About City Pay It Forward

About Us

Our independent and mostly self-funded UK registered charity has a clear and singular mission:

To make an impact in our community by teaching the next generation the basics in financial literacy

“paying it forward”

About Us

What We Do

We are a grassroots organisation made up of volunteers seeking to make a positive impact on our communities. We are finance professionals and educators that have come together to collaborate with schools to teach children the basics in financial literacy including savings, budgeting, borrowing and investing.

Most of us are also parents and we are all passionate about the importance of teaching young people financial literacy life skills and providing them with the grounding necessary to make educated decisions. We produce top quality educational materials which are available free of charge.

Our primary school materials revolve around our Year 6 Financial Literacy curriculum, which will be delivered to every primary school in the UK. Our financial literacy materials for secondary schools focus on enterprise and investing and include investment competitions, with work experience for the winning teams.

We appreciate your interest in our work and value your support.

City Pay it Forward

By the Numbers

Established In

2016

Students Used Our Materials

20,000+ (UK)

28,000+ (US)

Work Experience Provided

100

Schools in the UK Received Our Year 6 Textbooks

21,000

Students Participating in Our Investment Competitions

3,000

Attendees at Our
Career Days

500 Special Educational Advisers

Steve Adcock

Educational Adviser

Steve Adcock

Educational Adviser

Steve was part of the opening cohort of Teach First in 2003. He then spent 12 years working in large London secondary schools, including two senior leadership roles. During this time he co-wrote a book on running schools - Headstrong: 11 Lessons in School Leadership. In 2015 Steve joined United Learning where he is Deputy Director of Secondary Academies. Steve has led the introduction of a shared curriculum in United Learning’s 50+ secondary schools. This curriculum covers most secondary subjects and includes lesson-by-lesson resources for pupils and teachers. Steve has a Masters in Education Management from Kings College London and is especially interested in sustainable school improvement. Beyond the day job, Steve enjoys running and reading, and occasionally updating his blog: https://steveadcock81.wordpress.com/.

Ben Antell

Educational Adviser

Ben Antell

Educational Adviser

Ben currently works as a Regional Director in United Learning. Before taking up this post, Ben worked for two years as an Executive Principal in United Learning, supporting schools in Bournemouth, Poole, London, Manchester, Portsmouth and Kettering. Previous to taking up this post, Ben was Head Teacher at Glenmoor and Winton Academies in Bournemouth. These two schools have become two of the highest performing schools in the country and subsequently judged outstanding by Ofsted in 2018/19. Ben has been involved in the City Pay It Forward initiative for three years and believes strongly in the vital importance financial literacy now plays in all young people’s lives. Being able to budget, plan and understand the importance of effective financial management is crucial for everyone. With money now available at young people’s finger tips and at the touch of a button there can be no better time to educate them about financial literacy.

Dr. Mary Avalos

Educational Adviser

Dr. Mary Avalos

Educational Adviser

Mary A. Avalos is a Research Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Her research interests include teacher development and professionalism and literacy/language development for multilingual learners using Systemic Functional Linguistics as a tool for language teaching. She has worked with teachers to develop interventions that provide explicit instruction for academic language, or the language of schooling, in reading/language arts, mathematics, and social studies.

Wendy Challen

Educational Adviser

Wendy Challen

Educational Adviser

Wendy has been involved in primary education for almost forty years. She has been a Head Teacher at a London-based primary school for over 25 years. She now works with schools on developing best practices, particularly in SEN education and is a governor of a primary school as well as two prep schools in Sussex and Cambridge. Her interest in financial literacy developed over the years while teaching mathematics. Wendy observed how children who did not always connect or understand the concept of numbers would light up when she introduced the subject of money and its relevance to essential everyday life. Children who had initially struggled to understand fundamental maths basics realised the importance and fun they could have spending their pocket money. Having their eyes opened to real life finance and the opportunity to acquire life skills in financial awareness is a tool forever. A skill for life!

Avis Hawkins

Educational Adviser

Avis Hawkins

Educational Adviser

Avis Hawkins is the Head Teacher of Christ Church and Holy Trinity school in London, which was ranked by The Times Schools Guide 2019 as the UK’s number one state primary school. Avis is a passionate educationalist who has worked in teaching for over 26 years and is a strong advocate for a holistic model of teaching that inspires children to love both learning and life. Her school offers a broad, enriching curriculum, with an emphasis wherever possible on cross curricular education. Maths and financial literacy is one such crucial, core area where real life learning can be applied to classroom teaching. Introducing everyday concepts of personal finance at an early age equips children to make more informed decisions and these concepts can also be integrated into a variety of other subjects, including maths, history, geography, science and the arts.

Dr. Laura Kohn-Wood

Educational Adviser

Dr. Laura Kohn-Wood

Educational Adviser

Dr. Kohn-Wood is currently a Professor and Dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Miami. Dr. Kohn-Wood previously served as chair of the Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, the founding program director of the Master’s in Community & Social Change program and, with colleagues, developed the Ph.D. Program in Community Well-Being at the University of Miami. She also previously held the title of Associate Vice Provost for the Office of Institutional Culture, served as the Senior Resident Faculty of Pearson Residential College and was the Inaugural co-Chair of the University’s Standing Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Kohn-Wood received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with a specialization in Community Psychology, from the University of Virginia in 1996 and completed an internship at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Kohn-Wood’s research program Race, Ethnicity, Culture and Promotion of Strengths (RECAPS) focuses on race, ethnicity, and culture in relation to the experience of psychological phenomena among diverse populations, with an emphasis on race-based protective factors and the promotion of positive coping and mental health among African Americans.

Georgina Webb

Educational Adviser

Georgina Webb

Educational Adviser

George has been a primary education practitioner for almost 35 years. She has been a Deputy Head Teacher in inner London primary schools for over 27 years. She now works and lives in Cambridge developing and supporting best practices within a Cambridge primary school Inclusion Team. Alongside, this she works for a charity supporting both primary and secondary school communities with mental health and wellbeing. She has been developing workshops and CPD for children, parents and staff on the significant periods of educational life e.g. the move from primary to secondary school. George believes schools should give pupils creativity, confidence and celebration of achievement for life. She has seen at a grassroot level the interest, excitement and understanding the City Pay it Forward curriculum has given children. At a primary age level, it is the first time she has seen the children have a very clear understanding of financial responsibility and control. Not only did it give pupils confidence, but it gave the teachers the confidence to teach the subject. She watched ‘the penny drop’.

Trustees

Quentin Nason

Founder And Trustee

Quentin Nason

Founder And Trustee

Quentin is the Founder of City Pay it Forward and a volunteer. Quentin has worked in the finance field for over 25 years. Quentin enjoys working in the local community especially when it comes to collaborating with schools and teaching children the basics of financial literacy through his charity City Pay it Forward. His passion for financial literacy education came as a result of teaching his own children the importance of being informed and careful when making financial decisions. As a Vice Chair of Governors at a local school, Quentin has had the opportunity to work and mentor year 6 students, especially in mathematics. Quentin is also very active in his community and is always looking for ways to make a tangible impact on the next generation.

Scott Eaton

Trustee

Scott Eaton

Trustee

While currently the CEO of a small financial technology company, Scott is really a frustrated academic at heart with a substantial running habit! A lawyer by training, he has had a thirty year career across a number of roles in finance and is committed to making sure that all young people have the benefit of understanding the basics of finance. He has four children, so understands the challenge of teaching budgeting to young people.

Vincent De Lorenzo

Trustee

Vincent De Lorenzo

Trustee

Vincent De Lorenzo has over twenty five years experience in the financial markets as a foreign exchange and bond trader, working in New York and London for various international firms. Vincent has a long and abiding interest in financial literacy for young people, beginning at home with his own children and has been giving financial literacy presentations in schools for over ten years. He has acted as a formal and informal mentor to dozens of people in his field and is an active member of his local church.

Marileen Koppenberg

Trustee

Marileen Koppenberg

Trustee

Marileen worked in financial services for seventeen years before taking a career break to look after her children. Marileen has been a volunteer for City Pay it Forward for three years and given numerous financial literacy presentations to local schools. With teenage children, she understands the importance of teaching financial literacy from a young age. She strongly believes in giving back to the wider community and to supporting young people through skills training and experience. She has been involved in a number of school related charities and is a mentor for teenage girls through The Girls Network and an ambassador for Relaunch London (part of LinkUp).

Valerie Laing

Trustee

Valerie Laing

Trustee

After a ten year career in finance, Valerie transferred to the non-for-profit sector where she has gained operational and governance experience in a range of large, small and start up charities. She is currently a Development consultant working with a range of charities on strategy and fundraising projects. Through her work and as a mother to two teenage boys, she sees first hand the challenges young people of all the ages face in the ever changing digital world and believes that instilling a sound foundation of financial literacy is key for very young person. She is Governor of primary school near her home in Oxfordshire.

Paul Mehta

Trustee

Paul Mehta

Trustee

Paul has worked in financial services for over 25 years and has been a volunteer for City Pay it Forward with a particular focus on delivering the financial literacy message as widely as possible. He strongly believes in community led initiatives and to supporting a diverse set of young people in financial literacy through guidance, skills training and available resources. He passionately sees what an effect this education has had through his own young children and has been involved in several community charities like City Hive and is a Governor of Finton House School in London.

Melanie Saluja

Trustee

Melanie Saluja

Trustee

Melanie has been working in finance for over nineteen years and has been involved with City Pay it Forward since its inception. She has found it incredibly rewarding presenting financial literacy information to many young people across different age groups and from many different walks of life, to help them understand the importance of good financial skills as a key life skill from a young age. Through her own young children, she gets involved in a variety of voluntary activities which includes working with and teaching young people and is a member of various other not-for-profit committees.

Marco Schwartz

Trustee

Marco Schwartz

Trustee

Marco has worked in finance for over twenty years and has spent many years helping companies to raise capital to grow their business. He has seen the financial industry go through various seismic events and as the father of young children, is very conscious of the influence of banking and money and how it will affect their lives. He has worked with City Pay it Forward since its inception and has seen first-hand the importance of financial literacy for children. His is struck by just how many young people don’t trust banks as institutions, something that was very different for his generation. Changing perceptions and ensuring that young people are equipped to manage their financial lives is one of his key challenges.

About Us