Denver, CO
Prima Consulting founder Shanna Weber has long been committed to helping underserved youth gain the financial knowledge she once needed herself. Her passion was on display in November as Weber returned to teach at the Ethnic College Counseling Center, Inc. (ECCC) Financial Freedom Workshop, a program designed to give African American students and families practical tools for wealth-building financial stability.
Weber, a strategic advisor and leadership expert with more than 20 years experience in the financial industry, served as a lead presenter for the workshop, which drew approximately 40 high school students and a separate group of parents for a combined five hours of hands-on training.
“The first step towards creating equity across financial wealth is knowledge,” Weber said. “I come from an underserved community, and I understand the barriers. My goal is to leverage my professional expertise and bring dynamic, engaging, and practical financial knowledge to students who may have no other access to this information.”
A Community Organization Expanding Its Mission
ECCC was founded in 1983 by Pensal and Dr. Christophe J. McCray – an educator with three degrees and an optometrist – to increase the number of African American students entering and graduating from college. More than 3,000 students have participated in its college readiness programs over four decades.
Their daughter, Talia McCray, a retired college professor and Fulbright Scholar, now leads ECCC as executive director and has overseen the nonprofit’s expansion to include financial literacy – a response to the continued racial wealth gap and the lack of accessible financial education for Black families.
“A lot of grandparents and great-aunts are raising these young people, and our organization offers the vital support system they may not have at home,” said McCray, who raises $100 per student from donors to fund investment accounts for program graduates. “I enjoy seeing the kids’ responses. They don’t understand compounded interest, but if you show them how that little $100 can grow as an investment, what we are doing is like giving them a million dollars because we are showing them how to make sacrifices and build wealth. We are working to ensure Black people stop being just consumers and start figuring out how to be smarter with their money.”
Since 2021, ECCC’s financial curriculum, which was developed in partnership with Charles Schwab using the Money Wise program, has served more than 200 students. In addition to the five-hour workshop, participants must complete training before and after the event – a total of nine hours – to start their investment accounts. ECCC is powered by volunteers and donations.
Inside the Workshop: From Budgeting to Investing
The November Financial Freedom Workshop covered fundamental wealth-building skills including:
- Budgeting and spending plans.
- Credit score development.
- Debt management.
- Investing basics, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs.
Weber has presented at the workshop roughly eight times since 2021, offering continuity as ECCC grows its financial education offerings.
Her instruction combines professional expertise with personal experience. During the session, Weber shared the list of lifetime financial goals, from graduation to retirement, she wrote at age 20 – goals she achieved by age 40 through consistent planning and disciplined execution.
“I show them the list of financial goals I wrote when I was 20 that I wanted to achieve by 65, and explain that I reached every one of them by age 40,” she said. “We are giving this generation a road map to financial security.”
With many teens turning to entrepreneurial work, Weber emphasized the importance of developing financial clarity early.
A Broader Record of Community Leadership
Weber’s involvement with ECCC is one part of her commitment to community advancement, and her dynamic presentation style engages audiences of all ages. As a development coordinator for Traillionaires Foundation she mentors and trains students in underserved communities with professional skills to build confidence and prepare for long-term career success. She volunteers with TechNation Careers leading training programs for refugee women on interview and employment readiness. Weber is also co-founder of the Denver chapter of Women in ETFs, a global nonprofit that supports and connects women in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry, growing the Denver chapter to more than 500 members since 2016.
Her work across these organizations underscores a consistent approach that combines compelling presentations, leadership development, and strategic execution for powerful social impact.
About Prima Consulting
Prima Consulting, founded by CEO Shanna Weber, helps leaders elevate their impact, strengthen their teams, and build thriving workplaces. With more than 20 years of executive leadership experience – including enterprise strategy work for an organization overseeing $8 trillion in assets – Weber provides strategic advisory, leadership coaching, and organizational alignment services for executives across industries.
To learn more visit https://swprima.com/.
About the Ethnic College Counseling Center, Inc. (ECCC)
Founded in 1983, ECCC is a Denver-based nonprofit dedicated to increasing college access and completion for African American youth. Today, the organization also delivers comprehensive financial literacy programs to equip students and families with the tools needed to build long-term financial stability and generational wealth.
To learn more, volunteer and donate, visit https://www.ethniccollegecounselingcenter.org/about-eccc
