If you want to hear the story of a passionate entrepreneur in a highly competitive and fast-changing marketplace, then you must listen to this podcast with Vicki Zhou, the co-founder and co-CEO of Wise Banyan. Billed as "the world's first free financial advisor," WiseBanyan brings low-cost financial planning to the masses. In our conversation, Vicki shares how she went from getting patents on medical devices while in college to taking the leap to Wall Street and then to co-founding her current venture. She describes the differentiation strategy she is pursuing to stand out from the crowded field of robo-advisors. We also learn about the financial goals that her users set when they first sign up on her site and how they have fared at achieving them. Learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur in this fascinating corner of investing that will become the new paradigm for your students (and also get a lesson in trees too!) Enjoy!

I really enjoyed the conversation that I had recently with Dan Kadlec on the NGPF podcast. With over thirty years as personal finance columnist (you've probably seen him in TIME and Money), we had a lot to talk about. When his dreams of being a sportscaster didn't come to fruition, he focused his efforts on the business beat during the go-go 1980s. Dan describes what motivated him to shift his focus to educating young people about money through his work as a journalist, author and Dad. He shares his favorite columns, the advice he gives to young people about investing and how he brings the topic alive for young people. You will also learn about his new project to serve as an information hub cataloguing the global efforts underway to improve financial literacy. I look forward to meeting Dan in person this weekend as he delivers the keynote address for the Jump$tart National Educator Conference in Dallas. Enjoy!

I know that you will enjoy my recent conversation with Dr. Julie Heath, the Director of the Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati. An accomplished educator (Professor of the Year awards abound), researcher and passionate advocate, Julie has been at the vanguard of bringing financial education to elementary school students throughout the U.S. She founded SMART Tennessee in 2006 which has brought financial education to over 75,000 students in the state of Tennessee. We discuss her earliest memories of trips to the local bank ("unlocking the barrel,"), as well as the key skills that young people need to maximize their financial capabilities. Enjoy!

Thanks to Ami for joining me on the NGPF podcast for the second time (we had to scrap the first one due to a bug in the recording software). No, that's not a typo in the title but rather a play on Ami's home state of Maine. Ami teaches at a small school (listen to hear how small the school is), Forest Hills Consolidated in Jackman, and is passionate about getting more financial education to Maine students. She shares the thought process that went into designing her course, how she teaches about careers beyond Jackman and how she implements her favorite project which students talk about years later. Enjoy!

It was great to have Jill Thompson, an NGPF Fellow and teacher at Kelly Walsh High School (Casper, WY), on the podcast recently. She has a real passion for preparing her students for careers and shares the activities and projects she uses to educate and engage her students. She also discusses how she was able to transform personal finance from an elective course to a graduation requirement at her high school. Enjoy the conversation with an inspiring educator!

ACC rivalries aside (I'm a UVA grad), I enjoyed my conversation with Josh Harris, personal finance lecturer at Clemson University. In our conversation, you will learn how Josh's interests evolved from studying religion, his undergraduate major, to becoming a leading advocate for financial literacy at Clemson. His path provides another useful reminder that careers often don't follow a straight line. Josh describes the process of developing and delivering a new online personal finance course. He discusses his strategies to motivate, monitor and assess the progress of his students. He also delves into the money mindset of a college student including their top concerns and blind spots. Enjoy!

Thanks to Jim Rowley for taking the time to discuss investing on the NGPF podcast. As a senior investment analyst at Vanguard, Jim and his team provide thought leadership on index investing and ETFs. His wealth of experience at Vanguard and in the broader investment management business provides him with a unique perspective to share his insights on: . What an index fund is and why they are increasing in popularity . The differences between active and passive investing . Why investment fees should matter to investors . How Vanguard's ownership structure is different from other investment management firms . What advice he gives to novice investors For educators looking to increase their content knowledge about investing, this podcast will be time extremely well spent (and as an added bonus, I bet it will help your own portfolio too)! Enjoy!

With hundreds of blog posts, articles and media mentions under her belt, Kristin Wong has her finger on the pulse of personal finance. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation on the NGPF podcast but what I found most interesting is Kristin's recent revelations about money that have led to a dramatic shift in her money mindset. You will also learn how she comes up with material for her writing, where her interest in personal finance derives from and her favorite apps for managing her finances. You also will enjoy her favorite life hacks that you can apply to your financial lives. Enjoy!

Thank you to Kathleen Brennan of Mount Saint Mary Academy (Watchung, NJ) for participating in the NGPF Podcast. Kathleen has won multiple teaching awards (she was the 2016 Outstanding Educator of the Year and 2013 Sloan Foundation Award winner to name must two) and loves using case studies in her classroom. Our conversation touches on the her favorite case studies (see Show Notes below), how she prepares for a case study discussion and the student engagement and learning she witnesses in her classroom. Enjoy!

I have to be candid and say that I get a little ticked off when I read about how personal finance education doesn't work (see here and here and here). Here are just a few of the quotes that I came across questioning its value: . So when it comes to education, I start rolling my eyes when people suggest education is the magic bullet. Let’s get real, please. As heretical as it is to say in our society, “education” is not the panacea for personal finance. . There is almost no evidence that personal finance education works. . Financial education is simply not working. So, given my contrarian nature and based on my experience in the classroom, I went in search of research that showed that finance education works. Long story short, Brian Page (thanks Brian!) connected me to Dr. Carly Urban at Montana State University and this conversation happened. Dr. Urban shares her recent research which demonstrates that financial education DOES have an impact. She discusses what she found in her research and the impact financial education had in three states that currently have mandates. She also highlights shortcomings of earlier research on the topic and the big questions that she hopes to answer in the future. Enjoy!