19 minute read
Financial Fluency
ALUMNAE PROFILES: DR. EMILIANA VEGAS ’85 AND VEONOUS JACQUES ’88
Creative Journeys that Lead to Financial Fluency
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BY HOPE MCLEOD ’70
Walker’s prepares young women for jobs that don’t exist yet. What will they look like? What skills will be needed? Who knows? But one thing’s for sure: every profession — from education to robotics to the creative arts — relies on financial fluency. This ability to understand numbers and manage money stacks up in our increasingly algorithmic-driven world as a lifelong skill honed through trial and error.
To gain some insight, this feature explores the professional lives of two successful alumnae on their creative journeys to finding financial fluency: Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85, an education economist, and Veonous M. Jacques ’88, a results-oriented entrepreneur.
Though each woman chose a different path, the two have a lot in common. They both do work based on unique financial models: Emiliana engages in strategic funding for educational priorities, and Veonous attracts investors to support her innovative ideas. Neither set out to do this type of work. They zigged and zagged and slayed a few dragons along the way. They each chose to have a family. In a bit of serendipity, each has two children from her first marriage and three stepchildren from her second. Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85 Veonous M. Jacques ’88
With confidence and perseverance, these women have overcome countless obstacles to construct fulfilling careers while feeding their creative talents, including becoming published authors, playing the piano, and singing — all passions nurtured at Walker’s.
Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85 began her journey in her country of origin, Caracas, Venezuela. Because her parents valued education, they sent Emiliana and her older sister, Maria C. Aguilar ’84, to Walker’s. Though academically prepared, that first year at Walker’s triggered some insecurity in Emiliana.
“It was difficult to be away from home,” Emiliana recalled. “I was very close to my mom in particular.”
She also was the youngest in her class — only 16 years old when she graduated. “I was really small too,” said Emiliana, as a student under 5'2", and recalls memories of how immature she felt. “My classmates seemed very tall.”
Through persistence, she overcame these insecurities by dedicating herself to her studies and her passions: piano, singing, dance, French, and literature. At graduation, Emiliana was awarded top prizes and admitted into the Cum Laude Society for “academic achievement and promotion of excellence and honor.”
Walker’s affected Emiliana’s career in many ways, particularly in the area of writing. Vegas wrote several impactful articles for the SunDial newspaper, which set her on a journalism course — she earned a B.A. in communications from Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas. In hindsight, Walker’s opened the door to her future as an economist through literature.
“English and literature courses were some of the best in the way that teachers encouraged you to go beyond what you’re reading to think about the author’s unspoken intent and what the characters were trying to do. It taught me to think more critically, which is important when you look at data. There’s always a story behind the numbers, behind the subtext,” said Emiliana, who is now a full professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and was previously a senior fellow and co-director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution.
Emiliana, considered a leading expert on education in developing countries, collects and interprets huge quantities of data to inform policy changes such as raising teacher effectiveness, school finances, and early childhood development in Latin America and the Caribbean. She’s also written three books.
How did Emiliana get from journalism to helping entire countries acquire funding for underserved schools? This journey began after returning to Venezuela for college.
“I didn’t work half as hard as I did at Walker’s to get top grades. ‘Wow,’ I thought, there’s something really wrong with the best schools in my own country,” she said.
Motivated to find a way to improve these conditions, Emiliana pursued a Master of Public Policy at Duke University followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in Education from Harvard University.
One summer she took an internship at Research Triangle Institute (RTI), a nonprofit “dedicated to improving the human condition” that brought her closer to finding solutions.
“Most of my colleagues at RTI were working on projects with the World Bank and USAID to help developing countries improve their educational systems,” Emiliana recalled.
Bingo. She found a way and a means. She persevered and was hired by the World Bank, where she worked in the Human Development Network as lead economist and human development sector leader for Central America and as lead economist in the Education Unit of the Human Development Department.
To prepare students for financially literate futures, Emiliana advises, “In today’s world, and the future that young women will face, it’s very important for them to understand and not be afraid of data, math, and statistics. In every field, whether it’s medicine, education, or law, having a good understanding [of] and being able to analyze hard data and numbers is so important to make good decisions, on a personal level but also to inform governments and companies. That’s why companies like Facebook and Google are so powerful. They are the masters of data.”
Veonous M. Jacques ’88 was born and
raised in the Bronx. Surrounded by music, she came into the world singing and always wanted to be a professional singer.
“My father sang professionally for years, and for the past 20 years he’s been in a group called the Legendary Escort,” she said.
But he also had a day job. Trained as an engineer, he first worked for other people but then started his own business — Veonous’ introduction to entrepreneurialism.
During her teen years,Veonous’ father advised, “You already know how to sing. Now go get an education.”
Like Emiliana’s, Veonous’ parents valued education. For that reason, they exposed their daughter to everything: art, music, and interesting pastimes.
“My toys were things like a radio you had to put together,” she recalled.
In elementary school, she sang a solo at Lincoln Center and played Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun. At Walker’s, she sang in an a capella group the Grapes, and studied piano.
But throughout her educational journey, Veonous struggled with two competing forces: wanting to follow her heart with music and wanting to do something more practical.
“At nine years old, I decided I was going to become an attorney,” said Veonous, who came to this conclusion after having a conversation with her mother that went like this:
“Are we poor?” “We live from paycheck to paycheck.” “Who makes more money, a teacher or a lawyer?” “A lawyer.” “I want to be a lawyer.”
Veonous was an exceptionally gifted student. While attending Our Savior Lutheran High School in the Bronx freshman year, she was accepted into ABC (A Better Chance), a program that “serves talented students of color by opening the doors through which they can best develop their innate potential.” This support enabled her to apply to any high school in the country.
While she and her parents were considering options, one of them being Walker’s, Veonous’ mother secretly applied to Walker’s. For the essay section, her mother cut-and-pasted an assignment Veonous had written the year before about wanting to be a judge. Furious at first but grateful afterward, Veonous was accepted and packed her bags for Walker’s that fall.
After three successful years at Walker’s, where she was known as VeeVee Martin, dedicating her time equally to music and academics, Veonous decided to pursue law in college. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations followed by a Juris Doctor from Temple University Beasley School of Law. In between, she worked for law firms and also sang in a couple of gospel groups for nine years. In so doing, she learned something about herself. “I loved music; however, I realized I could not live that lifestyle,” she said. She discovered the same problem with law. In the end, she chose neither for center stage. Instead, she cherry-picked the best parts of each.
Veonous still sings today but mostly for personal fulfillment. And she has applied what she loved most about law — patents and business development — to her current entrepreneurial endeavor as co-founder and chief operations officer for 3BP Inc. This company creates revolutionizing packaging technology designed to identify tampering, contamination, and counterfeiting. Veonous wrote the patent for their first product. She also helps attract investors to the table.
Besides finding the right career fit, Veonous had another motivation for building financial fluency: children. Upon
Walker’s gives women the courage to be themselves, whatever that is for them. ~ Veonous M. Jacques ’88
graduating from law school, she had her first child, who was born with a life-threatening kidney disease. Tending to his needs, and the needs of a difficult first marriage, her concentration splintered. Nonetheless, she persisted and worked for a couple of firms, only to find out she was pregnant again. Her marriage ended, and she became a single mom with two small children.
“I believe there is a purpose for every season of your life,” said Veonous, who has enjoyed many seasons as a musician, a parent, even a self-published author.
After her divorce, she entered the season of single parenting motivated to generate solid income and flexible work hours. To fit this bill, she developed a consulting business and helped a variety of different businesses and organizations with program design, management, and finances.
In 2013, she entered yet another season, entrepreneurialism, with her second husband, co-founder and future business partner, Auguste Jacques, a specialist in finance, sales, and management.
“We were on a long car ride listening to NPR when an advertisement came on for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” Veonous recounted.
The foundation was accepting applications for innovative condom designs. A lively conversation followed. By the end of the car ride, they had a business name, a plan, and a PowerPoint presentation by Veonous’ sister, who was in on the conversation. They applied for funding, not for condom designs but for a tamper-proof packaging system for condoms. They didn’t get the award, but they did launch a new company and have since expanded their packaging applications to include other industries: pharmaceuticals, food, cannabis, and the U.S. military.
Veonous explains how the packaging works.
Basically it’s oxygen exposure. If you receive a package and the package is clear or white, it has not been opened. The air has not penetrated the package. But once air hits it, it will turn other colors: red, green, orange, or blue.”
What has she learned from her colorfully creative life?
“Walker’s gives women the courage to be themselves, whatever that is for them,” said Veonous, who found the courage to leave the Bronx and invent a life that combines both sides of her personality: the practical and the creative. “You have to stick with it. If it is your vision, you have to stick with it. There are times when it doesn’t look good, and it isn’t easy. The only way you can see the outcome is by sticking with it. You’re going to have people naysaying, the dream killers, in every faction of life. I learned how to be myself, no matter what.”
To get high school students interested in business and financial fluency, she suggests, “Have students make a business plan and a business card and create a website. Even if it’s just a landing page, those skills are the ones that can travel with them through college.”
While attending Walker’s, Veonous M. Jacques ’88 and several classmates formed a task force to write a new morning meditation that reflected the diverse religious backgrounds of the School’s student body. Our community still recites this meditation today.
THE ETHEL WALKER SCHOOL MEDITATION
May there be peace and unity in the lives we share here together, and strength to take us through our daily challenges. Let us never be afraid to follow where the truth my lead us. May we have insight to understand each other, and wisdom to know why we are sometimes misunderstood. Help us look beyond ourselves and recognize the needs of others. Above all, teach us to love, for in love lies the key to life.
WALKER’S COUNTS AMONG ITS ALUMNAE MANY PUBLISHED AUTHORS AND EDITORS. BELOW ARE A FEW MORE TITLES TO ADD TO YOUR BOOKSHELF:
Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85 The Promise of Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (2010, The World Bank Press, co-authored with Lucrecia Santibáñez) Raising Student Learning in Latin America: The Challenge for the 21st Century (2007, The World Bank Press, co-authored with Jenny Petrow) Incentives to Improve Teaching: Lessons from Latin America (2005, The World Bank Press, Editor)
Veonous M. Jacques ’88 He Loves You, Not: A Commonsense Guide to What NOT to Do in Relationships (written under the pseudonym JB Tremont)
A Silver Lining?
A STORY OF FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT AND PLANNING BY MARY K. FLEESON WEDDLE ’68
I have always been careful with my money. It started early in my career, when I didn’t have much. In fact, I had debt — lots of debt. I also knew, though, that I would need more than careful money management if I were going to meet the financial goals I had set for myself. I needed a plan.
After spending days sitting on the floor in the stacks of my local bookstore and reading from four or five thick “Finance & Money” tomes that were too expensive for me to buy, I started a journey to rid myself of debt and build my net worth.
My research enabled me to create a rudimentary plan, and my determination helped me persevere in following it. (My Mother called it “stick-to-it-ivism”). Luck also helped, but it was the kind Thomas Jefferson referenced when he said, “The harder I work, the more luck I have!”
Eventually I was able to be careful with my money not in a way that meant shuffling debt on multiple credit cards from one low introductory rate to another but, rather, in a way that meant choosing which investment would provide the highest yield with a risk level that was comfortable for me. I opened an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP) and started with $50 per month. Gradually, as the credit card debt went down, I was able to increase that amount to $100 per month, working my way up to $400 per month. It was slow going, but, over time, my money grew and became assets. I continued to be careful with my financial decisions, making investments which I understood and which were comfortable for me and my then-current circumstances. I did not invest in anything I didn’t understand.
Along the way, the ups and downs of the market, new rules and legislation, and changes in life’s circumstances required adjustments to my plan. I would not let myself be deterred, though, because I was committed for the long-term. I stayed the course, despite these periodic changes. In fact, I looked for the silver lining, the opportunity, when an unforeseen or adverse event happened. Fast forward to 2019 when the SECURE Act was passed by Congress and signed into law. The Act is an example of an event that caused me to re-look at my plan. Specifically, it moved the mandatory withdrawal or Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from certain non-Roth IRA accounts from the age of 70½ to 72. The change prompted one headline to ask, “Annoyed by RMDs?” A different perspective suggests there may be a silver lining.
As each new year approaches, hopefully there will be more travel and foreign adventures. Good health and more exercise. More family gatherings with those squeals of delight that mark so many grandchildren’s birthdays! And, yes, birthdays for all of us, too! For many of us in my EWS Class of ’68, in 2022 there will be many celebrating 72 years (how is that possible?). And, like it or not, the government has a special present for us: Our first Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).
I have fond memories of my time at Walker’s. To this day, I am grateful to my parents for sending me to EWS, and I am grateful to the School for providing a full, multifaceted experience. From academics to sports to friendship and leadership opportunities, my eyes were opened and my horizons, expanded — and I loved it! The independence, the ability to make decisions on my own — it was all new and exciting for me. I know the Walker’s experience helped shaped who I am today.
And what does this have to do with RMDs, you are asking?
As you undoubtedly know, the requirement to take money
out of non-Roth retirement accounts also means a requirement to pay taxes on those distributions. Taxes require more planning and, invariably, payments.
Charitable giving, though, may offer a solution to minimize those payments that could be characterized as a “win-win”. Consulting a financial advisor will provide additional details and potentially valuable ideas for not only fulfilling the RMD requirements, as prescribed by law, but also for giving back to an institution that hopefully was for you, as it was for me, a positive force in your life. I think of Walker’s as a steppingstone, one where I landed for a brief period of time while I surveyed the currents swirling all around me (remember this was the turbulent ’60s). As I moved forward through life, I know and appreciate the fact I was helped along the way. By Miss Mead, Miss Walker, Miss Ash, and so many others.
Now I feel it is my turn to give back and help a rare gem of a school which seems to be truly thriving under the leadership of Dr. Meera Viswanathan. Through her vision and introduction of the Capabilities Approach Program, the School is adding to its strong academic offerings and providing opportunities for the students to expand their personal horizons through explorations and challenges in what could be termed “life skills.” These include survival swimming; financial literacy (to include an understanding of income taxes, which is then combined into a community outreach effort); and coding, for a deeper understanding of the technological potential within computer programs. As a recipient of a prestigious Ford Foundation grant and as an innovative and collaborative participant in efforts with other independent schools and wider, private networks and community programs, The Ethel Walker School is reimaging girls’ education and, in the process, building on its already strong brand. I am convinced the students, as beneficiaries of all these efforts, are becoming confident, compassionate, and truly capable citizens of the world. With charitable giving as part of an RMD strategy, I see an opportunity to help them on their individual journeys.
Girls with Impact
Girls with Impact is an online entrepreneurship program connected to financial fluency; Head of School Meera Viswanathan sits on the board of the organization. This year, Walker’s is requiring all sophomores to participate in the program and because of the nature of remote learning will also open it up to juniors and seniors at no cost. The program is offered to girls, ages 14 to 17, who have the opportunity to present venture capitalists with project ideas that they create.
Kristen St. Louis ’21 completed the program last year, presenting her company, Mirror Me Diversity, a platform for teenagers and parents/caregivers of teenagers to easily find diverse books and storylines. “I had been looking into starting my own nonprofit in middle school but didn’t have the tools,” said Kristen. “This program gave me the tools I needed and had been looking for. Now I can start my project.” Throughout the 12-week academy, Kristen jumped online for 50 minutes every week to connect with her coach along with local and student peers from across the country. Topics ranged from identifying problems and targeting customers to marketing, finances, and building an advisory board. “The coaches present the main points of business in an easy to understand way — they break it down into interesting points. In the course’s weekly session, you get to speak about your project and get really helpful
feedback from your classmates, as well as personalized calls with your coach. The coaches really guide you and help point you in the right direction,” said Kristen. Girls with Impact offers a live, online, real-time “mini-MBA” from the comfort of home. The program, designed with Harvard experts, moves girls from idea to a full business plan. The program is changing the future of these young women’s lives with exponential spikes in confidence, majors in business or Kristen St. Louis ’21 entrepreneurship, and college scholarships. MirrorMeDiversity.com, the website created by Kristen St. Louis ’21, provides subscribers with access to sources for diverse young adult literature.
High Water Women
Financial fluency is an essential part of Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program, which focuses on disrupting gendered mindsets and reimagining girls’ education. As we develop Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program, we are joining with women who are experts in their fields to brainstorm and identify areas of collaboration as Walker’s builds out a financial education program. Our first expert disruptors event was held in New York and hosted by Sarah Puckhaber ’07 at the Fiduciary Trust offices.
The October 2019 gathering included a dialogue on creating a culture of financial fluency for girls and expanding the pipeline for women in finance, social entrepreneurship, and leadership roles. More than 25 women in finance, from within the Walker’s community and outside, gathered for cocktails and conversation.
Many women who attended were in New York for the High Water Women’s Eighth Annual Investing for Impact Symposium. Meera Viswanathan, Head of School, Gretchen Orschiedt, Assistant Head of Advancement, and Kim Pereira, former interim Director of the Capabilities Approach Program/Grants and Foundations Officer also attended the symposium. This fall, Drianne Benner and Chandler Steinbrugge of Appomattox will facilitate and teach our seniors for the Investing Seminar as we continue to reimagine girls’ education.
Interested in joining the conversation around Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program and what Walker’s is doing to teach financial fluency? Be in touch with Gretchen at gorschiedt@ethelwalker.org, Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org, or Dean of Faculty, Director of the Capabilities Approach Program, Dr. Ned Edwards at nedwards@ethelwalker.org.
