The SIP, short for The Coke Scholars Ignite Podcast, shares a taste of the Coke Scholars around the world who are igniting positive change.
Get to know the Scholars we’ll be learning from in our fourth season!
Listen to them here on The SIP.
HOSTING SEASON 4
Jason Shanker
1991 Coca-Cola Scholar
President, Clear Tech Advice
In addition to leading his company, Clear Tech Advice, Jason Shanker is a voiceover artist whose speaking engagements have brought him to clients in 30 countries on five continents. He enjoys lending his voice to the things he’s passionate about — from documentaries and audiobooks to the 2024 Coca-Cola Scholars Banquet and Season 4 of The SIP.
EPISODE 1
Kristina Ellis
2005 Coca-Cola Scholar
Author, Speaker, and Creator of College Ninja
After winning $500K in scholarships and graduating from her dream schools with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Kristina Ellis set out to help students create their own plan to earn a debt-free education. A speaker and the best-selling author of Confessions of a Scholarship Winner and How to Graduate Debt-Free, she is also a featured expert in Dave Ramsey’s award-winning 2021 documentary Borrowed Future: How Student Loans Are Killing the American Dream.
Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets such as Fox & Friends, The Katie Couric Show, CBN, USA Today, Reuters, Seventeen, and Money. During her tenure as a Ramsey Personality, Kristina was a frequent co-host of The Ramsey Show, which consistently ranked as one of America’s top five most-listened-to radio shows/podcasts, averaging more than 18 million combined weekly listeners. Through articles, live events, online courses, and her work with Ramsey Education, she was able to give young people and their families the tools they need to understand and win with money.
Her newest company, College Ninja, continues the work she has been called to and is carrying forward an expanded mission to help students and their families navigate not just college—but the rest of their lives—without debt. She loves sharing about her personal finance and family adventures on Instagram @iamkristinaellis.
Bryan Rodriguez
2014 Coca-Cola Scholar
Senior Product Manager at Nubank and Financial Inclusion Advocate
“Bryan Rodriguez is a Senior Product Manager at Nubank, a Latin American digital banking platform that aims to foster financial inclusion and redefine the way people manage their money through innovative financial technology. Bryan has recently started on this chapter of his career where he will be launching a new product in the Colombian market to improve financial accessibility.
Bryan was previously at Goldman Sachs for six years where he was a Vice President and served as the Head of Financial Wellness Product. Bryan is passionate about financial literacy and striving to help others attain financial freedom. As an outlier from the cycle of poverty that plagues many underserved youth, he has grown to understand how essential an understanding of key personal financial concepts is to achieve financial security and meet one’s money needs. He was able to serve 1.5 million people with their financial journey at Goldman Sachs, and looks forward to improving the financial landscape in Colombia next.
Bryan is a 2014 Coca Cola Scholar and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018.
Justin Elliott
2011 Coca-Cola Scholar
Consultant and Finance and Sales Leader
Justin, a 2011 Coca-Cola Scholar and University of Southern California alumnus, brings extensive sales and finance experience, having previously owned his own life insurance agency. There, he led agents nationwide in mastering insurance sales and how to help families protect and secure their finances.
After selling his agency earlier this year, he now advises companies in the wellness space on how to improve their financial and sales strategy.
Justin resides in Chihuahua, Mexico with his wife and 2-year-old son.
