FitMoneyWelcomes Randy Houk as Executive Director

FitMoney, a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to instilling sound financial habits in children aged 5 to 18 through free and unbiased curriculum, proudly announces the appointment of Randy Houk as its new Executive Director.

Ms. Houk brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit leadership, having served as Executive Director for esteemed organizations such as The Society for Participatory Medicine, The Reach Out and Read Collaboration with The Curious George Store, and Raising A Reader MA. Prior to these roles, she held the position of Senior Vice President at More Than Wheels, where she focused on equipping low-income families with financial literacy and facilitating access to low-interest car loans.

Having begun her career as a reading curriculum specialist with Addison-Wesley, Ms. Houk brings a deep understanding of pedagogy to FitMoney. In addition, Ms. Houk is well-versed in creating engaging educational materials. She has over two decades of experience as CEO of her own multimedia publishing company, The Benefactory, which

produced original true stories about endangered species, read by 2 million children. For The Benefactory she negotiated licensing agreements with 18 nonprofit organizations such as The Girl Scouts and The Northeast Animal Shelter. Ms. Houk herself authored 11 true stories about endangered species and animal protection, published under license with The Humane Society of the U.S., one of which won the NAPPA silver award in 1997.

Passionate about financial education for youth, Ms. Houk emphasizes the critical importance of teaching children to save, budget, spend wisely, and use credit responsibly from an early age. She states, "Children form their financial habits by age 7, yet only 16.6% of schools in the U.S. include any financial literacy in their curriculum. The consequences of financial illiteracy are profound, leading to lower standards of living, higher debt, limited credit opportunities, and susceptibility to fraud, all of which impact future prospects for employment, housing, and transportation."

Fit Money looks forward to benefiting from Ms. Houk's leadership as it continues its mission of empowering young minds with essential financial knowledge.