2 New Members Bring Unique Talents to the Board of Directors
Two new members have been elected to the BetterInvesting/NAIC Board of Directors, Ionnie McNeill and Patrick Donnelly. They fill the four-year terms left open by departing members Roger H. Ganser and Phillip J. Keating, CFA.
BetterInvesting is a national, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization based in Madison Heights, Michigan, that has helped more than 5 million people from all walks of life learn how to improve their financial future by becoming more informed investors in the stock market.
McNeill, of West Palm Beach, Florida, is a longtime BetterInvesting member and volunteer, joining as a youth member. She began actively investing at age 10 with her first stock portfolio and by high school had acquired the nickname “The Baby Billionaire.”
After publishing her first book, “The Baby Billionaire’s Guide to Investing,” McNeill began working with organizations such as Capital One, ING, The Heart of America and Girls, Inc., to create and deliver financial education curriculum and experiences to grade-school students.
Her early work included teaching youth the importance of investing, the power of compound interest and how to become a corporate shareholder. A Howard University graduate, McNeill is a director of BetterInvesting’s South Florida Chapter and a member of the chapter’s model investment club.
She has been featured in publications such as Black Enterprise, Seventeen, ESSENCE and BetterInvesting Magazine.
“Growing up in my house, there was always reading materials, namely small books and copies of BetterInvesting Magazine,” McNeill said. “Every time I read an article, I said to myself ‘I want to be like that! I want to be an investor!’ I wanted to be someone that had their money working for them and not the other way around.”
Donnelly, of Pittsburgh, joined BetterInvesting in 1999 and soon became a Pittsburgh Chapter volunteer. He has held the chapter offices of secretary, vice president, education chair and president, and is also an instructor.
Upon becoming a member of BetterInvesting, Donnelly launched the Buck A Day Investment Club, where he served as president and club treasurer for the entire tenure of the club. He is now very active with a Pittsburgh Chapter model investment club.
From 2000 to 2007, Donnelly became involved in the Pittsburgh Investor’s Fair and after two years became chair of the annual event.
In 2008, Donnelly took on national leadership tasks with the organization as a member of the BetterInvesting Volunteer Advisory Board until 2019. His roles included assistant manager for the Mid-Central Region, manager for the Mid-Central Region, secretary, president and chairman.
Donnelly began supporting the BetterInvesting National Convention as a BIVAB member. At BINC, he’s provided computer lab technical support, and has been a teacher and marketing committee leader.
He has a bachelor of science in professional aeronautics and a master of business administration degree, both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Donnelly is employed at Accenture.
