Michael G. Thomas Jr., Ph.D., is an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) and a lecturer at the University of Georgia. His research focuses on financial empathy and self-compassion, data visualization’s effects on financial behavior, and the connection between brain function and money. Dr. Thomas’s philosophy on how to effectively interact with money can be summed up in his Ted Talk: Financial Empathy: Understanding the Story Beneath the Numbers. Utilizing financial empathy as a process for active listening and the creation of client-focused financial recommendations are reflected in two financial literacy and capability programs he helped co-create: Money Dawgs and Discovering Money Solutions. Dr. Thomas is also the founder of Modom Solutions – a virtual financial coaching service he has been providing since 2015. He will soon be an author as he expects to release his forthcoming book, Black Financial Culture: Building Wealth from the Inside Out, in 2023.
