President And Ceo
CurrentBilly J. Hensley, Ph.D., is president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). Since his appointment in 2018, Hensley has led NEFE through the development and execution of its first strategic plan, sharpening the organization’s mission, vision and core values, while cultivating broader transparency and effectiveness. He is charging the organization to Redefine Financial Education through more focused philanthropy, research and collaboration. This is illustrated by the conception of the Financial Well-Being Framework, a model for better accountability in the financial capability field. Under Hensley’s leadership, the following key accomplishments are noted: -Named nation's Best Financial Nonprofit for 2022 by Bankrate;-Received the 2021 “Setting the Standard” Award from the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education for distinction in best practices, diversity and inclusion;-Expanded national consumer polling and research, including averaging 209 media mentions per month; -Participated in an international documentary on women and money ($avvy); -Increased social media engagement 81%, impressions 78%;-Increased reach of Financial Education Evaluation Toolkit 38%;-Endowment grew from $174MM (01/2019) to $205MM (01/2022);-Founded national financial education leadership consortium; -Launched policy and advocacy initiative to champion financial education guarantee for all K-12 students; -Redesigned all branding; -Hosted national policy convenings and subsequent podcast series; -Expanded philanthropic reach and increased funding to recognize research excellence as well as increased support for organizations providing direct financial well-being services; and-Research agenda reached 1,400+ peer-reviewed cumulative citations, including one study ranked in the all-time top 5 percent of the Social Science Research Index.