Money Well Studio

Alex Black

MBA Student, Rawls College of Business, Texas Tech University

A Texas A&M horticulture graduate and former Aggie Band member, Alex has worked in oil fields, manufacturing, commercial driving and mortgage lending. Now he is pursuing his MBA at Texas Tech’s Rawls College of Business.

Alex joins Jennifer and his mom, Julie Black, to discuss funding graduate school, budgeting beyond tuition, borrowing costs and how work experience changes the classroom conversation.

Featured episode: Back to School, on My Own Dime: Grad School Without the Ramen Budget — With Special Guest Alex Black

Steve Sisson

Running Coach • Telos Running

Steve joins Jennifer and Julie to explore the spending, travel and motivation behind marathon running, and why the value of training can extend well beyond a finish time.

Featured episode: Paying to Suffer: The Strange Economics of Marathons with Special Guest Steve Sisson

Javid Jamae

Entrepreneur, Software Engineer & Growth Engineering Leader

Javid Jamae joined Money Well Studio for Part 2 of our paying-for-college conversation, bringing both a personal and professional perspective to the question of how families should think about college, money, work, parenting and technology.

Javid is an entrepreneur, software engineer and growth engineering leader whose work focuses on experimentation, product growth and helping companies make better decisions with data. His perspective on technology gives the conversation an especially relevant angle as families try to understand how AI and a changing labor market may affect the future value of different degrees, skills and career paths.

A huge thank-you to Javid for joining us and sharing such a candid perspective on what it means to prepare kids for an economy that may look very different from the one their parents entered.

Featured episode: Before You Fund That 529: College Funding, AI, and the Value of a Degree with Special Guest Javid Jamae (The College Series, Episode 2)

Kayvon Rashidi

Board-Certified Family Law Attorney & Mediator, PKR Family Law

Kayvon Rashidi joined Money Well Studio for Part 2 of our conversation on prenuptial agreements. He helped Jennifer and Julie unpack who should consider a prenup, what a prenup can and cannot do, and why couples should start talking about money and financial expectations well before the wedding.

Based in Austin, Texas, Kayvon focuses exclusively on family law, including complex property division, high-conflict custody cases, marital property agreements, appeals, protective orders and adoptions. He also serves as a mediator, helping families work toward creative settlements outside of trial when possible.

Kayvon earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. He has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars list every year from 2019 through 2026, was named to Austin Monthly's Top Lawyers list, and in 2026 was selected as an Austin Under 40 finalist in the Legal category.

Featured episode: Wedded Bliss: What Happens to Yours When It Becomes Ours? With Special Guest and Family Law Attorney Kayvon Rashidi

Vasu Reddy

Director of State Policy for Workplace Justice, National Women's Law Center

Vasu Reddy joined Money Well Studio for the second half of our Fair Share for the Ladies series. Her work focuses on workplace justice and state policy, and she helped us unpack what the gender pay gap actually measures, why occupational segregation and caregiving penalties matter, and how policies such as pay transparency can affect women's long-term financial security.

Featured episode: Fair Share for the Ladies - Part 2

Charles Runnels

REALTOR®, Compass Real Estate, Austin

Charles Runnels joined our Home Buying Series to talk about the part of buying a house that spreadsheets cannot fully capture: finding the right home and getting the deal done. Charles began his Austin real estate career in 2009 after thirteen years in banking. His finance background, investing experience and work representing buyers and sellers gave us a practical look at wish lists, inspections, escrow, negotiation and why buying a home is as emotional as it is financial.

Featured episode: The Home Buying Series: Finding Your Home

Chelsea Kotrla

REALTOR® & Co-Founder, makeATXhome

Chelsea Kotrla joined Money Well Studio during our Season 1 Home Buying Series to help us talk through the realities of choosing an agent and navigating the Austin housing market. Chelsea leads makeATXhome with her husband, Derek, and describes her approach as responsive, knowledgeable, low-pressure and technology-driven. Their team works with buyers, sellers and renters throughout the Austin area.

Her perspective added a useful counterweight to the numbers: what good representation actually looks like, how agents help clients make decisions under pressure, and why communication and trust matter so much in a home purchase.

Featured episode: Money Well Studio Home Buying Series, Season 1

De Hansen

Sports Broadcaster & Play-by-Play Announcer

De Hansen brought a broadcaster’s perspective to Money Well Studio, drawing on more than two decades behind the microphone in Texas sports. His work has spanned high school football, college basketball and football, arena football, baseball, television and sports radio. Over the years, De has called games for programs including Lake Travis, Concordia University, Baylor and Rice, and has worked across ESPN+, KBVO-TV and sports-radio outlets in Austin and Houston.

His experience gave us a firsthand look at the business of sports, media, careers and the financial realities behind an industry that can look very different from the broadcast booth.

Featured episode: Money Well Studio, Season 1