New Hampshire Financial Educators Council: About, Mission, Advisory Board
The New Hampshire Financial Educators Council℠ is committed to helping people across the state gain access to financial education programming that helps them work toward financial wellness. To this end, we provide complimentary resources, advocacy campaigns, and local personal support to build scalable financial wellness initiatives.
The mission of the New Hampshire Financial Educators Council℠ is to build sustainable, scalable economic empowerment programs that have a real impact on people’s lives at the community level.
New Hampshire & Regional Advisory Board
The New Hampshire Financial Educators Council Advisory Board members come from diverse backgrounds, yet share one similar goal – to help push the financial wellness movement forward. Board members serve in a variety of roles to support the Leadership Team to develop leading educational resources, expand our business, and create positive social change.
Founding Member
Kristina Ickes
President of Women’s Money Solutions
New England Regional Advisory Board Members
Ellis Cropper
Financial Professional, New York Life Insurance, ChFC®, CLTC®, Major, U.S. Army, Retired
State Chapter Details & Affiliation with National Council
The New Hampshire Financial Educators Council℠ is a chapter of the National Financial Educators Council®. The National chapter is well-qualified to support our initiatives here across the state of New Hampshire. They bring:
Accreditation
As an IACET Accredited Provider, the NFEC offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard.
Social Impact
As a Certified B Corporation, the NFEC meets the highest standards for socially responsible commerce, using the power of business to build more sustainable economies.
Standards
The NFEC set industry standards for the financial education industry and materials are developed with the highest educational outcomes in mind.
Kristina Ickes
President of Women’s Money Solutions
Kristina Ickes, MBA, BA, and CFEI®, is a proven innovative and entrepreneurial leader in Financial Planning, Financial Education, Human Services, and Information Technology. An experienced executive with capacity and skills across multiple disciplines, Ickes offers experience driving evolution in systems and processes, influencing public policy, and shaping the future for both individuals and companies. Kristina currently is a government and finance executive with more than two decades of experience spanning public policy, capital markets, and community financial education.
Kristina Ickes earned her MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2004 and her dual BA in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1999. Her career has encompassed high-level roles in both the corporate and government sectors, including Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch, Executive Director at Weatherhelm Capital Management, and Long-Term Care Programs Administrator for the New Hampshire State Department of Health and Human Services.
Ickes also has an active volunteer presence, having served on several Boards of Directors; as Treasurer of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell Alumni Association; Vice President and Treasurer of the Hillsborough County Guild; and Trustee of the New Hampshire Children’s Trust. She previously served as an elected School Board member and Chair/Vice Chair of NH SAU 15, representing the communities of Candia, Hooksett, and Auburn. Kristina currently sits on the Steering Committee of the New Hampshire Job Creators Network, a position she has held since 2012. As a sought-after keynote speaker and panelist on financial education and planning, she contributes her expertise at both community and professional levels.
Kristina’s mission for joining the New Hampshire Financial Educators Council Advisory Board is to expand access to high-quality, practical financial literacy resources and education across the Granite State. She believes financial knowledge is most effective when grounded in clarity, real-world application, and accessibility – helping people understand not only what to do, but how action relates to their long-term well-being. Her approach emphasizes informed choice, strategic thinking, and the ability to confidently navigate financial challenges.
Benjamin Liff
Founder of Tributaries Educational Consulting
Maine Financial Educators Council Advisory Board Member Benjamin Liff began his career as an educator in 2007 in Wuhan, China teaching English to students of all ages. He earned a Bachelor’s in history from the University of North Florida in 2011 and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from George Mason in 2015. While completing his Master’s, Liff also taught literature and composition at George Mason. Subsequently his experience spanned such positions as English Studies director at Gould Academy; program developer for the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE); and instructional designer for the Roux Institute at Northeastern University. All his professional roles have included an element of educational program-building and transformation.
As a long-time educator and global traveler, Benjamin Liff brings a unique international perspective to his participation on the MEFEC board – viewing financial wellness through an educational lens. He has a demonstrated commitment to providing families with clear guidance for selecting educational options that align with their financial goals and long-term security. In 2025 he established his current business, Tributaries Educational Consulting, as a vehicle to help parents feel knowledgeable and prepared when making decisions that affect their children’s futures. Liff also is an associate member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and a certified counselor through the National College Attainment Network.
Benjamin Liff has a stated mission to promote financial capability, especially in the areas of school choice, financial aid, and long-term financial planning. This mission stems from a belief that strong educational decisions require equally strong financial health. He is looking forward to helping support families and strengthen communities through his partnership with the MEFEC Advisory Board.
In his spare time, Benjamin enjoys cooking, reading, gardening, and attending concerts.
Ellis Cropper
Financial Professional, New York Life Insurance, ChFC®, CLTC®, Major, U.S. Army, Retired
Retired Army Major and MFEC Advisory Board Member Ellis Cropper, who holds Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) and Certification in Long-Term Care (CLTC®) credentials, has worked as a financial professional for New York Life since 2018. He is currently expanding his expertise to make a positive difference on a broader scale – spearheading campaigns to bring financial education to his Worcester community and across the state of Massachusetts. It is Cropper’s rich, varied background and experience, along with his passion to make a positive community impact by helping people move toward financial freedom, that align his vision so strongly with the goals of the MFEC Advisory Board and its parent company, the National Financial Educators Council.
Originally hailing from Louisiana, Ellis Cropper earned his BS in Biology with concentrations in Nuclear Medicine Technology from Worcester State University in 1996. His 34-year career in the U.S. Army included 22 years of active service plus the honor of serving as an Assistant Professor of Military Science at Widener and Villanova Universities. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts. Cropper feels highly motivated by the opportunity to serve as a founding member of the MFEC’s Advisory Board.
Equity and Progress through Financial Stability and Freedom: Ellis Cropper
As an ‘A’ student third in my high school class, I was accepted into all the colleges I applied to, including Louisiana State University. But I decided to go into the Army because I believed that was the chosen path for me. Even as an 18-year-old enlisted soldier making $8,000 a year, I was always good at accounting for my money. But like John Maxwell said, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” Well, I knew where my money went, but I didn’t tell it where to go. Learning how to tell your money where to go is part of becoming financially free.
My passion for teaching financial literacy is born out of that concept of freedom. In the Army, as a reserve officer, I had a lot of autonomy and flexibility – but I wasn’t free. It wasn’t until I retired from military service that I first felt any kind of freedom. And true freedom comes with financial freedom. Money has an impact on every area of life, and I believe this country won’t see the change it needs to start moving in the right direction until more people have achieved financial stability. Once people become financially stable enough to be active in the world, to change things that affect them – that’s when we’ll see more equity and progress.
My deep-rooted passion for raising financial literacy lies behind my goals as a founding member of the MFEC Advisory Board. Ultimately I want to help my alma mater provide scholarships to college students in financial services. And as I’m working in elementary and middle schools, I’ll be looking for philanthropists to donate to those kids’ college funds, enough to where the kids can see the money grow over time and start to manage it themselves.
I feel privileged to become a founding member of the Massachusetts Financial Educators Council’s Advisory Board. I am looking forward to a long-term partnership that brings greater financial stability and financial freedom to Massachusetts and around the country.
Elizabeth Clark
Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Harvard Business School (HBS)
Elizabeth Clark is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Harvard Business School (HBS), where she oversees a group of 285 information technology (IT) professionals committed to helping advance the teaching, learning, research, and administrative mission of HBS. As CIO, she plays a critical role in strategically driving forward HBS’s broad, ambitious technology aspirations. With 25 years of experience in higher education IT, Advisory Board Member Elizabeth Clark has served in a number of leadership roles and spearheaded countless campus-wide initiatives spanning the academic enterprise.
Building Stakeholder Relationships for Financial Wellness: Elizabeth Clark
Involved locally and nationally with nonprofit associations that advance higher education through the use of information technology, Dr. Clark regularly speaks on topics including IT in higher education, strategy and innovation, change management, and diversifying IT organizations; and she has published on women in IT and diversity in higher education. For example, she is author of the 2013 research report Gender Diversity among Higher Education CIOs, published by the Educause Center for Analysis and Research. She holds a PhD from Boston College, an MSW from Boston University, and a BA from the University of Massachusetts.
A dynamic leader with extensive experience building stakeholder relationships and managing organizational change, Dr. Clark is a highly results-oriented professional with demonstrated skills to quickly synthesize complex information to support decision-making and overall objectives of executive leadership. Her competence at building relationships with stakeholders by obtaining and incorporating their feedback is well-recognized. Dr. Clark is known as a change agent who builds programs from scratch to drive institutional transformation. Her innovative leadership has led to high achievements in the critical areas of instructional technology and design; and online/hybrid learning and working.
Mahendra Pattni
Head of Finance at Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute
Mahendra Pattni is a strategic and results-driven International Senior Finance and Operations Executive with extensive corporate expertise in the Biotech/Pharmaceutical and Consumer industries driving revenue growth, cost savings, process improvements, and knowledgeable in operational excellence at all levels of the organization.
Advisory Board Member Mahendra Pattni trained as a mechanical engineer, earning a bachelor’s degree from the National Institute of Technology in India and an MBA from Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois. He is also a Fellow of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, London, England.
Forging Business Partnerships through Financial Education: Mahendra Pattni
Pattni has over 30 years of experience in the Consumer Healthcare/Pharma/Biotech industry supporting as finance business partner to operational and corporate functions. He has extensive experience working closely with different functional areas such as Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Procurement, R&D and Corporate at GlaxoSmithKline and Shire/Takeda. He also worked as Director, Business Planning, Global Business Services (GBS) at Biogen, where he supported senior management to set up a new Global Business Services function and track financial benefits of a change management program to institutionalize and improve business performance.
Mahendra currently serves as Head of Finance at Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute where he reorganized the Finance function and implemented business planning processes including financial systems and Adaptive Insights for reporting financial performance. At present, he is working on developing finance team members into business partners working collaboratively to support operational and strategic needs.
Daniel Bley
Banking Executive – Chief Risk Officer
Daniel Bley holds an MBA in Finance from London Business School and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Liberal Arts & Humanities from the University of Michigan. He has enjoyed an illustrious career in the banking industry, beginning in 1990 with ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and advancing through positions as Managing Director for Royal Bank of Scotland and Chief Risk Officer for Webster Bank. At Webster he managed a team of 200+ and helped the bank scale from $18 billion to $80 billion in assets. He led the transformation of the risk organization as the institution expanded, architecting scalable, cross-functional risk frameworks that supported credit, operational, information, and emerging risks across the enterprise – including consumer banking, commercial banking, wealth management, and financial technology businesses.
In 2025 Daniel made the decision to retire from full-time banking. Since then he has assumed a role as Senior Advisor to the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America (MBCA), an organization that advocates for, champions, and provides resources to mid-sized financial institutions to help their clients, colleagues, and communities thrive. In his advisement role Bley helps build peer networks and shares information related to risk management.
Bley has also joined advisory and investment firm Klaros Group as a Senior Advisor. Here he focuses on mid-sized banks navigating growth, innovation, and increased complexity, especially those entering or expanding fintech-adjacent lines of business. He brings a practical, scalable, and enterprise-level perspective on how risk management can enable – rather than hinder – strategic growth.
With a lifelong commitment to community service, Daniel Bley volunteers on the Advisory Board to the University of Connecticut Masters in Risk Management Program; and sits on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of New York. Having been a member of Junior Achievement in high school, Daniel views his volunteer board participation as a rewarding way to give back to the organization, his community, and young people across Connecticut.
Terraine Patman
Accredited Financial Literacy Educator
Terraine Patman, APFISM, CFEI®, CFLP, is a financial literacy advocate and natural educator with a passion for empowering youth in under-represented communities with financial literacy skills. Her background lies in Business Administration with career positions in retail, hospitality, grant writing, and education management. More than 15 years ago, while earning a six-figure salary yet living paycheck to paycheck with no future financial goals and perpetually stressed about money, she says, “I knew something was not right.” After conducting extensive research, she adds, “I realized I was financially illiterate. This is when I decided to help others avoid life-long money struggles.”
By giving young people access to money management resources at an early age, Patman believes she can help close wealth gaps and move the next generations toward greater financial security. She also exhibits her passion for education by helping individuals become first-time homebuyers, teaching them the importance of having a good credit score and the value of compound interest to start the journey toward generational wealth.
Terraine is the creator and Executive Director of Cash Money Matters Academy, a mission-driven social initiative designed to provide financial literacy access to under-represented youth. Her pilot program at Cash Money Matters Academy is designed to improve financial capability among young people (aged 13-18) so they can make sound financial decisions and develop a saver’s identity for a life of financial well-being.
In addition to being a Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), Terraine is also a Certified Financial Health Counselor and a member of the National Association of Certified Credit Counselors. She takes a down-to-earth approach to teaching financial literacy, meeting people where they are and connecting with those who need this information the most. With a passion rooted in empathy, lived experience, and relatability to the communities she serves, Patman delivers culturally relevant personal finance education that inspires people toward lasting financial health. CMMA is devoted to results-driven, evidence-based financial education.
Thomas Charla
Marketing Director, MassMutual Financial Group
Thomas Charla is a marketing professional at MassMutual Financial Group focused Financial Planning and Wellness. In this role, Tom developed a comprehensive financial education program and curriculum to help individuals manage their day-to-day finances, understand important financial products, and prepare for the future including retirement, investing and Estate Planning.
Tom provides on-going training to financial professionals throughout MassMutual’s distribution system on how to implement a financial education program. Tom also consults one-on-one with individual planners and teams on best practices and the creation of effective curriculums for specific audiences. To date, Tom’s financial education program has been used successfully with employees in hundreds of companies, both large and small, throughout the country.
Prior to Tom’s current role, he was instrumental in helping MassMutual build their small business owner client audience through the development of tools, resources and content. Tom’s efforts help business owners understand the true value of their company, so they can better prepare for their eventual exit from company they created. Tom is also a subject matter expert on various financial products such as disability income insurance and long-term care insurance. Before joining MassMutual, Tom worked in various marketing and advertising roles in a number of business-to-business focused companies including publishing, mining, and advertising firms.
Tom lives in Connecticut with his wife and youngest son, a recent college graduate. Tom enjoys hiking, working in the yard, and cooking family dinner on Sunday night. Tom’s greatest joy is spending time with his family at their small, lake front cabin in the Catskill Mountains.
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
- Certified Financial Education Instructor
- Certified Family Business Specialist
- Special Needs Planner designation
- Long Term Care Insurance certification
- B.A., Business administration, Belmont Abbey College, Belmont NC