New JPMorgan Chase CNY community manager offers financial education

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Matthew Eaton sums up his position at JPMorgan Chase simply. His job is to make a difference in the community.

Eaton joined JPMorgan Chase this past April as its community manager for the Central New York region. The role is part of the bank’s $30 billion racial equity commitment to drive inclusive economic growth among Black, Hispanic, and Latino communities and close the racial wealth gap.

It’s about removing inequities, especially in minority communities, to help grow generational wealth, according to Eaton. “We don’t push products,” he says. “What we push is understanding and education.”

In many of those communities, access to resources for financial education just aren’t there, Eaton says. His job is to provide them. He does this by building relationships with individuals and also with nonprofit and community organizations. Eaton also hosts workshops, free and open to the public, on topics like budgeting, first-time homebuying, and buying a vehicle to help teach people how to set and reach financial goals. Financial education is essential to breaking down economic barriers, he says.

Many people in minority communities lack trust in banks for various reasons. “Part of my job is going in and saying, ‘Hey, I’m not the bad guy,’ “ Eaton says. “My job is literally to educate, to build a relationship, and to build trust.”

Providing financial education is only going to be more important going forward, he says, as Micron Technology joins the region. The Boise, Idaho–based company announced in early October it will build a chip-fabrication plant in Clay, creating more than 9,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

For many employees, the job they land at Micron could be the best paying position anyone in their family has ever had, Eaton says. It’s crucial to provide a good foundation in financial education across the community so people know how to manage that money once they start earning it, he says.

He’s already working with Oneida-Cortland-Madison BOCES, where he’s leading a six-part series of classes teaching financial basics to students. He also has a Nov. 15 home-lending workshop planned at JPMorgan’s James Street location.

Since taking the role in April, Eaton has learned the biggest part of his job is listening — to people and to organizations, and hearing what they really need and what he can do to help out.

The Syracuse native has more than a decade of experience in the banking industry. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Eaton worked for HSBC, continued on through mergers with First Niagara and KeyBank, and also worked at AmeriCU Credit Union and Citizens Bank. However, as a business banker, he felt like his job was bound to performance goals.

“You don’t get that with this job,” he says. “You are bound to making a difference in your community.”

Eaton says he is personally drawn to the role because his family lived through financially tough times in the 1990s when his parents were laid off from their jobs. They hadn’t really been educated about saving and budgeting, he recalls, and it was a difficult period for his family. Now, it’s a personal passion of his to help other families avoid that fate.

In the seven months he’s been on the job, Eaton has hosted about 27 events. “I’ve reached over 400 people with financial seminars,” he says. 

Eaton has fostered partnerships with about two dozen organizations around the community and serves on several boards including the YMCA of Central New York.