Westchester Community College, State University of New York

Center for Financial and Economic Education

Our Mission

The Center for Financial and Economic Education is a component of the Gateway Center, dedicated to providing an array of financial education programs to the campus and to residents of Westchester County.

Reinforcing the mission of the Gateway Center, the CFEE seeks to promote economic advancement for our students, and particularly our immigrant population, through programs that build important skills around money management and financial decision making.

The CFEE offers a comprehensive platform for financial learning by offering classes, workshops, and other resources with an objective of fostering financial empowerment within our community.

Through the CFEE initiatives, we aspire to foster best practices in financial education and to develop training methodologies for community college students. As part of our mission, the CFEE actively advocates for financial learning in Westchester County and provides a forum for exchange of ideas and thought leadership in financial and economic education.

The Center for Financial Economic Education is generously funded by a grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

• Programs
• Money Smart Forum-Financial Coaching
• CashCourse – Your Real Money Guide
• Links to Other Financial Education Resources
• News
• Contact Us

Program Director

Suzanne Matthews, is the Director of the Center for Financial and Economic Education

Prior to joining Westchester Community College, Ms. Matthews was founder and principal of Finance in Focus, a consulting practice providing financial literacy training and education to businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities. Her professional background includes over 25 years in the financial services industry, working in corporate finance and investment banking at Bank of America and HSBC Securities.

As a financial education consultant, she coordinated programs for both private sector and public sector organizations, including the Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection and the YWCA of the City of New York. She is a frequent speaker on personal finance topics and has participated in educational programs at the New York Public Library and the Museum of American Finance. Her educational background includes a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. in finance from Columbia University.  Contact Suzanne Matthews: Suzanne.matthews@sunywcc.edu.

Tools to Help Manage Your Money

One of the new financial tools offered by the CFEE is CashCourse®, an online resource accessed through the college web site. CashCourse provides students and others in the community with information and strategies to better manage their financial lives. CashCourse can be found at: www.cashcourse.org

CashCourse is a quick and user-friendly way to get information about everyday money issues that most students face in these challenging economic times: stretching dollars, managing credit cards, repaying student loans, and saving for future emergencies.

The site offers an array of tips and tools on basic financial topics and also includes instruction on use of various online financial calculators