Working in Support of Education (WISE)

HISTORY History Phyllis Frankfort Perillo founded W!se to expand educational support for secondary students with a mission to improve financial literacy and readiness for college and careers. W!se’s programs make a difference in the lives of students, primarily in low-to-moderate income communities. Building on its success, W!se has expanded geographically and introduced new programs and initiatives: 1998 Established W!se and integrated the CEO’s previous initiatives, Quality of Life INNOVATIONS and W!se Institute into the programming. 2002 Created our flagship Financial Literacy Certification program for high school students. 2003 Built the Library and Technology Center, a state-of-the-art library for the High School of Economics & Finance in New York City. 2006 Helped the Delegation of the European Union to the U.S. launch the Euro Challenge and became its national coordinator, now in 15 states. 2007 Offered our Financial Literacy Certification program outside New York State; the program is now offered in 48 states. 2009 Created MoneyW!SE, designed to serve the personal finance needs of at-risk adults, primarily survivors of domestic violence. 2010 Launched a Certification exam for personal finance instructors; this exam is now administered in 35 states. 2013 Created the 100 Best W!se High Schools Teaching Personal Finance, the first annual ranking of its type in the country. 2016 Created EGE (Engineered Green Economics), a STEM program for high school students to develop their knowledge about economic sustainability. BUILDING CAPACITY W!se is a national partner of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy and, since 2003, we have managed the New York Financial Literacy Coalition, the New York State Jump$tart affiliate. The Coalition’s goal is to promote and advocate for K-12 financial education.