About Dr. blanco

        Dr. Luisa Blanco is a Professor at Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. She is a development economist and currently leads community-based participatory research projects focused on fostering economic inclusion and addressing health disparities. She leverages digital communications technology and tools to increase access to information and promote behavioral change among minorities to improve their financial wellbeing and health outcomes. 

       She currently serves on the board of directors of the Center for Health Improvement for Minority Elders at UCLA and as Research Economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She is also a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank. 

Blanco was a fellow of the Robert Wood Johnson Interdisciplinary Research Leadership program, a visiting scholar of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and a senior visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oklahoma. She completed a Bachelors in Business Administration and an MBA from Midwestern State University.

Dr. Blanco joined The Academy of Financial Education board because she understands the significant impacts financial literacy has on Latinas and the difference it can make in closing the wealth gap in communities of color.