About US
FOUNDER
Before I received my first paycheck, I already knew how I was going to spend it: I wasn’t. I couldn’t wait to put it in the bank.
I was working as a counselor at an art camp in New York, the same one I had attended growing up. The camp activity of choice was and always had been fort-building. Who doesn’t love fort building?
I had earned money before, doing chores, running lemonade stands, and shoveling snow. I had been obsessed with saving whatever cash I could, collecting coins I found in the street or hidden down the back of the couch. One day, when I was nine years old, I put all my coins in a bag and took them to the bank. I walked home with almost $300.
So with my first paycheck, I couldn’t wait to actually bank it. It felt like a move for my future: like building a fort. I had the same feeling when I made my first investment a couple years later (and checked the stock every hour for weeks).
In high school, I came to realize that my story isn’t as common as it should be. Many students don’t have access to settings where financial literacy is commonplace, contributing to economic inequality. I’ve since committed to creating a platform so that students from any socioeconomic background can learn principles to help them prepare for a promising financial future.
I’m still building forts: with financial literacy, the stronger your foundation, the better you are equipped to handle what life throws at you. Finance Your Freedom aims to make financial education accessible to everybody, and in doing so, empower the next generation towards secure financial futures.
ADVISOR
Mr. RoDger Horton
Rodger Horton M.ed is a devout lover of God, his wife, and his daughter. This urban educator of 18 years is also a coach and mentor. His goal is to empower youth to utilize education and sports to change their life situation. His daily work is driven by the Bible verse Luke 12:48, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” Mr. Horton received his B.S in early childhood education from Central State University and his Masters in Educational Leadership from Ohio Dominican University. Rodger has spent 17 of his teaching years at Chase Elementary in Northside, Ohio, a school and community he is fiercely loyal to. Mr. Horton has been on the boards of some local non-profits and served as a mentor teacher for Miami University’s Urban Cohort. When Mr. Horton is not championing education, you can find him in a sneaker boutique or scouring the internet for rare sneakers from his childhood to add to his collection.
MENTORS
Tim’m West
Tim’m T. West (he/they) is an educator, poet, youth advocate, and hip-hop artist who is a graduate of Duke University (BA), The New School for Social Research (MA), and Stanford University (MA). He served as an inaugural faculty member at Oakland School for the Arts, impacted educational outcomes as an English teacher and basketball coach at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy (DC), and as Director of Youth Services at Chicago’s Center on Halsted. A Board member of the LGBT Institute located at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta since its inception in 2015, Tim'm was named the Institute's Executive Director in January 2023. Prior to that, they served as Senior Managing Director for Teach For America’s National Prism Alliances for 8.5 years, advancing safer and braver classrooms for LGBTQ educators and students in grades PreK-12. In Cincinnati, Tim’m is very active as an alum, serving as Board Chair for Wordplay-Cincy and also Community Chair of Chase Elementary Local School Decision Making Committee (LSDMC).
Sean DeBurca
My name is Sean de Burca and I am a rising senior at Grace Church High School in New York City. I am 17 years old and am currently interested in studying economics and international relations at university. I have been privileged enough to have access to a strong education throughout my life and have traveled, experiencing the social inequities that exist in our world, especially very prominently in our own city. Throughout my education and experiences, I have been provided with excellent opportunities and the ability to help others. This good fortune has prompted me to seek out opportunities to give back to my community and help people in any way possible to achieve their full potential and prepare them to be successful as best I can.
Victor Mahler
My Name is Victor Mahler, a 17-year-old high school student from New York. I have resided in New York on and off for almost my entire life. Aside from the United States, I have lived in my hometown of Berlin, Germany, and have spent nearly 4 years living in Zurich, Switzerland. Having seen many parts of the world, my eyes have been opened to the huge gaps in access to quality educational resources. I have always been interested in finance and am constantly looking for opportunities to give back to the community however I can. With this financial literacy initiative, I hope to assist in making quality information accessible for all.