Unified voice needed to grow student financial literacy

MAKING $ENSE: Jim Hedemark, executive director of the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition, said that the best approach is to listen to what is best for each school based on what their needs are. / COURTESY R.I. JUMP$TART COALITION
MAKING $ENSE: Jim Hedemark, executive director of the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition, said that the best approach is to listen to what is best for each school based on what their needs are. / COURTESY R.I. JUMP$TART COALITION

After nine years of organizing, advocating for and expanding financial-literacy initiatives in Rhode Island, Jim Hedemark will soon be leaving his post as the executive director of the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.
Hedemark, who has been with the organization since its very beginning, currently oversees Jump$tart’s day-to-day administration, development, budget management and a variety of other areas.
Although he’s made some great friends in Rhode Island, he’s anxious to be near his family and other friends back in the Pacific Northwest. In preparation for the transition, Hedemark has been residing in Washington for the last few months and commuting back to the Northeast when necessary.
He says he’ll be leaving the organization on good terms, although he’s not sure what’s next for him. His last day with the coalition will be May 5, the nine-year anniversary of its incorporation.

PBN: What inspired you to start a chapter of the Jump$tart Coalition in Rhode Island?
HEDEMARK: In 2002, 2003 I lived in Arizona. I was managing a campaign for Congress and I became friends with one of our opponents who was doing financial-literacy work for the Navajo Indian reservation. I just became fascinated with this idea of financial literacy. … Then, when I was visiting Rhode Island, a friend introduced me to Frank Caprio, who was a state senator at the time, and we had a discussion about emerging policies. I returned to Phoenix, and he called me and asked me if I might look into [financial literacy] a little more, and I found that there was no chapter of the national Jump$tart Coalition in Rhode Island, and I said I’d give it a shot.

PBN: In the beginning, what were your priorities for the organization?
HEDEMARK: Our first order of business was seeking stakeholders. We set out to find out who cares about the issue. It was always interesting, and it’s still interesting, when I describe what the coalition does, people understand what finance is, and they understand literacy, and they say, “Oh, financial literacy.” And almost always, someone will say, “I wish I had that class in high school.”And seven out of 10 times, if it’s a conversation with someone I don’t know, that’s paired with, “I want my son to take that, or my granddaughter.” … In Rhode Island, there’s no requirement that students take a course in personal finance. It’s absolutely a district-by-district and school-by-school decision, which made it difficult to immediately know where financial literacy was being taught.

PBN: Do you feel that the coalition has been living up to its potential?
HEDEMARK: We accomplished many of our goals. Unfortunately, at a time when it’s greatly understood that personal financial capability is just as necessary as good physical health … we’re losing, at a disturbing rate [due to budget constraints at local levels], the people who can have the greatest impact, and that’s the teachers. … Initially, we entertained the notion of a requirement, or a mandate [for all students to take a class in personal finance as a graduation requirement]. … Unfortunately, that strategy was never developed. … I think the momentum may have been lost as [education Commissioner Peter] McWalters was departing and Commissioner [Deborah] Gist was coming on. It was clearly a transition time, and I don’t want to point fingers, but it occurred during the transition, so I think we lost a little momentum.

PBN: Is the possibility of a mandate something Jump$tart has ever considered revisiting?
HEDEMARK: We decided to implement a strategy of school-by-school and district-by-district promotions. What I learned was that instead of wanting to push for a statewide mandate, in Rhode Island, the most important approach was to listen to what was best for each school based on what each school told us.

PBN: How did you arrive at the decision to leave the coalition?
HEDEMARK: I’ve been longing for some time to be back in the Pacific Northwest. … I’ve found it very difficult to sustain a full-time executive director position, and I’m not sure that a full-time executive director in the Jump$tart model is [still needed] … We don’t need to convince folks that it’s a good idea and a good thing anymore.

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PBN: Do you foresee any challenges for the coalition’s future?
HEDEMARK: I hope that the next wave of leadership and all the stakeholders and all those interested in financial literacy will continue to seek common ground and work together and speak with a unified voice and vision that respects all.

PBN: Has that been your experience?
HEDEMARK: In the beginning lots of folks would come together and it was easier to coordinate and work together. Now there’s so many more organizations and people interested in the area – which could be considered a good challenge because you simply have more folks looking into and acting on the issue. But the more folks you have, the less organization. •

INTERVIEW
Jim Hedemark
POSITION: Executive director of the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy
BACKGROUND: Prior to his role as Jump$tart’s executive director, Hedemark worked as a public affairs consultant, both independently and with Washington State-based King & Crowley Public Affairs. There, he served clients in the business, nonprofit and government sectors. Hedemark has also worked as a senior political campaign adviser at the state and federal levels, helping manage campaigns in Arizona, California and Washington State.
EDUCATION: B.A. in political science with an emphasis on public administration from Washington State University, 1995
FIRST JOB: Intern junior lobbyist with the Washington Health Care Association in Olympia, Wash.
RESIDENCE: Cheney, Wash. (Previously lived in Providence and Coventry)
AGE: 40

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