Neale.jpg

Neale godfrey

Bio

NEALE GODFREY’S TRAILBLAZING WORK  

Neale S. Godfrey is the financial voice for women and Baby Boomers as well as a  world-renowned speaker and author, who has inspired millions through her work. She motivates, trains, educates, and frankly, entertains by delivering her core message:  Empower yourself to take control of your financial life. Neale brings an important perspective on connecting the financial dots for families, which she currently delivers to thousands of general corporate audiences and financial advisors.

Neale currently services on the Board of Advisors for the following organizations:  

  • DriveWealth, LLC, a registered broker/dealer with a low cost, mobile investing  platform; 

  • EarlyBird Central, Inc., a boutique investment bank, which has created an app for  parents, family, and friends to make a financial gift to the kids most important in  their lives;  

  • Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc., a permission-based spending card for children, giving parents the ability to “greenlight” transactions.

She is also an Innovation Fellow and Executive in Residence at the Columbia Graduate  School of Business as well as the Senior Mentor for the Think Bigger: The Innovation  Method course at The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center. Neale is a popular contributor to Forbes.com, writes as a personal finance contributor to Kiplinger, and serves audiences of all ages with thought-provoking content on critical money topics via her newly launched website, www.NealeGodfrey.com.  

MAKING MONEY MAKE SENSE  

As the creator for the topic of “kids and money” and trailblazer for financial literacy,  Neale Godfrey has worked tirelessly over the last 35 years to connect the family around the topic of money.  

Neale began her journey in 1972 as one of the first female executives at Chase  Manhattan Bank (the world’s largest bank at the time). She later went on to become  President of The First Women’s Bank and founder of The First Children’s Bank and the  Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship in Harlem.  

Neale is the New York Times #1 Best-Selling Author of Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees: A  Parent’s Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children and has authored a total of 27  books to empower kids and their parents to have a healthy relationship with money.  

PUTTING DOLLARS AND SENSE TOGETHER  

In 1989, Neale formed her own company, Children’s Financial Network, Inc., with the mission of educating children and their parents about money. Among her many accomplishments, Neale developed the first money curricula for children and young adults, Pre-K through High School, The One and Only Common Sense/Cents Series, as well as an interactive computer game called MoneyTown. More recently, Neale partnered with Tom Hester (Character Designer for Shrek) to give a facelift to her money characters. Those characters are featured in all three of Neale’s #1 Educational mobile gaming apps in the App Store.

TELEVISION, TASK FORCES, AND TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

Neale has served as a National Spokesperson for companies such as Aetna, Coca-Cola,  Fidelity, Lincoln Financial, and Microsoft. She has also appeared as a financial expert on programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and The Today  Show as well as in the PBS special, Your Money, Your Children, Your Life. Neale was also a  former Nationally Syndicated Columnist for the Associated Press, Forbes, and The Huffington Post. 

Neale has served on White House and Governor’s Task Forces, as well as on the Board of Directors of The NY Board of Trade, UNICEF, University of Charleston, Morris County  Chamber of Commerce, UNWomen, and Young President’s Organization (YPO). She is currently involved in New Jersey’s State Employment and Training Commission Council on Gender Parity in Labor and Education as well as the state’s Science and Technology  Workforce Subcommittee. Neale also serves on the National Urban League Guild Board. 

CONNECTING THE GENERATIONS THROUGH MONEY AND CHARITY

Neale helped found a YPO global entity called RISE, an international social and ecological movement and incorporated it into WorldMerit (WM). WM connects  Millennials in 160 countries helping to address global issues. She is also a faculty member of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) and  V-Wise, Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship, operated by The  Institute For Veterans and Military Families at The Whitman School of Management of  Syracuse University.  

ACCOLADES, AWARDS, AND APPLAUSE 

Neale has earned recognition from the White House for her program, LIFE, INC: The  Ultimate Career Guide for Young People, sponsored by Deloitte Foundation. She has  been honored with awards such as: 

  • Woman of the Year 

  • Banker of the Year 

  • Muriel Siebert Lifetime Achievement Award (for her trailblazing work on financial literacy) • NJBIZ Best 50 Women in Business Award 

  • Femme Award of Excellence for child advocacy, UNWomen 

  • National Winner, w2wlink’s Ascendancy Awards for Business Women • Garden State Woman of the Year  

  • Awarded for Outstanding Service Toward Financial Literacy, United Negro College Fund • Women of Influence Award, Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey  • National Honoree, WomenInBusiness.org 

Neale Godfrey also graduated cum laude from The School of International Service at The American University. 

Despite all of her achievements, her kids and grandkids find it really cool that she was an answer on Jeopardy! as well as a question in The New York Times crossword puzzle.