Your Wealth: Building and Maintaining Your Nest Egg

Economists estimate that the recent macroeconomic  recession destroyed $5 trillion of household wealth  and increased both social stratification and the wealth disparity.  Given the new context, what strategies are recommended for building wealth?  How can wealth creation be sustained in the long term?  What is the potential impact of wealth creation within the African American community? 

Panel Speakers

  • Glinda Bridgforth, President & CEO, Bridgforth Financial & Associates, LLC

Glinda Bridgforth is a leading financial expert who explores the emotional and cultural factors that block financial success. She brings over 30 years of experience to her consulting practice, Bridgforth Financial & Associates, LLC, and specializes in a holistic approach to money management. Bridgforth is the author of: Girl, Get Your Money Straight! and with Gail Perry-Mason, she coauthored Girl, Make Your Money Grow!. Her most recent release is entitled, Girl, Get Your Credit Straight!. All of her books are Essence bestsellers. Bridgforth has been featured in USA Today, Essence, Ebony, Money, Black Enterprise, and Jet magazines, and has been featured on television and radio shows nationwide including Oprah, The Today Show, Larry King Live, CNN, ABC News Now and Fox Business News.

She was honored as an “Influential African American” on the highly rated radio program, The Steve Harvey Morning Show. Bridgforth was one of the featured coaches on Oprah’s widely popular, six-part series “America’s Debt Diet.” She conducts workshops and lectures around the country. In 2007 she completed a four-city national tour as a keynote speaker with Bishop TD Jakes’ BEST Conferences.

Watch Glinda Blidgforth on the TODAY show with Campbell Brown

  • Alvin Hall, President & Owner, Cooperhall Press, Inc.

Alvin Hall is an internationally renowned financial educator, television and radio broadcaster, bestselling author, and regular contributor to magazines, newspapers, and websites.

For five years on the BBC, he hosted the highly rated and award-winning series, Your Money or Your Life, on which he offered both practical financial and psychological advice to people about how to take control of and fix their financial problems. His radio program, Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Boardroom, won the Wincott Foundation Press and Broadcasting Award for the best radio program for 2006. Hall has also hosted programs on current events and contemporary art for BBC Radio 4 including After Katrina and most recently, Alvin Hall’s Generations of Money. An eight-part television series for BBC World News called Alvin’s Guide to Good Business was broadcast internationally in 2010.

Among Hall’s bestselling books are: You and Your Money: It’s More than Just the Numbers, Your Money or Your Life (winner of the WHSmith 2003 People’s Choice Award), What Not to Spend, Getting Started in Mutual Funds 2nd Edition, and Getting Started in Stocks 3rd Edition.  His children’s book, Show Me the Money, has been published in over 20 foreign-language editions. In the US, the book has been named a Best Children’s Book of the Year (2009) by the Bank St. Book Committee, which is run by the Bank Street College of Education. It was also named a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (2009) by a joint project of the National Book Council for Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council.

Hall lives in New York City where he designs and teaches classes about the investment markets for financial services companies, banks, regulatory authorities, as well as information and technology vendors. His acclaimed classroom programs and speaking engagements have provided thousands of people with a solid grounding in such topics as the workings of financial markets, investment products, effective investment strategies, reducing debt, planning for retirement and personal financial management. Alvin Hall is a member of the NYSE Euronext Financial Literacy Advisory Committee to help develop programs to improve knowledge about all aspects of personal finance among the general public. He is also on the Acquisitions Committee of the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Watch Alvin Hall discuss KIVA Business Development Loans on BBC World News

  • Marilyn Logan, Founder & Owner, Marilyn Logan Enterprises

Marilyn Logan, also known as "The Money Lady", is a national radio and television personality, business owner, author and motivational speaker. She is on a mission to "get your money right!”  Financial literacy and empowerment are her passions and imparting financial humility is her gift.

Armed with years of experience as a successful investment broker for major corporations and individuals, "The Money Lady" has an in-your-face, pull-no-punches style, which sets her apart from the everyday "stuffed-shirt" financial expert.  Marilyn has the rare ability to tackle serious financial matters with directness and humor and, if you take her advice seriously, you'll be laughing, instead of crying, all the way to the bank!

She has appeared as an expert discussing finances and relationships on several national shows including the Dr. Phil Show – “Rules of Engagement” series, The Steve Harvey Morning Radio Show, Les Brown's Chicago Speaks Radio Show and The Yolanda Adams Morning Gospel Hour.  She is also a staple on the popular local Houston show Great Day Houston, considered a “money voice” of Houston media, written several articles for local and national publications and often quoted in money articles for Black Enterprise Magazine.

Marilyn is the author of I Can't Afford To Marry You! A guide to understanding the true cost of love. It is a financial love story based on her life with her soulmate John. Whether she is talking to one person or thousands, Marilyn eliminates the "Wall Street Bull", removes the cloak of financial rhetoric and bears down on moving people from financial indifference to financial independence.  Marilyn shares her experiences with television, radio and seminar audiences across the country and is currently in the infant stages of penning her second book entitled, The Jones Virus: The number one epidemic killing Americans today!

Marilyn currently hosts her own show entitled The Money Lady on HCCTV – Houston Community College TV and is always willing to offer advice about money matters.

Watch Marilyn Logan discuss personal finance on Dr. Phil

  • Ryan Charles Mack, President, Optimum Capital Management (Moderator)

President of Optimum Capital Management, Ryan Mack has a life mission to build and develop a durable financial empire geared towards educating his community and beyond. As a renowned educator and public speaker he has provided keynote presentations to organizations across the country such as HSBC, KPMG, Deutsche Bank, and many others.  With a strong sense of philanthropy he flew to South Africa to teach economic empowerment principles to those in need.  He can be regularly viewed on television networks such as GMTV, CNBC, CNN, Thomson Reuters, and BET discussing economic/social issues that impact American citizens.  Ryan has also authored his book “Living in the Village”; has been profiled in Tavis Smiley's Covenant and Action; co-authored a book with Kevin Powell entitled “The Black Male Handbook”; contributes regularly to Huffingtonpost.com, The Network Journal, and Fortune; received the Top 40 Ander 40 Achievement Award from The Network Journal;  and received Tom Joyner's "Hardest Working Financial Advisor Award".

Whether he is counseling a group of doctors at a convention or in Rikers Island providing a free course Ryan Mack’s comprehensive, exciting approach to teaching economic empowerment to all income levels has generated a level of much needed interest in a volatile economy.

Watch Ryan Mack pick stocks on CNN

  • David Stinfil, MBA Candidate '12 (Panel Manager)