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Junior Achievement Of Central Iowa New Board Of Directors Appointments

February 24, 2015

Junior Achievement of Central Iowa, Inc. recently announced five new board members to join the Board of Directors:

  • Patricia Dyar — Vice President Human Resources, John Deere
  • Kent Lehr — Vice President Strategy & Business Development, UnityPoint Health - Des Moines
  • Lori Ristau — Vice President Marketing & Communications, Iowa Bankers Association
  • Stuart Ruddy — General Counsel, Knapp Properties, Inc.
  • Steven Simon — President, Central Bank

Founded on the principle that students learn best by experiential learning, Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy.  In addition to taking real-life academic applications to the classroom by more than 2,000 volunteers, Central Iowa’s Junior Achievement is also host to JA BizTown.  This program combines a participatory six-week classroom curriculum with a day at JA BizTown, where fifth and sixth grade students operate the town. 

“Junior Achievement thanks these central Iowa business leaders for their time and commitment to the community and the future of its children,” says Nick Colletti, president of Junior Achievement of Central Iowa.  “We are very grateful for the Board’s support and commitment to bring financial literacy programming to over 31,500 central Iowa K – 12 students.”


About Junior Achievement of Central Iowa

Junior Achievement educates and inspires young people to value free enterprise, business and economics to improve the quality of their lives.  Junior Achievement of Central Iowa will reach over 31,500 students with 2,000 volunteers during the 2014-15 school year.  The Junior Achievement K – 12 grade curriculum teaches financial literacy and connects classroom lessons with real life experiences through business volunteers in the classroom and the JA BizTown experience.

Junior Achievement supplies business and economic education curricula to students in grades kindergarten through twelfth with its easy-to-use curriculum.  Classroom consultants act as invaluable role models to students, sharing professional life experiences and helping students understand how their education directly affects their employability.

About JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement)

JA USA is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA USA provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on three key content areas: entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. Today, 115 individual area operations reach approximately four million students in the United States, with an additional 4.3 million students served by operations in 114 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit ja.org