This spring, the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School will launch a series of free financial literacy workshops for the South Florida community.
Funded by alumnus Paul Cutler M.B.A. ’83, M.S. ’84, a member of the Miami Herbert Dean’s Advisory Committee and retired treasurer of NextEra Energy Inc., the program aims to equip participants with the tools they need to achieve financial well-being.
“It’s just a natural way for Miami Herbert to start interacting with the local community, to provide something that people really need and that’s going to benefit their lives,” said Cutler. “If more people are more financially knowledgeable, it’s going to help the overall economy.”
Cutler brings years of experience to the effort, having spent the past 16 years working with the Florida Council on Economic Education, a nonprofit focused on improving financial literacy across the state.
“The way the Miami Herbert program is set up, during the first year, there are going to be 10 seminars covering topics from basic economics to interest rates, to the Federal Reserve and its role,” Cutler explained. “This is hopefully the first step to what I hope will be an economic education center.”
Miami Herbert development director Victoria Wellons said the initiative benefits both the community and students.
“We are so grateful for Mr. Cutler’s support,” Wellons said. “Not only will this program help our community, but it will also give our students paid, experiential learning opportunities they can carry into their own careers.”
The seminars will be led by Stefanos Delikouras, associate professor of finance, and supported by four paid Miami Herbert student fellows. The first workshop is expected to take place in early 2026.
“Even though it’s becoming increasingly imperative for people to get exposure to financial education, from my experience, I’ve noticed that not even young professionals know the basics,” Delikouras said. “Like how their loan payments are calculated, or what the difference is between a fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage.
“We’re adopting both in-person and online formats to maximize our outreach,” explained Delikouras, who’s working diligently to attract non-UM attendees. “Now that financial transactions have become so easy that you can do almost everything through your cellphone, the importance of being financially responsible is even more pressing than it was 10 or 20 years ago.
“We need way more initiatives like Paul Cutler’s,” he said. “He’s a testament to people who care about their community.”
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