Elizabeth Crawford, CEO of Sendero, will share with the TEDxSanAntonio audience a view that children are not learning the financial management fundamentals early in life that will equip them to have basic financial literacy throughout their adult lives. And what convinced Elizabeth that such an idea would resonate with the audience?
“We had just come across a statistic that claimed nearly 1/3 of Americans would rather talk about sex than money with their children. I have four kids, three of whom are teenagers, so this hit me hard. We as a society don’t know how to talk about money. We aren’t confident we have the answers. That needs to change!”
“At my company, we are passionate about educating people in personal finance and investing. Telling me 1/3 of Americans would rather talk sex than money with their kids blew my mind. I know we can make a difference in the lives of young people if we help educate them on personal finance. The power of understanding how your decisions now will affect your money situation later is HUGE! 46% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. Imagine if we change that to 36%, and then 26%. What we would actually be doing is creating financial choices for more and more people—choices that allow them to be proactive instead of reactive. We would be giving them a future!”
While many aspire to speak on the TEDxSanAntonio stage, only a small few are selected. So what was Elizabeth’s reaction upon receiving the news?
“Be careful what you wish for! I’ve got a lot of work to do now!”
Does she worry about the immense crowd who will be listening to her remarks?
“I am probably more comfortable in front of a large group of people I don’t know than a small group of people I do know. The small group creates so much more vulnerability and I don’t want to fail them.”
And what about packing so much information into such a brief period of time?
“I have been a huge fan of TED talks for years. I listen to them when I walk. I find them fascinating, thought provoking, full of hope and inspiration. I do not think the time constraints will be an issue, though I do expect I’ll find it difficult to decide what path to direct the talk, since there is so much to discuss. I believe a concise delivery with a powerful message will be best.”