Dr. Mordecai Brownlee proudly serves as the Vice President for Student Success at St. Philip’s College. St. Phillips holds the distinction of being the only institution granted both HBCU and HSI status. He also serves as adjunct faculty at Morgan State University School of Education & Urban Studies and the University of Charleston School of Business & Leadership. In addition, Mordecai is an education columnist with EdSurge and has authored recent articles on Financial Literacy and Co-Requisite Developmental Education that form the foundation of his conversation with Mike Palmer in this episode. We begin by hearing what got Mordecai to this point in his career journey and use that as the jumping off point to diving developmental education and the importance of teaching financial literacy. We explore the challenges students battling poverty face to achieve success and social mobility and warn of the challenges of taking on student debt. It's an in-depth view of the work Dr. Brownlee and team are doing in urban San Antonio and there's much to be learned from their example. For more information about Dr. Brownlee, please visit www.ItsDrMordecai.com If you like what you're hearing, follow us at TrendinginEducation.com and wherever you get your podcasts.