Adam Carroll

Adam Carroll has spent the past decade studying human behavior, particularly as it relates to personal leadership and personal finance. He is an internationally recognized financial literacy expert and leadership workshop facilitator.

Carroll is the author of four Amazon best-sellers, a two-time TED talk speaker with over 6 million views on YouTube, and the creator of Broke, Busted & Disgusted, a documentary that aired on CNBC. He is the founder of The Shred Method, a cash flow management tool that is creating freedom for families everywhere. Adam‘s passion is helping people build a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle.

Ena Babic Barnes

Executive Director, Iowa Credit Union Foundation (ICUF)

Ena Babic Barnes oversees the strategic execution of Iowa Credit Union Foundation’s mission-driven programs and investments. Prior to this role, Babic Barnes served as a Program Manager with ICUF, where she led ICUF’s financial education initiatives and fundraising campaigns, surpassing projected annual goals. Prior to coming to ICUF, Ena spent her career in various leadership roles with nonprofit and trade association organizations in Serbia. She led the development of programs and strategies focused on European integration and community development. Babic Barnes has an undergraduate degree in International Relations from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Belgrade and earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Drake University. She lives in Altoona, Iowa, with her husband Brent and enjoys volunteering in her community.

Amber Christ

Managing Director of Health Advocacy, Justice in Aging

Amber Christ is the Managing Director of Health Advocacy at Justice in Aging, a national organization fighting senior poverty by securing access to affordable health care and economic security for low-income older adults who have been excluded from justice. Christ has deep expertise in Medicare and Medicaid policy and is responsible for developing and implementing projects and initiatives to improve equitable access to health care and long-term services and supports for low-income older adults across the country. She joined Justice in Aging in 2013, is admitted to the California, Missouri, and Illinois bars, and is a 2006 graduate of Washington University School of Law. She received her BA from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Christ is based out of Justice in Aging’s Washington DC office and resides in Kansas City, Missouri.

Joy Esposito

Assistant Director, currently serving as the Interim Director, Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families

Joy Esposito is the Assistant Director, currently serving as the Interim Director at the Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families. She has been with EKDC since 2015 and in 2019, became the center’s first Assistant Director. The EKDC integrated service model empowers individuals to access multiple programs and helps them achieve goals and enhance their quality of life. Esposito guides programming at the center, including financial coaching services through its Polk County Financial Empowerment Center. She has a 25-year career in human services, ranging from refugee resettlement and child protection services to advocacy for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors. An Iowa transplant, Esposito returns to her hometown, Oceanside, California, regularly for self-care at the ocean.

Angela Fontes, Ph.D.

Vice President of Policy and Research, Financial Health Network

Angela Fontes, Ph.D., is a researcher and consultant passionate about improving the financial health of all consumers. She conducts research focused on household finance and investor decision-making, with a specific focus on the financial well-being of African American and Hispanic/Latino families. Using both traditional economic methods, as well as methods from behavioral science and marketing, Fontes delivers actionable insights for a diverse set of stakeholders. 

A nationally-recognized expert in household finance, Fontes is regularly quoted in national and trade press and is a frequent speaker on topics related to financial wellbeing. She has been the Principal Investigator on several projects, including work with the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct investor protection research and an ongoing collaboration with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. Her research can be found in journals such as the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, the Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy, and Financial Counseling and Planning.

Fontes is the Vice President of Policy and Research at the Financial Health Network and a Visiting Scholar at the FINRA Foundation. She previously worked as a Vice President in the Economics, Justice, and Society department and Director of the Behavioral and Economic Analysis and Decision-making (BEAD) program at NORC at the University of Chicago. She is adjunct faculty at Northwestern University where teaches graduate courses in behavioral economics and public policy, policy analysis, predictive analytics, and research writing. Fontes is Past-President of the American Council on Consumer Interests and on the Board of Directors at the Northwest Center. 

Fontes holds a Ph.D. in Consumer Behavior and Family Economics with a minor in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®).

Kristin Griffith

Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Director, Iowa Insurance Division

Kristin Griffith joined the Iowa Insurance Division’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) in February 2020. These federally funded programs provide counseling, education and casework assistance to over 48,000 Iowa Medicare beneficiaries annually. SHIIP/ SMP services are provided state-wide through a network of over 120 sponsor sites, hosting almost 400 Volunteer Counselors.

Griffith has two decades of program management experience, with a focus on leveraging resources and partnerships with service users, community agencies, and government to improve impact; overseeing large-scale volunteer programs, and managing federal contracts. Griffith holds a Master of Public Health from Boston University, and an MBA from York University in Toronto, Canada.

Gary Mottola

Research Director, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation

Gary R. Mottola is the research director for the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and a social psychologist with over 25 years of research experience. In his role at the FINRA Foundation, he oversees and conducts research projects aimed at better understanding financial capability in America, protecting investors from financial fraud, and improving financial disclosure statements. Mottola received his B.A. from the University at Albany, M.A. from Brooklyn College, and Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. He was a visiting scholar at Wharton in 2006 and is an adjunct professor of statistics in Villanova University’s MBA program.

Josh Pearson

Senior Fellow, The Harkin Institute; Program Director and Assistant Professor, Winona State University

Dr. Joshua Pearson is the program director of the Health/Healthcare Leadership graduate degree program at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota. He is an experienced leader and faculty in health care administration topic areas and is certified in health care quality and health care financial management. He is also a senior research fellow with The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement in Des Moines, Iowa. Pearson’s research interests include health policy issues related to health insurance coverage (with an emphasis on Medicare and Medicaid) and safety-net providers.

Prior to joining Winona State University, Pearson was employed in senior leadership and consulting roles with federally qualified health centers in the Midwest region. Pearson earned his Doctor of Education in Health Professions (EdD) from A.T. Still University.

Amanda Volz

Director of Professional Development, NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF)

Amanda Volz has over 20 years of experience teaching personal finance at the high school level. Throughout her teaching career, she has led her students to hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships, won multiple awards, and most importantly, impacted the financial lives of thousands of high school students. Volz prides herself on being an educational leader and is constantly looking for innovative ways to make the classroom relevant, rigorous, and fun. She is a passionate advocate for financial education and is currently the Director of Professional Development at NextGen Personal Finance.

Paige Yontz

State Advocacy Manager, AARP Iowa

As a former nursing home and assisted living administrator, Paige Yontz understands first-hand what it takes to serve seniors in a complex regulatory environment. This experience, coupled with her lifelong passion for seniors, makes her an excellent advocate for older Iowans in her role as State Advocacy Manager for AARP Iowa.

Following her time in long-term care in both Wisconsin and Indiana, Yontz returned to central Iowa and transitioned to a primary care setting with The Iowa Clinic where she served as a Practice Manager for two of their family medicine locations. From there, she applied her aptitude for regulatory comprehension and implementation and served as the Compliance Development Manager for Wolfe Eye Clinic, where she initiated a corporate compliance program.

An Iowa native, Paige received her B.A. from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, with double majors in Accounting and Business Management, and recently completed her Masters in Healthcare Administration from St. Joseph’s College of Maine.