Jesse B. Jurgenson, Ph.D., AFC®

Bio

I am an Assistant Professor of Practice within the Texas Tech University School of Financial Planning where I primarily instruct and mentor students within the Personal Finance (PFI) Program. I additionally serve as the Director of the Charles Schwab Foundation Personal Financial Planning Clinic. 
 
My professional goals may be summarized as:
 
1. Prepare the next generation of prepared, effective, and successful personal finance professionals through purposeful instruction, hands-on learning, and engaged mentorship.  
 
2. Create new, relevant, practical knowledge identifying processes and factors that promote behaviors which enrich individual and family financial wellness.
 
3. Conduct research and programming that makes a difference in people’s lives, such that results have implications for educators, practitioners, policy makers, and society.
 
I served for several years as a non-profit Financial Counselor focused on effective public outreach and education which enhanced the financial capability of underserved populations, promoted timely homebuyer education, and ensured foreclosure prevention interventions were easily accessible to a diverse audience. 
 
I am an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) from the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) and hold multiple graduate degrees in Human Development and Family Science and Personal Financial Planning (North Dakota State University; University of Missouri) along with a Ph.D. from Iowa State University.    
 
Prior to my time with Texas Tech University, I was an Assistant Professor of Consumer Sciences at the University of Alabama and an Assistant Clinical Professor and Family Finance Extension Specialist with the University of Maryland Extension (UME). As an Extension Specialist, I developed, implemented, and evaluated statewide education programs related to family financial management and financial health initiatives throughout the state of Maryland. My other professional experiences include roles with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Washington, DC) Office of Financial Education and the National Endowment for Financial Education (Denver, CO).

Research Focus

My research focuses on the determinants of financial well-being, financial socialization, financial education, and consumer decision-making across the life course with a distinct focus on the opinions and experiences of historically marginalized populations. Specifically, I seek to contribute a unique voice to the discussion of how we may best work to improve the financial well-being of all Americans through accurately measuring progress and identifying intervention successes.

Research Interest or Area of Expertise

Financial Socialization
Financial Well-Being
Behavioral Finance and Decision-Making 
Financial Coaching and Counseling
Advanced Research Design, Methods, and Data Analysis

Selected Publications

Nuckols, D.,Chawla, I,  Ketterman, J., Jurgenson, J. B., Chawla, I., & Kim, J. (2023). Building
Confident Educators: Utilizing a Virtual Professional Seminar to Improve Later Life Financial
Planning Outreach, Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 115(2), 24-34. 
doi: https://doi.org/10.14307/JFCS115.2.24 
 
Guillemette, M. A., Jurgenson, J. B., Sharpe, D. L., & Zhang, X. (2020). Framing Longevity
Income, Journal of Personal Finance, 19(1), 49-66.
 
Bartholomae, S., Kiss, D. E., Jurgenson, J. B., O’Neill, B., Worthy, S., & Kim, J. (2019)
Framing the Human Capital Investment Decision: Examining Gender Bias in Student Loan
Borrowing, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 40(1), 132-145. doi: 10.1007/s10834-018-
9603-6
 
Hensley, B. J., Jurgenson, J. B., & Ferris, L. A. (2017). Combining Adult Education and
Professional Development Best Practice to Improve Financial Education Teacher Training,
Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 28(1), 33-48. doi:10.1891/1052-3073.28.1.33
 
Guillemette, M. A. & Jurgenson, J. B. (2017). The Impact of Financial Advice Certification on
Investment Choices, Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 28(1), 129-139.
doi:10.1891/1052-3073.28.1.129