Ivy began her economic empowerment work at Eleison Foundation, where she co-designed financial education curricula, counseling and coaching programs, and a matched-savings initiative for survivors of human trafficking and their families. She also co-pioneered the contextualization of Motivational Interviewing (MI) for Filipino cultural norms.

She consults with nonprofits and government agencies on integrating MI and other inclusive practices into their financial empowerment and client-facing programs and services.

Her work also extends beyond the social services sector. She has supported financial empowerment and workplace wellbeing initiatives in the private sector, partnering with HR leaders, training staff and speaking at conferences on integrating financial wellness into organizational wellbeing strategies.

Her commitment to this work deepened at the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, where she contributed to inclusive economic growth initiatives while taking graduate coursework in Social Work.

Today, Ivy focuses on helping organizations and practitioners design and implement MI-aligned financial empowerment programs that support meaningful and lasting outcomes.

Email Ivy at ivy.llena@mifeinstitute.com

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Meet Ivy Llena

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