December 7, 2021
Charisse Conanan Johnson, CFA (chartered financial analyst), is the original Wealthy Girl who will define what it means to be wealthy for years to come.
Charisse is the author of A Wealthy Girl: 7 Steps to Prosperity, Peace, and Personal Power (read the press release), a wealth expert, investor, business strategist, public speaker, and TV personality. She has pursued a life of purpose by investing in financial markets, teaching, building businesses, and stepping out on faith.
Charisse is a managing partner and head of the advisory practice at Next Street, a mission-oriented firm that is mobilizing how its public and private clients provide more capital, customers, and services to entrepreneurs and small businesses that have been systemically held back. She has worked with clients such as the Obama Foundation, the City of Columbus, and Walgreens.
She is also the creator of the Charisse Says platform, where she actively blogs and has produced the Charisse Says Show and Charisse Says Online Academy, where she makes investing simple, easy, and fun. Charisse has been featured as a financial expert on TD Ameritrade and Experian and is a financial contributor to the Huffington Post and American Express OPEN Forum. She is also a general partner with Bulldog Innovation Group; a venture fund focused on Yale alums investing in entrepreneurs with a Yale affiliation.
Prior to launching the Charisse Says platform, Charisse was the founder and CEO of www.smarteys.com, a web app that helped college grads manage their finances. In her first job after college, Charisse rose to vice president at J. P. Morgan Asset Management in New York City. She conducted stock market research as a generalist, covering 18 percent of the $10 billion J. P. Morgan Mid Cap Value Fund.
A graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Charisse loves building relationships, traveling, sports, and exploring the world through international cuisine. She resides in Chicago with her husband, George, and daughter, Gabrielle.