St. Pete is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, world-class food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere, but the people of St. Pete truly make this city something special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench Monthly shines a light on one of the many people who make St. Pete unique. This month’s spotlight illuminates the founder and CEO of Kidzonomics® LLC, Sheena Qualles-De Freece.
Retiring to Paradise
After decades of vacationing in the area, Qualles-De Freece and her husband decided in 2015 to relocate from New Jersey to our Sunshine City “paradise.” Having recently retired, she was ready to leave behind the snow and maybe slow down a bit. After earning dual degrees in economics and political science from Rutgers University, she spent more than two decades working in managerial positions at a variety of financial institutions, primarily in debt collection and commercial-asset recovery. Then in 1998, a service project as a Scholar Ready mentor ignited her love for teaching. She left her financial career, earned a graduate degree in education, and spent the next 13-plus years teaching middle-school reading, history, and language arts. After two successful careers, she had definitely earned a respite, but it turns out that Qualles-De Freece is not the retiring type. She viewed her new stage in life as giving her the freedom to pursue her passions. Kidzonomics® comes from that mind-set.
What’s Kidzonomics®?
Kidzonomics® is a small business with a big mission: “Cultivate the minds of our youth with financial literacy tools and concepts that will enhance their financial acumen.” During her years in the financial industry, Qualles-De Freece witnessed “people perpetuating their situation” because they didn’t have the understanding or skill to manage their own finances. Her time in the classroom had demonstrated that if a child could be taught to appreciate and understand an important concept, it stuck with them into adulthood. So she combined her knowledge of finance and teaching to launch a program designed to help kids gain the critical-thinking skills they need to make smart money decisions. As Qualles-De Freece explains, as soon as children put their hands out, they are old enough to learn financial skills.
“Planting the Seeds for Financial Freedom”
Simply put, Qualles-De Freece aims to teach youngsters about money so that they can grow into financially savvy adults. That does not mean there is a one-size-fits-all approach. Her workshops are age-appropriate, hands-on, fun-filled interactive sessions. Participants may create a savings bank out of a water container, observe the power of exponential growth, or map out a household budget. They might learn how to use an automated teller machine, compare prices at the grocery store, or calculate how many hours they (or their parents) have to work to earn the money to buy new sneakers. Qualles-De Freece calls one of her most exciting projects “sweet-potato economics.” Through gardening, youngsters are “Planting the Seeds for Financial Freedom.” In an extended workshop, Kidzonomics® introduces children to a wide variety of subjects, including ways to combat food insecurity by growing fruits and vegetables, how to be good stewards of the Earth, and how market fluctuations and extreme weather can affect the prices of fresh food. In all her workshops, students with a greater understanding of how money works.
The Future of Kidzonomics®
Qualles-De Freece believes that teaching kids financial literacy, especially in marginalized communities, is the beginning of eradicating poverty. She plans to expand her workshops, implement a financial story hour, and finish creating a series of financial literacy eBooks.
Find out more about Qualles-De Freece and Kidzonomics® at www.facebook.com/Kidzonomics. Contact her at (201) 207-3507 or [email protected]
