Kemberley “Kemcents” Washington, CPA is the co-founder of Washington CPA Services, LLC and the B.A.D.G.E.® plan.  She is an author, educator and personal finance news contributor.  She has authored The Ten Commandments to a Financial Healing, Are you wearing the B.A.D.G.E.? Financial Planner, 21 Days of Powerful Breakthroughs and a host of other books.  Excerpts of her books are available on the YouVersion Bible App and have received more than 200,000 downloads collectively.  In addition, The Ten Commandments to a Financial Healing was the most downloaded plan on YouVersion during June 2014, being well received by many.

While in college, she recalls a host of credit card companies offering freebies if she signed on the dotted line – so she did.  One after another, she accumulated credit card debt in exchange for tokens that cost close to nothing!  Armed with an unstable part-time job and a victim to spending, she found herself in a financial mess.  With a very low credit score, she knew something had to be done. Therefore, after graduating from college, Kemberley made a strong commitment to get her finances in order. She began to seek God’s help and wisdom to turn her finances around.  As such, she was able to purchase her first home at the age of 23 and started her journey to help others by sharing her knowledge as a financial news contributor, author and educator.

Today, Kemberley operates Washington CPA Services, LLC and the B.A.D.G.E. plan, a program designed to teach individuals about financial literacy.  As such, she provides financial literacy classes to churches, nonprofits, colleges and universities, schools, businesses and private groups.  Her course, The Ten Commandments to a Financial Healing has received great reviews and is often implemented by churches and groups.  She is also often sought after as a keynote speaker regarding topics ranging from personal finance, taxation, entrepreneurship, keys to success, biblical perspectives and more.

As a personal finance news contributor, she often appears on many news outlets, which includes Fox 8 Morning News and NBC WDSU News.  Also, she is frequently heard on iHeartRadio Stations, FM98 and Q93, where she provides tips to help individuals conquer their personal finances.  Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to contribute to US News, BlackEnterprise, Fox Business, Yahoo Finance, The New Orleans Agenda, Jet Magazine, The New Orleans Tribune, Smart Asset, The Street, Bankrate.com, Upscale, Credit Karma, Experian, and many more.

She has received numerous awards to include the 2015 First NBC Financial Millennial Award, Financial Service Professionals (FSP) Paul S. Mills Award, Dillard University’s Outstanding Teacher and Dean’s Awards, and the ING Summer Scholarship Award.

Recently, she has been named to the AICPA National Financial Literacy Commission.  She was selected as only one of thirty CPAs to attend the AICPA 3rd Annual Leadership Institute and is featured on This Way to CPA, a website designed to promote the CPA license designation. Lastly, Kemberley was instrumental in revitalizing the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) New Orleans chapter after Hurricane Katrina, where she served as president.

In her past, she has worked at Dillard University as a faculty member, where she taught personal finance and business courses. During her tenure at Dillard University, Kemberley authored proposals and received funding from the Louisiana Board of Regents to receive approximately $70,000 of funding, which she utilized to establish the Small Business Accounting Center at the institution. She was also been instrumental in securing funding geared towards Dillard University’s College of Business for the purpose of establishing sponsorships, scholarships, and other types of funding to support the college.  Prior to joining the faculty at Dillard University, Kemberley had the opportunity to work for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a Special Agent in its Criminal Investigation Division and a Revenue Agent for the Small Business and Self-Employed Division. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in the area of personal finance at Texas Tech University.