THE CHALLENGE
AI, automation, and continuous economic volatility are fundamentally reshaping how people work and earn. Our communities need the capacity to navigate uncertainty, maintain agency through disruption, and adapt to conditions that change faster than any plan can accommodate.
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THE SOLUTION
Economic Adaptation (EA) is a comprehensive framework that builds the core competencies people need to thrive in an era of continuous change. Rather than teaching people to optimize for stability, EA develops adaptive capacity—the ability to make sound decisions under stress, leverage diverse resources, and maintain psychological resilience when everything around them is shifting.
EA recognizes that people move through stages of economic well-being (from disconnection to security to stability to agency) and that their ability to navigate those stages depends on learnable skills.
THIS CONVERSATION
Through this conversation, Participants will develop:
- A deeper understanding of the prevailing and potential economic shocks and disruptions we are facing.
- Ability to recognize the emotional and psychological toll these disruptions can cause.
- Awareness of how Economic Adaptation enables mobility through the stages of economic well-being.
- A basic understanding of the Economic Adaptation Framework, including the five competencies that will improve a person’s ability to navigate uncertainty and change.
THE PRESENTERS
Shawn B. Young is a nationally recognized leader in behavioral economics, financial education, and human service innovation. With over 17 years of experience designing and delivering programs that address the intersection of money, stress, and health, Shawn has become a trusted voice for agencies, nonprofits, and individuals navigating the complexities of personal economics in today’s world. Shawn founded the Financial Health Institute (FHI), a forward-thinking organization focused on Person-Centered Financial Education (PCFE), a methodology he co-developed that honors individuals as experts in their own lives and prioritizes practical, contextual, and trauma-aware approaches to change. Building on his past work, Shawn is now developing a unifying framework called Economic Adaptation (EA), a new lens for understanding how individuals, organizations, and communities respond to economic complexity, disruption, and change. EA integrates his research and insights across financial behavior, health, scarcity, and resilience, and provides tools for navigating uncertainty and cultivating agency. Through EA, Shawn is redefining how we teach, measure, and support economic well-being—not just through information, but through adaptation.
Dr. Joanne McLain facilitates stories through writing, art, curriculum design, coaching and counseling, working with people to help them gain skills to create the life they want to live. She is a financial therapist and she designs and facilitates curriculum for online, in person, and blended courses. Her experience includes six years with a rural Department of Human Services, where she was the Deputy Director and managed family programs including services for families involved in child welfare, adult protection, and all benefits programs.
She has been a behavioral health counselor in a variety of settings, including community mental health centers, private practice, nursing homes, a volunteer fire department, emergency rooms, and inpatient units. Joanne has a Master’s Degree in Psychology, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Addictions Counselor and an Accredited Financial Counselor who is certified in the Trauma of Money method. She also earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Innovation from the University of Colorado Denver.
Eligible for TWO hours Certificate of Completion.
