Tracy Frizzell
Executive Director
Tracy Frizzell is the Executive Director of the Economic Awareness Council (EAC). The EAC is an Illinois non-profit organization that provides statewide financial education programs with attendance of over 20,000 individuals in typical years. The EAC also produces financial education materials that reach an additional 18,000 individuals each year.
Frizzell chairs the Young Illinois Saves coalition which includes over 50 Illinois organizations committed to increasing youth saving and financial literacy. Through Saves, over 57,000 youth across IL have made a pledge to save monthly, with total pledges amounting to over $10,000,000 annually. The EAC also helped launch Saves programs at all University of Illinois campuses. The EAC leads the One Summer Chicago Banking Coalition and was recently selected to lead Bank On Chicago. Through these initiatives, over 25,000 youth have received their pay through banking & direct deposit. Frizzell serves on the Bank On Illinois Committee and has previously served on the Illinois Jumpstart Financial Education Board and the Illinois State Board of Saving Institutions. Frizzell has also served on the America Saves Advisory Committee, the Bank On Chicago Steering Committee, the Chicago Public Schools Financial Education Partner Committee, the Chicago FACED (Financial Capability for Individuals with Disabilities) Committee, and the Army One Source Financial Literacy Commission (representing IL).
Under Frizzell’s guidance, the EAC has also led a statewide financial capability initiative for youth in care in partnership with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) since 2014. This initiative has provided training to over 500 DCFS or DCFS affiliate staff who work with youth in care. Through this initiative, over 1,800 youth in the care of DCFS have successfully completed this 8-12 hour curriculum. The EAC has also provided online financial education content and consultation to youth initiatives in New Jersey, Texas, Alabama and Wisconsin. Over 2,000 youth in NJ, TX and WI have utilized EAC online financial education resources.
Under Ms. Frizzell’s leadership, the EAC’s work has been highlighted in research in the journal Child Welfare, in the national Jumpstart Financial Education Coalition’s quarterly journal, in reports from the CFE Fund, and in a special report from CFED and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The EAC has also been featured in a round table forum on Youth Employment and Financial Capability with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Washington DC, a round table for the CFPB, RTI and the Administration of Children and Families, in a national webinar with the Department of Labor and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and through a visit from the President’s Advisory Council for Financial Capability.
Ms. Frizzell has provided financial education programs to thousands of youth and families, primarily in low-income communities, and has presented at numerous state and regional financial education training conferences including the National Association for Workforce Development Conference, Illinois Asset Building Group’s Illinois Annual Conference, the University of Illinois at Chicago Financial Literacy Conference, Champaign County Financial Literacy Summit, American Saver Education Council/Consumer Federation of America National Saving Forum, Association for Financial Counseling Planning and Education Conference, and National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Conference. Frizzell and the EAC have been featured in numerous local media including: the Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, CBS news, WGN news, Fox news, ABC news, Chicago Parent Magazine, Hinsdale Living and more and was selected as one of the ‘Best Under 40’ awards for Suburban Life news.