Ohio Financial Educators Council: About, Mission, Advisory Board
The Ohio Financial Educators Council℠ is committed to helping people across the state gain access to financial education programming that helps them work toward financial wellness. To this end, we provide complimentary resources, advocacy campaigns, and local personal support to build scalable financial wellness initiatives.
The mission of the Ohio Financial Educators Council℠ is to build sustainable, scalable economic empowerment programs that have a real impact on people’s lives at the community level.
State Chapter Details & Affiliation with National Council
The Ohio Financial Educators Council℠ is a chapter of the National Financial Educators Council®. The National chapter is well-qualified to support our initiatives here across the state of Ohio. They bring:
Social Impact
As a Certified B Corporation, the NFEC meets the highest standards for socially responsible commerce, using the power of business to build more sustainable economies.
Standards
The NFEC set industry standards for the financial education industry and materials are developed with the highest educational outcomes in mind.
Advisory Board
The Ohio Financial Educators Council Advisory Board members come from diverse backgrounds, yet share one similar goal – to help push the financial wellness movement forward. Board members serve in a variety of roles to support the Leadership Team to develop leading educational resources, expand our business, and create positive social change.
Melvin J. Scales
Executive Vice President of Meridian Resources and Senior Advisor with Armstrong-McGuire
Amy McMaster
Financial Coach for the Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission (NOCAC) & Financial Opportunity Center (FOC)
Nathan Nguyen
Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), Business Farmer, Coach, Mentor & Best-Selling Author: Money Smarts
Bill Field
User Experience (UX) Director for the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC)
Ray’Chel Wilson
Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), CEO of ForOurLastNames & Internationally-Selling Author: Black Wealth Freedom
J.M. (Jack) Towarnicky
HR/Benefits Plan Sponsor and Plan Fiduciary Leadership Roles at Four different Fortune 500 companies

J.M. (Jack) Towarnicky
HR/Benefits Plan Sponsor and Plan Fiduciary Leadership Roles at Four different Fortune 500 companies
J.M. (Jack) Towarnicky has more than 40 years of professional experience – 31 years in HR/Benefits plan sponsor and plan fiduciary leadership roles at four different Fortune 500 companies; plus more than a decade as a compliance and consulting attorney. Jack has higher education teaching experience at Duquesne, Ohio State, and Franklin Universities and has served as an instructor for the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and Certified Plan Sponsor Professional (CPSP™) designations. He brings this rich experiential background to bear for his contributions to the Ohio Financial Educators Council’s Advisory Board.
Advisory Board Member J.M. (Jack) Towarnicky received individual national recognition in 2021 as 401(k) Champion and his team was presented with the Platinum Award from the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) “Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles®” program in 2010.
Highly-valued Experience and Background: Jack Towarnicky
Towarnicky received his LLM degree with honors in Employee Benefits from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, IL; his JD from the South Texas College of Law in Houston, TX; his MBA and BBA in Economics from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH; and holds designation as a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS).
Jack’s experience as director, member, and trustee on professional boards has included the Department of Labor’s EBSA and ERISA Advisory Council; the Presbyterian Church USA Board of Pensions; World at Work; Council on Employee Benefits; American Benefits Council; and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, Corporate Board. This substantial list of accomplishments makes him a highly-valued member of the Ohio Advisory Board.

Ray’Chel Wilson
Teacher & Author of Black Wealth Freedom
Ray’Chel Wilson is not your regular teacher; she is a self-proclaimed Teacher 2.0, challenging the norms of education and redefining what it means to live financially well. Originally from Ohio and still feeling a strong connection to her Ohio roots, Ray’Chel moved to Black Wall Street, Tulsa, to teach high school biology and personal finance to nearly 1,000 students while blazing her own path to wealth as a first-generation entrepreneur.
Honored as one of the top “20 Under 2” teachers across the state of Oklahoma, Advisory Board Member Ray’Chel Wilson considers educating about holistic financial wellness and closing wealth gaps as a central part of her mission. She is the published author of the internationally sold Black Wealth Freedom, a 3-part workbook series that serves as the foundation for next-generation wealth building.
Having achieved notable financial milestones, such as leveraging cryptocurrency profits to pay off her undergraduate student loans, Ray’Chel founded Raise the Bar Investments & ForOurLastNames.
Raise the Bar Investments aims to provide minorities with digestible financial education and operates with values of excellence, integrity, and relationships at the forefront. Recognizing the disjointed relationship between education and investing, Wilson co-founded the upcoming “ForOurLastNames” app, empowering individuals to build wealth for their last name. Serving both individuals and financial institutions, ForOurLastNames is a financial technology that bridges the education gap for first-generation investors. Through its patent-pending gamified approach, ForOurLastNames will shape the future of less risky, minority-friendly investing.
Community Service through Financial Education: Ray’Chel Wilson
Ray’Chel Wilson holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from The Ohio State University, a Certificate in Women’s Entrepreneurship from Cornell University, and has earned credentials as a Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®) through the National Financial Educators Council. Currently, Ray’Chel is a Duke Graduate School student pursuing her Master of Divinity and specializing in Investment Management.
These career achievements in service and entrepreneurship have led to Ray’Chel being inducted into her alma mater’s Hall of Fame with the Professional Achievement Award, making her the youngest person and the fourth African-American honored in the high school’s 120-year history. Due to the holistic “money moves” she teaches and incorporates into her own life, Ray’Chel enjoys taking road trips in her hybrid, sharing conscious meals with friends, and expressing gratitude to God for better days.

Bill Field
User Experience (UX) Director for the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC)
Bill Field was chosen to represent the Ohio Financial Educators Council (OFEC) on its Advisory Board because of his commitment to promoting financial wellness, close alignment with the National Financial Educators Council’s vision, and childhood ties to Ohio. Advisory Board Member Bill Field stands out in the User Experience (UX) arena for his skill, insight, and user-centric approach – qualities that recommend him both to provide key input to the OFEC and for promoting the financial wellness cause as a whole. His leadership guides system improvements that support a broad range of financial wellness objectives.
The criteria applied to select professional Advisory Board members include dedication to promoting financial wellness and contributions to making a positive social impact. Bill Field has earned a reputation for strength in both these areas, among many others. The Ohio Financial Educators Council looks forward to Field’s contributions to the board across the long-term.
Supporting Global Financial Wellness: Bill Field
Having been born in Ohio and living there as a child, I feel a strong connection to those roots and to my fellow Ohioans. As User Experience Director for the National Financial Educators Council, I’m the organization’s front-line contact for promoting the financial wellness cause. My approach is to give the people I serve top priority when designing real-world financial education solutions. I’ve learned that meaningful connections and clear communication are essential to building bridges between the organization and the individual.
In today’s digital world, creating an excellent financial wellness experience includes staying on top of rapidly changing technology and taking a people-centric approach to designing programs. I strongly believe in gathering as much input as possible from participants in a training to gain a deep understanding of their needs, which in turn guides design of the user experience at every touchpoint.
My BA in Journalism from California State University, Business Management training, and experience as an event photographer have taught me the importance of ensuring a positive user experience at each stage of a financial wellness program – before, during, and after the program concludes.
I am honored and delighted to be selected to serve on the Ohio Financial Educators Council’s Advisory Board. As a contributing member, I hope to apply my knowledge and expertise to make a difference among Ohio communities and families. I look forward to this opportunity.

Nathan Nguyen
Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), Business Farmer, Coach, Mentor & Best-Selling Author: Money Smarts
Nathan Nguyen, Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), is a business farmer, coach, and mentor; best-selling author; investor; and a passionate financial education ambassador. With 20+ years of entrepreneurial experience and a business portfolio of 25+ businesses in 8 industries, he believes in unleashing and empowering the entrepreneurial spirit in people to move humanity forward with greater innovation and solution creativity.
As a CFEI®, Education Loan Analyst, and Certified College Funding Specialist, Advisory Board Member Nathan Nguyen founded College Career Advisory to help parents and students plan for college, career, and life success. He authored the book Money Smarts and created the Money Simulations Game to prepare students on how to be financially independent and to develop the money skills involved in making, saving, borrowing, and investing money.
Making a Local Impact with Financial Education: Nathan Nguyen
Nguyen is a lucky husband and proud father of three kids. Locally, he serves his community as a board member to nonprofit organizations, high school and college lecturer, and professional development speaker. His welfare to college multi-millionaire success story has been featured in the all-time bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series book Chicken Soup for the Extraordinary Teens Soul, as well as The Richest Kids in America. Nathan also has been featured on the cover of Trade Magazine and the Young & Successful series Millionaire Spotlight Live on CNBC.

Amy McMaster
Financial Coach for the Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission (NOCAC) & Financial Opportunity Center (FOC)
Amy McMaster is a Licensed Social Worker with a Bachelor’s degree from The Defiance College. She is a financial coach for the Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission (NOCAC) Financial Opportunity Center (FOC). In these roles, Advisory Board Amy McMaster assists low- to moderate-income families to achieve financial wellness. She has coordinated the NOCAC Individual Development Accounts (IDA) Matched Savings Program and also enjoyed her time as a NOCAC Head Start Preschool Family Service Specialist.
Empowering Positive Life Changes: Amy McMaster
Mrs. McMaster has made it her mission to bring fun and entertainment to financial literacy classes. In addition, she views all clients as creative, resourceful, and whole individuals. She enjoys assisting clients with one-on-one budget counseling, access to banking information, credit improvement, and social support. Mrs. McMaster values community partnerships for the wealth of knowledge and support they offer.
Her entire career has been spent providing services to low-income households of Northwestern Ohio. She focuses on empowering individuals and families to make positive life changes. Her goal is to ensure that all members of her community have access to the support and resources they need to live satisfying lives.
When not working, Mrs. McMaster can usually be found spending quality time with her family, playing board games, celebrating her nieces’ and nephews’ life accomplishments, assisting her husband in the garden, and spoiling three kittens.

Melvin J. Scales
Executive Vice President of Meridian Resources and Senior Advisor with Armstrong-McGuire
Melvin J. Scales has been a management consulting professional since early 1997 and currently serves both as the Executive Vice President of Meridian Resources – a leading national talent management consulting firm – and a Senior Advisor with Armstrong-McGuire, which provides leadership-based consulting to nonprofit organizations.
Prior to his appointment to the executive leadership team of Meridian Resources, Advisory Board Member Melvin Scales was the Assistant Director of Career Services for the Wake Forest University Schools of Business. He also served as the Global Senior Vice President for the world’s largest career management and outplacement consulting organization – Right Management – leading the organization’s thought leadership and global delivery for all 19 global operating regions. Melvin has also held several roles in brand management with leading international consumer products organizations such as Hanesbrands, R.J. Reynolds, Anheuser-Busch, and Nabisco.
Bringing Ethical Leadership to Financial Education: Melvin J. Scales
Scales has lectured in marketing and career management at the Graduate School of Business at Wake Forest University and currently serves as a business community coach focused on ethical leadership for the university. He serves as Chairman for the Atrium Health’s CareNet Psychological Services, board and investment committee member for the Twin City Development Fund, board member and Governance committee chair for the Historic Magnolia House and Foundation, board member of the Triad North Carolina Film Commission, board and governance committee member for the Western Conference United Methodist Fund, board member for Leadership Winston-Salem, and board member for Forsyth County Senior Services.
Melvin is a native of Winston-Salem and a graduate of Wake Forest University, Brevard College and received a Doctor of Divinity degree, Honoris Causa, from Provident University. He served honorably in the United States Navy. He is married to Yvette Bishop-Scales and they have one daughter, Kelli, and one grand-dog, Shug Avery.

Irene Day
President and CEO of Hannah Financial
Irene Day was selected as a member of the Ohio Financial Educators Council’s Advisory Board due to her strong alignment with the mission and goals of the National Financial Educators Council. Advisory Board Member Irene Day has distinguished herself through both her lengthy personal experience in the financial space and the ethical, professional conduct of her business enterprise. Her leadership has brought a wide variety of individuals and organizations together to work toward a common goal: improving people’s lives through financial education.
The criteria for Advisory Board member selection include a commitment to and passion for promoting financial wellness and a history of community service. Irene Day’s credentials underscore her reputation and success in these areas and more. The Ohio Financial Educators Council looks forward to her contributions and inspiration in the months and years to come.
Empowering Financial Literacy: Irene Day
As President and CEO of Hannah Financial, I am dedicated to giving real-life financial literacy solutions to individuals and organizations. Over the past 5 years, I have grown to feel truly passionate about educating people so they don’t fall into the same financial hardships I experienced early in life – all from just not understanding how money worked.
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Baldwin Wallace University, 7 years in the financial industry space, and having started a multimillion-dollar company from scratch, I know first-hand the importance of understanding how money and our economy work.
My interest in learning the ins and outs of the credit system began in 2014. I had paid off $30,000 worth of debt with the money my grandfather left me after he passed; but my credit score only increased 12 points. I was absolutely mortified. This situation motivated me to do extensive research on how my own personal credit was determined, which in turn led to an interest in the credit repair industry itself. In 2017 I officially started my business, Hannah Financial.
When I was told that I was being considered for the Advisory Board for the Ohio Financial Educators Council, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. This was my opportunity finally to be able to make a difference in my community by leveraging my education, experience, and network to continue to build and implement financial literacy programs across my state.
I am incredibly honored to have been appointed to the Ohio Financial Educators Council’s Advisory Board. I am excited to continue advocating for the widespread promotion of financial literacy throughout Ohio and beyond.