The September Financial Counseling call with AFCPE and FPA will be held on Thursday, September 21st at 12 pm ET.
Guest speakers Michael Rousch and Eric Reed will be presenting, "Knocking Down Barriers to Promote Financial Well-Being for All."
Oftentimes individuals with disabilities, seniors, and their families experience barriers to achieving financial wellness due to public benefit rules, access to services, and programmatic guidelines. This webinar will provide resources and tools to assist financial counselors and other professionals as they knock down these barriers. This webinar will provide an overview of assistive technology and alternative financing programs that individuals can access. Alternative financing programs can assist individuals in building credit and eliminating barriers to financial wellness. Attendees will leave with actionable steps and tools that they can implement.
Michael Roush, M.A., AFC® is the Director of the Center for Disability-Inclusive Community Development (CDICD) at National Disability Institute (NDI) and serves as a subject matter expert on financial capability strategies for persons with disabilities. He provides training and technical assistance across the country on Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), financial education, financial coaching/counseling and other asset development strategies to empower individuals, organizations and other stakeholders on the importance of economic self-sufficiency for persons with disabilities. Michael is the co-author of multiple financial education/asset building curriculums for students and adults with disabilities and has trained more than 3,000 individuals on how to integrate the curriculums into their organization’s delivery of service. Michael serves on the Board of Directors of AFCPE and Bank On Suncoast Task Force. He is an Accredited Financial Counselor and a Community Partner Work Incentives Counselor. Michael has a Master’s degree in Human Behavior.
Eric Reed is the Executive Director of FAAST, the state of Florida’s Assistive Technology Program. He is responsible for the overall management of the operations of the organization. Working hand in hand with the FAAST Advisory Council, he is responsible for implementing policies and procedures, overseeing fourteen regional centers across the state and developing and growing programs that expand opportunities for accessing assistive technology devices and services to all individuals with disabilities across the state. He is focused on creating greater collaboration with other like-minded organizations to help empower more people through assistive technology. He has been with FAAST for over eight years, spending most of that time as the director of the New Horizon Loan Program, an alternative financial loan program which provides low interest loans to individuals to purchase the assistive technology they need or want. Prior to coming to FAAST in 2015, Eric spent thirteen years in the banking industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business from Auburn University and is a Certified Master Practitioner of Financial Capability. He lives in Tallahassee with his wife and teenage sons.