Editorial Policy and Standards

Gina Pogol writes about mortgages and personal finance for several national publications. Pogol is a licensed Nevada mortgage lender (#963502) with more than 20 years of experience. Gina is a well-rounded business professional with experience as an estate planning and bankruptcy paralegal, a systems consultant for Experian and a tax accountant with Deloitte. She loves teaching and empowering consumers.

Joe Cortez is a freelance journalist who covers personal finance topics, including mortgages, credit card rewards, and investing. He has previously written for USA Today, Business Insider, NextAdvisor, and Fodor’s Travel Guide.

Katy McWhirter is a certified marketer and a personal finance writer at MoneyGeek, covering nonprofit management, marketing, personal finance and education. Her works have been featured in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and other foreign publications. McWhirter holds a master’s degree in modern history from the University of York and a bachelor’s degree in social entrepreneurship from Belmont University. She earned her professional certificate in Marketing from The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Danielle Kiser is an Emmy Award-winning producer and a professional journalist with over 15 years of experience. She writes finance content for MoneyGeek, sharing her knowledge of state regulations, insurance and real estate. Kiser earned her broadcast journalism degree from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism.

Karon Warren is a finance journalist at MoneyGeek and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. She has over two decades of experience covering personal finance, health insurance, home insurance, car insurance, mortgages and banking. Warren earned her journalism degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. She creates in-depth, well-researched finance content that educates people and helps them make informed financial decisions.

Rachael Brennan is a licensed insurance agent with over a decade of experience in the industry. She holds a property and casualty (P&C) license across all 50 states and a life, health, and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) license in New York and surrounding states. She writes personal finance and insurance content for MoneyGeek, specializing in property, casualty, health, life and accidental death and disability insurance. Brennan earned her Bachelor of Science in Communications from Texas A&M University-Commerce. As a writer, she uses her insurance and personal finance experience to share practical knowledge and help people make informed financial decisions.

Deb Gordon, the co-founder and CEO of Umbra Health Advocacy, has held executive roles in health insurance and health care technology services. She authored a book titled “The Health Care Consumer’s Manifesto,” based on her research as a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. Her works have been published on JAMA Network Open, Harvard Business Review blog, USA Today and RealClear Politics, among others. Gordon is an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow and an Eisenhower Fellow. She was a 2011 Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree and a volunteer at MIT’s Delta V start-up accelerator, the Fierce Healthcare Innovation Awards. She earned her bioethics degree from Brown University and her MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Ingrid Cruz is a freelance writer based in Mississippi. She enjoys coffee, hiking and cats.

Geoff Williams has been a professional writer for over three decades and a personal finance journalist for over 15 years. He contributes financial content to MoneyGeek, with expertise in personal finance, real estate, entrepreneurship, credit cards and loans. He has been writing for various publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and CNNMoney. He also authored several books, including “Living Well with Bad Credit.” Williams earned his creative writing degree from Indiana University Bloomington.

Mandy Sleight is a licensed property, casualty, life and health insurance agent with 20 years of experience in the industry. She has worked for major insurance companies like State Farm and Nationwide, and most recently as the Operations Coordinator for a startup employee benefits company. Sleight holds a business administration and management degree from the University of Baltimore and a master's in business administration from Southern New Hampshire University. She uses her vast knowledge of insurance and personal finance to create easy-to-understand and engaging content to help readers make smarter choices with their budgets and finances.

Margaret Wack, a contributing journalist at MoneyGeek, is an award-winning poet with over six years of editorial experience in digital publications. She writes about insurance, saving, investing and banking, with bylines on Money Under 30 and Bankrate. Wack earned her Bachelor of Arts in Classics, Comparative Literature and Poetry from Smith College and her Master of Arts from St. John's College.

Stacey Bumpus, a freelance writer from St. Louis, Missouri, spent time working in corporate communications before embarking on an independent writing journey. She now has more than a decade of experience creating online content in personal finance, education, career development and entertainment. Her personal finance work has covered topics ranging from budgeting and retirement to bank accounts and insurance. Stacey earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication & Journalism from Truman State University and Master of Arts in Communication from Saint Louis University. She uses her background in communication and years of experience creating personal finance content to help people gain confidence in their ability to effectively budget and manage their money.

Erin C. Perkins is a finance writer at MoneyGeek, with 15 years of experience in the media industry. She has covered topics about money, including banking, insurance and budgeting for several publications over the years. Perkins has a master's degree in magazine journalism from Kent State University and a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Winston-Salem State University.

Paul Sheard is a veteran central bank watcher and markets economist, who has written and spoken widely on QE and unconventional monetary policies. He most recently was Vice Chairman of S&P Global, after serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Economist and earlier Executive Managing Director and Chief Economist of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. Previously, he held chief economist positions at Nomura Securities and at Lehman Brothers and was Head of Japan Equity Investments at Baring Asset Management. Earlier, Sheard was Lecturer in Economics at the Australian National University (ANU) and Osaka Gas International Cooperation Associate Professor of Economics at Osaka University, and was Visiting Scholar and Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at Stanford University and Foreign Visiting Scholar at the Bank of Japan. Sheard is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the New Economic Agenda and was a member of the WEF’s Global Agenda Council on the International Monetary System (2010–2012). He served on committees of the Japanese Government’s Economic Deliberation Council, as an appointee of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto (1997–98) and as an appointee of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (1998-1999), and was a member of the oversight board of the Japanese Government’s Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (2001-2006). From 2003 to 2010, he was a non-executive director of ORIX Corporation. In 2006, Sheard was recognized by Advance as one of a 100 Leading Global Australians. Sheard is on the board of the Foreign Policy Association and is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Economic Club of New York. He speaks regularly at conferences around the world, and his views on the global economy and policy issues are frequently cited in the international press. Author or editor of four books and numerous academic articles, Sheard’s 1997 book in Japanese, Mein Banku Shihon Shugi no Kiki: Biggu Ban de Kawaru Nihongata Keiei (The Crisis of Main Bank Capitalism: How Japanese-style Management Will Change with “Big Bang”), won the Suntory-Gakugei Prize in the Economics–Politics Division. Sheard received a BA (Hons) from Monash University and a Master of Economics and PhD in Japanese Economy from the ANU.

Karen Gordon Mills is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School and a leading authority on U.S. competitiveness, entrepreneurship and innovation. She served in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2009 to 2013, and was a member of the President’s National Economic Council. She is an expert on the economic health and well-being of the nation’s small businesses. <strong>Awards, Recognition or Accolades</strong> U.S. Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award; HBS Alumni Achievement Award

Kalinda Ukanwa is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Southern California. A quantitative modeler, Professor Ukanwa researches how algorithmic bias, algorithmic decision-making, and consumer reputations impact firms. She is the winner of the 2018 Eli Jones Promising Young Scholar Award and a finalist for the 2018 INFORMS Service Science Best Student Paper Award, 2019 Howard/AMA Doctoral Dissertation Award, and the 2020 AMS Mary Kay Doctoral Dissertation Award. In a prior life, Professor Ukanwa was an industrial engineer, financial analyst, and finance executive at Walt Disney, Citigroup, Viacom, and Kaplan.

Dr. Thornlow is an advanced practice nurse with over 30 years of experience in health care. She has held numerous leadership positions throughout her career, including director of quality operations at The George Washington University Hospital and gerontology project director for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Dr. Thornlow is an associate professor at the Duke University School of Nursing and a senior fellow in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development.

<p>"Professor Ma’s teaching and research focus on organizational and service behavior and improvement in hotels and restaurants. An associate professor, her recent research has explored altruistic and self-centered motivations of hotel employees, notably those who go above and beyond what’s expected in their roles. She believes altruistic behavior can significantly improve performance with customers and teamwork among fellow employees. Her research has also analyzed possible implications for travelers and stakeholders of China’s 2013 Tourism Law, which regulates malpractice in the tourism industry.</p> <p>Professor Ma’s Ph.D. dissertation examined cross-cultural differences among hotel employees’ organizational citizenship behavior, i.e., their voluntary initiatives that go beyond an organization’s enforceable job requirements and job descriptions.</p> <p>Professor Ma joined Isenberg’s HTM department last spring. Before that, she was on the faculty of Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. She received her Ph.D. degree in hospitality management from Oklahoma State University in 2010. Her M.S. degree in hospitality and tourism management is from HK Polytechnic University, and her B.A. degree in tourism management is from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.</p>

Laura Adams is a finance expert, award-winning author and consumer advocate. She works to make sure consumers protect their futures by getting the right online education. Laura is frequently quoted in the national media and has been featured on most major news outlets including NBC, CBS, ABC FOX, Bloomberg, NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Money, Time, Kiplinger’s, USA Today, U.S News, Huffington Post, Marketplace, Forbes, Fortune, Consumer Reports, MSN, and many other radio, print, and online publications. Laura's book "Money Girl's Smart Moves to Grow Rich" won the prestigious EIFLE (Excellence in Financial Literacy Education) award. Laura received an MBA from the University of Florida. She lives in Vero Beach, Florida with her husband. Please visit LauraDAdams.com to learn more and connect with her.

Zach Shefska is founder and CEO at Your Auto Advocate, a car buyer's resource to make buying and owning a car better, for everyone. Outside of the office, you'll find Zach behind either a pottery wheel or flight controls of a Piper PA-28 airplane.

Born and raised by Dominican, immigrant parents in Brooklyn, Yanely is a proud product of NYC public schools. As a Teach For America corps member, Yanely taught third and fourth grade in Canarsie, Brooklyn. She received her master's degree from Relay Graduate School of Education in 2013. She spends her spare time making YouTube videos about personal finance on her channel, MissBeHelpful. Yanely also serves as the Director of Educational Outreach at Next Gen Personal Finance.