Good morning on this thawing Monday.

Alexa du Pont Bell arrived in New York City in 2000 in a seemingly financially secure position for a 22-year-old: She had a degree from Harvard and a position as an investment banker.

But while she spent her days thinking about complex issues like fund-raising and equity, her personal finances began to fray. She missed payments on her credit card, was threatened with collections, and was spending a lot on rent, college loans and eating out.

“Where would I have learned personal finance?” she said. “Unless you get it from your family, there’s no time where a teacher sits down and explains very basic financial principles,” she said.

After Ms. Bell got her own finances sorted out, she helped found Cents Ability, a nonprofit that teaches financial literacy to thousands of high school students across New York City. We recently sat down with Ms. Bell as part of our series about the people and inspirations behind local philanthropies.