Marcia Latta Named Oregon Financial Empowerment Educator of the Year 2026

Meet the 2026 Oregon Financial Empowerment Educator of the Year

Meet Marcia Latta, a business teacher at McKay High School in Salem, who has been recently honored as the 2026 Oregon Financial Empowerment Educator of the Year as announced by state Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner on April 7th.

Building Financial Confidence in Girls

Marcia Latta has been serving as a business teacher at McKay since January 2022. Apart from her teaching duties, she also serves as the advisor for the Invest in Girls club, a program designed to empower young women with investing knowledge and financial confidence.

Pioneering a Tax Clinic Program at McKay High School

Latta has also initiated a tax clinic program for students at McKay, now in its third year, and recruited teachers from North Salem High School to participate after its first year. Her dedication to teaching valuable financial management skills to the next generation of Oregonians has been recognized and appreciated by many, including Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner herself.

Acknowledgment From Next Gen Personal Finance

Latta’s outstanding contributions to financial education did not go unnoticed. She was nominated by Next Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit organization that provides free personal finance education to K-12 educators and students.

Striving for Professional Growth

Committed to her own professional growth, Marcia Latta has notably completed both Investing and Advanced Investing certification courses offered by NGPF and was awarded a scholarship to participate in Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business Investment Management for Educators graduate course. Apart from this, she is currently enrolled in the University of Delaware Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship Education Program and has served on the board of the Oregon Business Educators Association.

Recognizing Exemplary Financial Education

The Oregon Financial Empowerment Educator of the Year award, now in its fifth year, recognizes educators who have gone above and beyond to help students make smarter money decisions. The award comes with a $1,500 cash prize for the educator, $500 for their school, and $500 in scholarships from the Oregon College Savings Plan to be shared among students at the school.