Shares: Sowing the Seeds of Financial Success

In this episode of our Shares podcast, host Lindsey Lewis, MBA, ChFC®, CFP® speaks with Valencia Gabay, program director for financial educational and wellbeing at The College and one of the many minds behind Know Yourself, Grow Your Wealth®: a non-credit certificate program that helps improve financial decision-making, increase financial security, and put into practice strategies to achieve financial goals. She discusses the ideas and goals behind Know Yourself, Grow Your Wealth® and how the program is fundamentally engineered to help learners take control of their financial future.

Also featured is Tony Sanchez, a community affairs specialist at OneAmerica in Indianapolis and graduate of the program, to speak about the program benefits he has seen personally and in his capacity as a mentor for others.

Valencia Gabay is the program director for financial education and wellbeing at The College. With a dedication to fostering partnerships and guiding community engagement, she strives to enhance financial wellbeing for diverse populations. As an accomplished learning experience designer and academic professional, she excels in creating inclusive learning environments through a design thinking approach. An organizational leadership scholar, her research interests lie in humility and inclusive leadership practices that promote team resilience, creative thinking, and innovation within the virtual workforce. With over 20 years of experience in higher education, she has contributed significantly to academic literature and has shared her expertise on international platforms. Gabay is also the co-author of Group Coaching and Mentoring: A Framework for Fostering Organizational Change. She completed her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Florida and is completing her doctoral studies in Organizational Leadership at Indiana Wesleyan University.

Antonio “Tony” Sanchez is a community affairs specialist at OneAmerica. He serves on the community affairs team, helping run the groundbreaking Pathways Program which provides students in underserved areas of Indianapolis with journeys that build skills, connections, and a path to sustainable income through jobs, mentorship, and opportunities in the financial services industry. He is a former OneAmerica intern and is now a OneAmerica full-time associate. Before joining OneAmerica full-time, he also worked as an accountant intern at Mutual Savings Bank in Franklin, Indiana. Sanchez graduated from Franklin College with two degrees in economics and has worked and volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club in Franklin.

Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.