April 8th 2026 | From 8:00 to 13:00
UTSA Downtown Campus
First Economic Empowerment Summit
Empowerment is Personal. Action is Collective.
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Join us on April 8, 2026, at the UTSA Downtown Campus for the Economic Empowerment Summit. We’re moving beyond "neutral" financial advice to address the real-world factors—identity, culture, and systemic pathways—that drive economic success.
Featuring:
3 Specialized Learning Tracks for Professionals, Individuals, and Employers.
Expert-Led Panels on Banking, Investing, and Wealth-Building.
On-Site Job Fair connecting San Antonio talent with opportunity.
TRACK A: The Identity Factor:
Why Economic Empowerment Fails
Without Human-Centered Money Conversations
AI is accelerating the technical side of financial services, but economic empowerment still breaks down for a different reason: people don’t change because they received information. They change when they feel understood, respected, and clear.
Economic empowerment often fails when professionals treat money conversations as neutral. They’re not. Money is shaped by identity, lived experience, family expectations, faith, stress, and survival strategies. When those factors are ignored, clients disengage, distrust grows, and even the best plan becomes a document instead of a decision.
In this keynote-style session, you’ll learn how Financial Cultural Humility turns trust-building into a professional skillset, not a personality trait. You’ll get an Identity-Aligned Conversation framework you can use across banking, investing, coaching, and insurance to reduce shame, surface what clients truly value, and increase follow-through. Because as AI gets smarter, the advantage shifts to what it cannot replace: human conversations that move people into action.
Participants will leave with a clear, usable definition of Financial Cultural Humility and how to apply it in day-to-day client interactions without stereotyping, plus an Identity-Aligned Conversation structure they can use to quickly surface values, context, and real decision drivers. They’ll walk away with specific language shifts that reduce defensiveness and shame, practical ways to navigate high-friction moments like mistrust, overwhelm, family pressure, and values conflict, and a stronger bridge between “good rapport” and measurable empowerment outcomes such as higher follow-through, stronger retention, and more referrals.
Presented by: Dr. Melinda Jimenez Perez, PhD, YWCA
Melinda Jimenez Perez, PhD, is the Director of Economic Empowerment at YWCA San Antonio, where she leads initiatives that strengthen financial stability and opportunity for women and families across the region. A people-centered educator and practitioner, she specializes in Financial Cultural Humility, an approach that helps financial professionals build trust, reduce shame, and improve follow-through by understanding how identity, lived experience, and context shape money decisions. Melinda is also a CNM Certified Financial Coach and an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC), and she was selected as a NALCAB Pete Garcia Fellow (Class of 2025). Her work sits at the intersection of economic mobility, workforce and community partnerships, and practical strategies that move individuals from information to action.
Track Panel A + Q&A : Serving the Whole Client: Banking, Investing, and Wealth-Building Through the Identity Factor
Tierra Wilson, TenYour,
VP of Operations
Tierra Wilson is a strategist, speaker, and advocate who helps professionals navigate the real dynamics of today’s workforce. After over a decade at Wall Street firms, such as BlackRock and BNY Mellon, Tierra joined TenYour, a FinTech that helps middle-class professionals build and protect their financial future, as the VP of Operations.
Julliana Lopez, Truist Bank,
Vice President, Branch Leader
Julianna is an experienced banker with 30+ years in business and private banking with a demonstrated history of commercial lending and management. A strong entrepreneurship professional with a BA focused on Psychology of Organization and Development from the University of the Incarnate Word.
Julianna has been sitting on non-profit Boards since 2000.
Lisa Martinez, Fidelity National Financial, VP, Regional Planning Consultant
Lisa Martinez is a Vice President, Regional Planning Consultant at Fidelity Investments, where she develops advisors through collaborative leadership, coaching, and mentorship. She helps associates enhance planning expertise, deepen client relationships, and deliver consultative financial solutions that support clients in achieving their financial goals.
Track B: From Awareness to Action: Rewriting your Money Story
Have you ever considered the underlying beliefs that influence your financial decisions? In this session, we will explore the concept of money scripts, deeply rooted beliefs and attitudes that shape how we think about and manage money today. Participants will gain greater self-awareness around their financial behaviors and patterns. We will discuss the different types of money scripts, examining how each one can positively or negatively influence financial behaviors.
Through an interactive exercise, participants will reflect on and identify their personal “money story,” uncovering the experiences, messages, and influences that have shaped their beliefs about money over time. Participants will label which money script they fall under and explore how these patterns show up in their financial decisions today. This activity will help participants connect their past experiences to present behaviors and rewrite their money story and identify how to support healthy money habits.
Track B Workshop: Presented by
Victoria Lopez, Financial Capability Program Specialist, NALCAB
As Financial Capability Program Specialist, Victoria Lopez supports the implementation of NALCAB’s financial capability grants by coordinating technical assistance, planning site visits, and organizing webinars for member organizations across the country. Her work contributes to NALCAB’s efforts to promote economic opportunity in Latino communities and support the financial stability of underserved populations. Before joining NALCAB, Victoria gained experience in nonprofit advocacy and public service, with a focus on community health, housing access, and outreach. She supported coordinated service delivery for young adults experiencing housing instability in Bexar County and led educational initiatives with a national healthcare organization. Raised in Europe by Panamanian and Puerto Rican parents, Victoria moved to San Antonio in 2018 and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and exuality Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Brenda M. Jimenez, Director of Financial Capability, NALCAB
As the Director of Financial Capability, Brenda oversees and coordinates the efficient delivery of grant-making, technical assistance, and training for nonprofit organizations to support, strengthen, and expand their asset-building programs in financial capability. Focused on driving innovation, improving efficiency, and delivering measurable results has led to several notable initiatives, such as the development in partnership with Change Machine of the “Integrating Fintech Practitioner Guide,” aimed at helping organizations interested in implementing fintech into their programming. In addition to creating a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to offer financial coaching training aimed at helping practitioners get a step closer to seeking their certification. Brenda has over 16 years of experience in nonprofit work, higher education, and grassroots outreach. Before joining NALCAB, she served as a Financial Counselor at a San Antonio-based nonprofit, supporting individuals and families on their path to financial stability. Brenda earned a dual bachelor’s degree in communication and Hispanic Studies from the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and a Master of Public Administration from UTEP.
Track C: ALICE and Workforce Pathways track
The ALICE and Workforce Pathways track is designed for Human Resource leaders, hiring managers, and workforce partners who want practical, employer-ready strategies to create real pathways out of poverty for ALICE-impacted workers (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed). This track spotlights how the RAISE apprenticeship program strengthens hiring pipelines by pairing structured training with the systems workers need to thrive, from inclusive recruitment and screening to first-90-day onboarding and supervisor support. Participants will explore why traditional hiring and retention approaches often fail ALICE talent and walk through a clear, replicable playbook that aligns policy, onboarding, front-line supervision, and advancement so employers can reduce turnover, stabilize teams, and build long-term career pipelines.
Misty Harty, Director of Racial Justice and Gender Equity, YWCA
Misty Moon-Harty, MA, LLPC earned her graduate degree in Counseling at Spring Arbor University. She has worked in the human services field for over 28 years. Her passion is advocating for families in crisis, the underserved, under-represented, marginalized and overlooked. Her participation as a San Antonio Area Foundation Social Justice Fellow, allows her to expand her passion into her professional career. Misty worked for the YWCA of Kalamazoo for 10+ years before relocating to Houston, Texas. Misty has provided cultural diversity and awareness training for various organizations across Michigan and the southwest via her business Divine Inspirations, LLC. Currently, Public speaking, professional coaching and curriculum development are a few of her areas of expertise. Misty is the Director of Racial Justice and Gender Equity at YWCA San Antonio where she is able to continue her passion to eliminate racism and empower women.
Mike Ramsey, Executive Director of Workforce Development for the City of San Antonio
He is responsible for the implementation of the City’s workforce development strategies including the SA Ready to Work Program. SA Ready to Work addresses the barriers many residents face in accessing careers that foster economic mobility for residents living in underserved communities. Mike joined the City of San Antonio and opened the City’s newly formed Workforce Development Office in August of 2021.
Ramsey previously served as the Dean of Workforce Development of St. Petersburg College (SPC) in St. Petersburg, Florida where he functioned as the College’s principal administrator for Workforce, Career & Technical Education programs. Mike functioned as an intermediary between industry and the college.
He also previously worked at Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida where he oversaw both secondary and post-secondary Career, Technical, & Adult Education programs.