Providing Financial Education So Employees Experience the Benefits of Being Financially Fit

Jess Zafarris is an author, content director, editor, journalist, social media engagement strategist and creator. Her 13 years of experience in this space have included such roles as the Director of Content at Ragan Communications, Audience Engagement Director at Adweek, and Content Strategist and Digital Content Director for Writer’s Digest and Script Mag. She moderated and emceed at events including Social Media Week and Brandweek, and presented at the Writer’s Digest Conference and State of Social. She is also the author of the etymology books WORDS FROM HELL (Hachette 2023) and ONCE UPON A WORD (Rockridge Press 2020) and an educational social media creator who speaks and creates entertaining content about word origins.

Barrett Scruggs is SoFi at Work's Vice President, serving as a loyal partner to a community of 900+ employer partners. Scruggs graduated from West Point and served five years in the Army before making the transition to corporate banking. In his role at SoFi, he oversees a team of consultative employee financial wellbeing professionals who design and deliver SoFi at Work’s solutions through on-demand, digital interventions for employers across the United States.

Beth Bean, Ph.D, is NEFE's senior vice president of Research and Impact, leading the expansion and application of the organization’s 2019-2024 Strategic Plan and beyond. Dr. Bean oversees the portfolio of thought leadership work and advances evidence-based best practices by working with industry leaders who support, implement and evaluate financial education systems. Prior to joining NEFE, Dr. Bean served as policy and research director/senior counselor to Colorado Governor Jared Polis. She managed a team overseeing a wide portfolio of issues for the 47th largest economy in the world. Before joining the Polis administration, Dr. Bean was vice president of national engagement, philanthropy and policy at Strada Education Network and director of the Strada Institute for the Future of Work. In addition, she has held leadership positions in Colorado’s Department of Higher Education as well as several roles at both public and private institutions of higher education. “I look forward to establishing bold priorities, bolstering actionable research to support our community, and building upon NEFE’s legacy and expansive body of work.” Dr. Bean is a first-generation student who received her doctorate in higher education from the University of Denver, her master’s degree from Saint Louis University and her bachelor’s degree from DePauw University in Indiana. In her free time, Dr. Bean enjoys spending time with her two daughters, coaching middle-school lacrosse running and working on home projects that never quite get finished.