Feature Interview: Shannon (Shay) Balan | UC Berkeley

Executive Director at Financial Literacy and Economic Justice Conference (FLEJCON)

This week, we interviewed Shannon (Shay) Balan, Executive Director at Financial Literacy and Economic Justice Conference. She told us about FLEJCON’s mission to alleviate financial stress on students at Cal and how FLEJCON actively tries to provide and connect students with people and financial resources through attending workshops and conferences hosted by this organization. Shay further elaborates on how this community gives back to Cal students and why she was compelled to join and give back too after her personal experiences. To learn more her experiences at FLEJCON, read the whole interview here.

Organization

FLEJCON — Financial Literacy and Economic Justice Conference

Name and Position in Organization

Shannon (Shay) Balan — Executive Director

💡 What is the FLEJCON’s purpose/mission?

As the leading student organization at UC Berkeley within the financial education and economic justice space, FLEJCON’s primary goal is to alleviate the acute financial stress that students and other community members face. By connecting people with inclusive and accessible financial education resources, we hope to provide the public with the knowledge and tools they need to establish a sense of control over their financial life. Our vision is that over time, grounded practice and implementation of these tools and knowledge will allow students to reach a state of financial freedom in which people have a healthy and restorative relationship with money.

Beyond financial education, FLEJCON also seeks to shed light on economic issues both past and present, allowing the public to cultivate a fundamental understanding of how historical and current policies influence their lives. We strive to enable economic empowerment within marginalized communities, dismantling harmful narratives about money, social status, and individual character while increasing visibility of those ignored and neglected by traditional and mainstream institutions.

💡 What does FLEJCON offer Berkeley students and/or the Berkeley community?

Our primary offering takes form in our annual conference, where students are invited to spend a day dedicated to learning about personal finance management. We host around 100–200 community members attending each year, with the conference typically taking place between mid-February to early April.

At the conference, students have the opportunity to attend a series of workshops hosted by longtime personal finance professionals, who we bring in from all over the country. Our previous speaker lineup has included the likes of Betty Yee, the California State Controller, and Dan Solin, the New York Times bestselling author of the “Smartest” series of investing literature. At the conference, students have the opportunity to network with these professionals and receive advice on their personal finances, learn about how pressing issues in economic policy affect them, and strategize with their peers about implementing what they’ve learned about money management into their daily lives.

💡 Why did you decide to join FLEJCON?

I was at a really strange, confusing point in my life. Of course, when you’re a teenager on the edge of adulthood, everything is confusing! But I want to take this opportunity to speak truth to power so in the spirit of transparent and honest leadership, here’s my story:

When you’re 18 years old, you think you have all the time in the world to figure out what you want to make of your life, who you want to be, and how you want to leave your mark on the world. For most young people, these types of questions may barely cross their mind.

But the cold hard truth is that your life could evaporate in the blink of an eye. Prior to joining FLEJCON, I was recovering from a bad car accident that took place near the end of my freshman year. Although my physical injuries had healed relatively quickly, my spirit was heavily wounded. My near-death experience was a slap to the face, and it moved me to think long and hard about my identity and the kind of person I want to be. How would I have been remembered if I didn’t make it? What impact would I have had on others? What kind of legacy would I have left behind?

I had no answers to these questions because I had never given much thought or time to them before. I had never cared much about these questions before, because I didn’t think that I needed to, so I was lost for a long time.

Passion, purpose, and human connection became my saving grace, and I found these things through FLEJCON. Today I stand tall and proud as a leader, a teacher, and an advocate for those our mission serves. Through the inspiring dedication of FLEJCON’s previous leadership, the gracious companionship I found in my team, and the moving testimonies of those who attended our conference last spring, I can say without a doubt that being a part of FLEJCON has totally transformed my life. Today, I am healed, I am grounded, and I am humbled to have the chance to return this gift to the rest of the Berkeley community.

💡What kind of work do you do in FLEJCON?

My technical role as the Executive Director of FLEJCON entails overseeing the entirety of our organization’s operations, marketing, outreach, finance, and peer education initiatives. Part of my responsibilities also includes identifying areas for improvement, strategizing organization-wide campaigns to meet our collective goals, brokering relationships between our organization and our partners, and envisioning a blueprint for the collective growth of our club.

That’s the managerial aspect of my job. In my role as a leader, my personal mission is to leave this organization better than I found it. That means investing time in cultivating a close-knit team culture, strengthening the foundation of our operations and outreach, embedding strong, mission-oriented values in our members, encouraging creative freedom within team projects, and nurturing the development of our next cohort of leaders.

💡 What are the most important lessons or experiences you’ve gained from your work with FLEJCON?

I’ve learned a lot during my time at FLEJCON, but here are three major highlights:

• We stand on the shoulders of giants.

In the realm of public service, it’s important that we acknowledge the contributions of the leaders before us, and that means deferring to the collective wisdom of the communities we work in. Despite our good intentions, it’s easy for Berkeley students to get carried away with the idea that our education and skills make us uniquely endowed to transform the lives within the communities we work with.

It’s important that we remember that while these communities might have vulnerable or underserved populations, they are not helpless. Rather than imposing our own values and problem-solving frameworks, we should celebrate the creativity and innovation of community-based solutions.

• “You need to show up, even when it’s hard, even when you don’t want to. That’s your job as a leader.”

Last year, as FLEJCON’s Board of Directors transitioned to its new leadership, our then-ED, Monica, offered these humbling words of wisdom. When you’re leading an organization with as many stakeholders as FLEJCON, it’s important to understand what you’re signing up for: You need to follow through on your responsibilities, because other people are depending on you to move forward. You need to hold true to your word, because your influence will only reach as far as your integrity. You need to commit to the work of caring, because empathy and compassion are not just character traits, but skills that leaders must actively practice, develop, and refine.

• Lead with love, but remember to set boundaries.

Call people “in” to difficult conversations, rather than calling them “out.” Not everyone comes from the same place of experience or understanding, so take the time to talk through any misunderstandings, disagreements, or conflicts!

💡 What kind of impact has FLEJCON created thus far, and what are your goals for FLEJCON’s continued and future impact?

We’ve successfully hosted over 600 community members in total at our annual conference, reached over 45,000 unique profiles on our social media pages, and established ongoing partnerships with over 11 key organizations at UC Berkeley.

We’re currently working on fostering relationships with other student organizations on campus, with a focus on advocacy-oriented clubs representing historically underrepresented groups. We’re also collaborating with another financial literacy organization to establish monthly financial literacy workshops and compile an educational resource directory! Another initiative we’re working on is conducting outreach to community members and organizations beyond the Berkeley campus — — establishing an experimental Peer Education team is a huge step in that direction, and I’m really excited about that.

All in all, my team wants the community to know that we are motivated, we are empathetic, and we are ready to do the work of caring. To all those who are reading this, know that there are people out there who care about you, who see what you’re going through, and who are working to make things a little bit better.

💡 Anything else to add?

I’d like to take the opportunity to acknowledge my team members, whose extraordinary talent, commitment, and support inspires me every day. Thank you to my Board of Directors: Malik Diaw, Jordan Jang, Julia Jin, Brandy Hoang, Yi-Wen Wang, Utsav Kapoor, and Joyce Cam for seeing this year through with me. And thank you to the rest of the 2019–2020 FLEJCON team for being so giving with your time, effort, and presence!

Learn more about FLEJCON:

• Website: www.berkeleyflejcon.org
• Newsletter: http://www.berkeleyflejcon.org/join-our-mailing-list
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flejcon/
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/flejcon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtUi32Ps7RSDHFoR4I6Tjmg
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flejcon/

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