Providing Practical Financial Education
Mission & Vision
Our mission is to empower Americans with effective financial education. By reaching out to our youth and creating strategic partnerships with companies and community organizations, we aim to create a new standard for financial responsibility and real financial literacy. Join in our vision.
Management
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Jessica Johnson, President of Johnson Education Solutions, was a Management Technology Consultant for Kerry Consulting Group for seven years prior to spending ten years as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service. Along with coordinating protective missions around the world, Jessica investigated various financial crimes and now enjoys the education side of finance.
Jessica graduated from Claremont McKenna College and earned an MBA from Cal Poly in Pomona. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Empowerment Today, a 501(c)3 with a mission to empower low income families through financial and health education.
Jessica is available for speaking engagements and event security planning projects. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
On a Personal Note:
I am often asked, “How did you get into this? Do you have a degree in finance or something?” No. I took the “easy” way out in college, taking courses that would allow me to work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thus, after several semesters as an 'undecided,' I became a government major at Claremont McKenna College. My Masters Degree from Cal Poly Pomona was little more than my attempt to reconnect with the academic environment and give myself some “more time” before figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up.
During both academic endeavors, I worked for Kerry Consulting Group and became a Junior Management Technology Consultant. We helped public sector clients plan for and acquire technology in a time when taking care of the customers needs was not an industry standard. Developing an interest in reengineering at Cal Poly, I took on client projects to help them manage their workflow and paper flow more efficiently. I enjoyed it but I knew it was not my calling.
Oddly enough, I was “recruited” into the Secret Service by one of my professors who was married to a Special Agent. For those of you who watched “Alias” on TV, this was a much less adventurous recruitment process. At that time, the Secret Service didn’t have a web presence and information was scarce. But I suffered through the 18 month hiring process and endured another 6 months of training to become one of only about 35 African American female Special Agents in the world. Yes, I am proud.
My 10 year career with the Service took me from Los Angeles to New York and back again. I investigated financial crimes such as bank fraud, check fraud, counterfeit currency and identity theft. The World Traveler became my nickname in the office because as a new agent I was often on the travel rotation and our President was quite the globe trotter. I performed protective assignments in numerous foreign countries and all over the U.S. In phase 2 of my career I was assigned to President Clinton’s Former Presidential Detail in Chappaqua, NY. Besides freezing during the NY winters I became a shift leader and managed “special projects” like training coordination for the detail and overseeing residential and office security.
While still in NY I was assigned to coordinate security at a venue for the Utah Olympic Oval during the 2002 Winter Olympics. 18-hour planning days were typical making 12-hour game-time shifts feel like a vacation. Despite the long hours I really enjoyed a different side of protection - securing an entire venue and protecting everyone inside, not just one person, with over 400 federal assets at my disposal. The other aspect of the job I greatly enjoyed was conducting overseas advances to coordinate protection. This was both challenging and rewarding as it drew on a wide array of skills I didn’t even know I had, like negotiating, that I hadn’t had to use much in the U.S. because of the “power” of the badge here at home. Having all the responsibility yet no real jurisdiction overseas was an interesting experience.
Returning to the warmth of Los Angeles, it slowly sank in that while I had a very prestigious and important career, I was not as passionate about it as I should be. So after 10 years, I left the Secret Service to be an entrepreneur. Starting out in real estate, I soon realized that it and I were also not a good match. But in coaching my clients on getting their finances ready for homeownership I discovered a love for sharing knowledge and was shocked by how much the average American didn't know. Despite having an MBA I knew there was also much more for me to learn in the world of personal finance, so I searched for some extraordinary programs. A handful of books and workshops on wealth, taught by some industry leaders, gave me both hope for future success and royally pissed me off at the same time. If only I had known these simple financial principles 20 years ago, how different life would be! Looking forward I wanted to share what I knew with those who would likely have less of a chance of getting the education on their own. So I did what any ambitious do-gooder does, I started a nonprofit organization.
Empowerment Today was born from a dual desire to 1) irritate “those” who have kept real useful financial education out of the education system and out of the reach of the general population and to 2) empower people with knowledge that would give them hope and more choices in life.
Determined to be different than most other “out of touch” financial education services that people can’t relate to or understand, I carefully crafted a plan involving organization partnerships and trained volunteers. This plan included training volunteers, which reduces expenses, and to deliver materials that are engaging, dynamic and easily understood. Moving to Santa Cruz after almost a year of traveling around South America, I finally found a curriculum that met my high standards. But as many nonprofits have found, it is not an easy endeavor embarking on a such an undertaking without resources. So with the sage advice of the caring woman who created our dynamic curriculum and who was also 10 years ahead of my blood, sweat and tears process, I created Johnson Education Solutions (JES).
Empowerment Today is still slowly moving forward, always looking for partnerships with organization that want to bring financial education to those who need it most -- low income families. This summer we are conducting 2-day Camp MillionaireTM Day Camps for kids at the San Francisco Mint and will continue to provide our adult financial workshops for Habitat for Humanity of Santa Cruz County.
Johnson Education Solutions’ business model thrives through strategic partnerships that promote interactive in-person workshops to everyday people. Our motto - Real Financial Education for Real People - is what keeps me focused on unbiased education that can be easily comprehended and utilized in people’s lives. I enjoy our adult Wealth Camps as much as our Camp Millionaire youth camps because I can see the difference the education can make in people’s lives. Teaching people “how to fish vs feeding them fish,” has been a goal of mine since I was in high school. But it was 2 decades later before I found my passion and a way to make it a reality.