ABOUT US
Dedicated to making financial knowledge accessible to all
The Kindros Foundation is a non-profit public charity. Our mission is to provide individuals and organizations with a source of unbiased financial knowledge.
WHY WE EXIST
Building the most trusted source of financial knowledge
Our promise
We promise to provide people with a safe place to learn how to make good financial decisions and take control of their financial lives. We do not sell financial products, advertising, or user data and never will.
Guided by our core values of trust, simplicity, and impact
TRUST
We believe in being honest and transparent in all our relationships.
SIMPLICITY
We believe that simplicity helps people learn and gain confidence.
IMPACT
We believe in helping people build financial skills to last a lifetime.
THE KINDROS FOUNDATION TEAM
Run by talented individuals committed to our mission
Our team includes people who work full time, part-time, and freelance. And we have a growing community of advisors, college interns, mentors, volunteers, researchers, teachers, and administrators. We believe our flexible and open approach to building the Kindros Foundation creates the most trusted, accessible, and resilient organization.
TEAM MEMBERS
Jennifer Bethel, PhD
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Jennifer Bethel is a Professor Emerita of Finance at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Dr. Bethel served on the faculties of Harvard Business School, New York University, and Babson College. She has presented her research at numerous professional conferences and published her work in both academic and practitioner journals. Jennifer also co-founded the Babson Financial Literacy Project, a not-for-profit initiative designed to help educate young adults to manage their money. She served as the Chief Economist for the Division of Corporation Finance at the SEC and later consulted to its Division of Economics and Risk Analysis. Dr. Bethel received her BBA from the University of Texas and a MA in Economics and PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles.
David Janey
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David Janey is a recently retired higher education administrator. He spent most of his career in financial aid as the Associate Director for Financial Assistance at Boston University and prior to 1991 as the Director of Financial Aid at Bridgewater State University. His functional expertise includes, awarding, customer service, veterans’ services, student employment, compliance, communications, and financial wellness.
David’s role in financial aid has allowed him to engage with students and their families as they harnessed the transformative power of education. A certain energy is generated as people proactively change the trajectory of their lives through education, and David has been thrilled to stand adjacent to it and offer help along the way. David is also a published poet and in retirement, devotes much of his time to writing.
Andrea Perera
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Andrea Perera is a communications leader with more than 20 years experience working for and advising nonprofit organizations. She is currently Managing Director, University Communications at Harvard University, and previously was Vice President of Public Engagement at Oxfam America, an international humanitarian organization working to fight inequality to end poverty. Andrea has provided strategic planning consulting for Kindros and other nonprofit clients.
Andrea started her career as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times and then Orlando Sentinel. She was a first generation college student, earning her BA in Communication Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and her graduate degree in journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Andrea is the proud daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants, and lives with her husband and two daughters in Milton, MA.
Stephen Martiros
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Stephen is the founder and President of the Kindros Foundation, a nonprofit public charity that provides colleges students and young adults with unbiased financial knowledge through its online Financial Building Blocks® system.
Brad Bissell, CFP®
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Brad is responsible for Institutional Relationship Development. Prior to Kindros Foundation, he worked in the financial services industry for close to 30 years (the last 24 at William Blair).
Xinyi Guo
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As Associate Director, Xinyi bridges data and strategy. Her work analyzing engagement patterns and testing new approaches directly shapes our product and helps us maximize our impact across partner institutions. Every incremental improvement in how students interact with our platform creates ripple effects that extend far beyond college campuses.
Nina Flood
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As Education Practice Leader, Nina develops partnerships with schools committed to student financial wellbeing. She collaborates with campus leaders to implement engaging, results-driven programs that support student success and strengthen institutional impact.
Lili Pugliese
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Lili is responsible for managing financial operations including cash flow analysis, financial modeling, and donor engagement. Prior to the Kindros Foundation, she worked in both creative and financial industries after graduating from Tulane University with a B.S.M in Finance.
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Joel is a hands-on senior technology leader with more than 25 years of experience in financial technology, software engineering, and high-performing team development. He translates organizational vision into secure, scalable, and user-centered digital platforms. Blending strategic leadership with technical execution, Joel drives innovation, operational sustainability, and measurable impact in advancing our mission to spread financial literacy.
Joel Nimety
Anamaría Pla Ávalo
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Anamaría is a French and Linguistics student with 4 years of language teaching experience. She was responsible for translating the entire Kindros platform into Spanish; she chose to leave her mark using her unique Puerto Rican accent. She is currently working on expanding the platform’s reach by building partnerships in Puerto Rico and with other Hispanic-serving programs, with the goal of connecting more students to reliable financial education.
Frequently asked questions
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The Kindros Foundation is a nonprofit public charity 501(c)(3). A public charity is not owned by anyone but exists to serve the general public and is overseen by an independent board of directors.
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The Kindros Foundation was founded by Stephen Martiros who built the online financial literacy platform and content. Initial funding for the foundation was provided by Kathy Jaharis and the Sleeping Phoenix Foundation.
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The name Kindros is a combination of the word “kindred” and the word “logos” (the Greek word for logic or reason).
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To build America’s most trusted source of unbiased financial knowledge that helps people on their path towards financial independence and wellbeing.