Kyla Scanlon is an economic commentator, speaker, educator, author, and creator.

With more than one million followers across platforms, including TikTok, Instagram and Substack, Scanlon educates and inspires a new generation by reshaping how people understand money and markets.

Through her signature mix of analysis and storytelling, Scanlon covers the pressing issues of the day - from tariffs and artificial intelligence to the value of higher education and Gen Z’s evolving role in the economy.   In 2025, Scanlon was named to Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance, appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Ezra Klein Show. 

Her debut book and New York Times bestseller, In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work, is where she coined the term “vibecession,” to describe the disconnect between strong economic data and negative public sentiment - a concept referenced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Meet the Press and many financial journalists.  

Raised in Kentucky, Scanlon studied finance, economics, and data analytics at Western Kentucky University.  Her first jobs included trading options and selling cars, which is where she saw the opportunity to make finance accessible. During the pandemic, she began using whiteboards and social media skits to decode markets and economic trends for everyday audiences.

Scanlon is now working on her second book, contributes to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Press, among others, and is a Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator Fellow. She can also be seen regularly on MSNOW and CNN as well as traveling extensively for speaking engagements.