Zoe Sexton and I were finally able to have a conference call with two of the key administrators at the Museum of American Finance, David Cowen and Chris Meyers.
David Cowen, who has over 20 years of experience as a trader on Wall Street, including in the foreign exchange groups at Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank, and is also the founder of Quasar Capital Partners, a macro hedge fund, is the President and CEO of the Museum of American Finance.
Chris Meyers is the Director of Education at the Museum of American Finance, and is responsible for creating, developing and teaching an original curriculum for the museum's financial literacy initiatives, including the Museum Finance Academy. Prior to work at the museum, he was SVP of Trading International Equities and worked for over a decade at several market making firms including the largest specialist firm on the NYSE, Spear, Leads & Kellogg, prior to its acquisition by the Goldman Sachs group.
Both are very accomplished and were a pleasure to speak with.
We discussed the nature of the film which included key points, potential scenes and interviews, structure of film as well as coming up with a number of question to help mold the story arc.
When discussing the key points of the film, we decided that it should focus on the importance of financial literacy in this day and age, and to show how the financial industry is evolving. The Museum of American Finance is one of the only non-profit institutions committed to educating our youth in financial concepts, through its Museum Finance Academy. This program is incredibly important, and any time or donations that are gifted to the Museum are used to promote financial education.
We also discussed a number of potential scenes and interviewees that we would want to include in this project. Considering that the most driving point of the film is financial education among our youth, we have planned to focus more on the Museum Finance Academy, and then to portray the Museum of American Finance as a whole as a resource for the students and the community. This allows us to focus more on the driving point of education, without leaving out the importance of the museum as a whole.
Considering this, we thought to include some of the more interactive activities that the Museum Finance Academy organizes, including lecture footage, visits to the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Reserve Bank of New York. We would also like to show some of the students that are involved in the program, where they come from, as some of these students do not have the best economics circumstances, and show how this museum and its educational programs positively influence these participants. There have also been about 200 students who have participated in the Museum Finance Academy in the past, so we thought it might be a good idea to track down some alumni and see where they are now, how this program has molded their path, and the key values the program taught them. Lastly, there are a number of interviewees, of which we are currently creating an official list. What I can say as of now is that the interviewees will contain a select few of very accomplished financiers, educators, and administrators.
These key ideals will help to mold the film and produce a promising story board that will inspire its audience to take action, and to be a part of the evolution of financial education.
We hope to produce two films during this project, the first being a short, two minute, punchy version of the film, and the second being an 8-10 minute informational film that will go more in depth on how the Museum of American Finance and its Museum Finance Academy makes all the difference among our youth in this day and age.
This concluded our meeting, and we decided that Elka Gould, the film and editing teacher at Stuyvesant High School should meet with David Cowen and Chris Meyers as well, as it would be beneficial to all parties. As we gather more information and continue to produce the story and organize the timeline and schedule of the film, I will continue to keep our audience up to date.
