Melanie Perry

With a background in Quantitative Economics, I started helping people create sustainable wealth in 1999, right out of college. What I noticed very early on was the disparity between the financial material companies provided and the amount of financial knowledge minorities had. Whenever I hosted seminars, the presentations were often not basic enough for people who didn’t already have a financial education. This opened a door for my passion to blossom. I started building up my skills to make complex financial concepts simple and relatable.

My enthusiasm to empower people to understand money and wealth led me into the public arena. I was a panelist on the Magic Johnson Foundation Leadership Conference Panel and a panel discussion hosted by the Black Women’s Association. I hosted my own radio show called Getting Your Financial House in Order and was a guest on other shows, including Inner Vision and Some of Us Are Brave on KPFK in Los Angeles. I was a regular on the Mother Love Show and a recurring guest on Living on Assignment with Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard. I also organized and led many seminars and workshops for professional organizations, churches, sororities, real estate firms, and women’s organizations across the United States.

And then the Great Recession of 2008 occurred, and I had something to say! Financial uncertainty is a huge challenge for everyone, so I authored All About the Benjamins: Helping People Create Wealth in the Midst of Financial Insanity. I also wrote a book for little ones titled Johnathan and Geneva: The Adventures of Zeallionaire Kids. I kept going and created a financial-based curriculum for a summer camp held at West Los Angeles College. (Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I taught it, too. It's virtual now.) I also developed a curriculum for young adults that was included in a pilot program on financial learning at Virginia Commonwealth University.

As a result of embracing and living out my life’s purpose, I have been honored to be recognized by many organizations locally and nationally. I’ve received a Community Ser from the Los Angeles Women’s Chapter of the NAACP and a Trail Blazer Award from the Women's Missionary Society of First AME Church Los Angeles, and I was Outstanding Women in Business by the National Council of Negro Women.

I am blessed and happy to let my life’s purpose drive me to financially empower and guide women, entrepreneurs, and youth to a path of financial liberation and freed generations.