. Her own personal experience is detailed in her book, The Less People Know About Us.
Counselor of the Year: Robyn Mroszczyk, AFC® since 2008. Her focus on military finances has provided support to over 2,500 survivors, 10,000+ soldiers throughout Advanced Individual Training, garnered over 7 million views as #AskRobyn for the Blended Retirement System and will provide long-lasting impacts to over 1 million soldiers and their families with the first standardized, mandatory financial readiness common military training.
Outstanding Financial Counseling or Planning Center: Brunch & Budget®, founded by Pamela Capalad, AFC®, CFP®, offers financial planning and coaching with a racial wealth equity lens and a mission to make planning affordable to the communities that need it most.
Outstanding Education Program: AccessLex Institute’s MAX by AccessLex®, the first-of-its-kind multi-faceted personal finance curriculum exclusively for law students.
Outstanding Consumer Information: “The Paycheck Power Booster®” slide calculator, a teaching tool for organizations and individuals that shows how small purchases add up over time. It has been distributed more than 4 million times since 2001.
Outstanding Research Journal Article of the Year: Can Workplace Financial Counseling Help Lower-Income Workers Improve Credit Outcomes? Vol 32, Issue 3: Mathieu R. Despard, Yingying Zeng, Sophia Fox-Dichter, Ellen Frank-Miller, and Michal Grinstein-Weisse
To learn more about the AFCPE awards and recipients visit afcpe.org/membership/awards/
At the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education® (AFCPE®) our mission is to ensure the highest level of knowledge, skill, and integrity of the personal finance profession by certifying, connecting, and supporting diverse and capable professionals who serve communities worldwide. The Accredited Financial Counselor® (AFC®) certification is accredited by NCCA. Visit AFCPE.org to learn more.
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