Daisy Pinero and her sister Carmen Pinero-Benitez graduated through SSP as part of Cathedral High School’s Class of 1999 and Aquinas High School’s Class of 2000, respectively. The sisters are now leading successful careers and aim to mentor young women to explore opportunities and consider careers in finance and law.
A director of finance for the Yonkers-based Greyston Foundation, Daisy began asking herself, “how can I pay it forward?” She found the answer in teaching accounting and personal finance, understanding the need for students and families to “manage debt, build a budget and stick to it.”
She previously taught a course to high school students and saw the impact and importance and partnered up with SSP to launch a series for its students and families.
The first event in the Financial Literacy Series took place on February 15 and focused on personal budgeting. Daisy kicked off the session by highlighting the benefits of financial planning: control, reaching financial goals, and financial freedom. The session included budgeting and planning, emphasizing the importance of saving, and helpful notes such as: “If you don’t have a plan, you plan to fail” and “Money in should always equal money out.” Daisy even had SSP students and families run through examples of needs versus wants to practice the theory she presented.
Daisy was a Cohen fellow at Columbia University and became certified in teaching accounting and personal finance, saying, “. . . the only way to get families out of that poverty cycle is to teach them the tools they need to build wealth rather than to basically live in debt . . . that seems to be the cycle that a lot of our communities are stuck in . . .” Down the line, Daisy hopes that legislation changes surrounding financial literacy, making it a requirement for high school graduation.
She is excited to continue working with SSP saying, “it is perfect to work with the organization that actually helped me.” We’re proud of our alumnae, how they pay it forward, and how their kindness ripples across New York City communities.
