JA of Georgia names Juan A. McGruder SVP & Chief Development Officer

Experienced leader joins at a time of significant expansion

Atlanta, GA —  Junior Achievement (JA) of Georgia announces Juan A. McGruder as Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer, a new position.  McGruder comes to JA from Georgia Tech, where he has served most recently as Director of Development for the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

“Juan’s experience as a highly effective leader and his reputation for relationship-building made him an ideal candidate to lead JA’s development efforts across Georgia,” noted Jack Harris, President and CEO of JA of Georgia.  “We have experienced significant expansion in recent years, and we are confident Juan’s innovative approach to development will help us continue on this trajectory and deepen our engagement with current partners.”

Empowering students nationally since 1919 and locally since 1949, JA of Georgia creates more effective pipelines to economic opportunity through the development and integration of public-private partnership models that bring innovation to public education. Today, JA of Georgia is widely known for its capstone learning models, JA BizTown®, JA Finance Park® and JA Academy™, all of which enrich the student experience to make it more relevant, experiential and authentically connected to life beyond the classroom walls.    

“I am beyond thrilled,” said McGruder.  “This is a pivotal time for Junior Achievement and the thousands of students it serves, and I feel blessed to have been asked to help expand JA’s influence and impact in its quest to empower today’s students.”

“Georgia Tech provided me unparalleled opportunities for over a dozen years,” continued McGruder, “and I loved being part of a top tier university during the most successful and transformative fundraising campaign in its history.  Junior Achievement’s commitment to ‘Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s economy’ is a natural and very exciting extension of that work.”

In announcing Juan’s departure from Georgia Tech, Ivan Allen College Dean Jacqueline Royster noted his considerable accomplishments, adding “[Juan’s] leadership in civic and professional organizations such as the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, Midtown Atlanta Rotary Club, and even as a recent faculty member at LaGrange College’s Master’s program in Philanthropy and Development has simply attracted attention beyond our campus borders.  He has made a difference here, and he will be missed.”

In discussing the appointment, Harris cited the new SVP’s strengths in resource development and outreach.  “Juan McGruder’s background stretches across every major funding stream:  corporate strategic partnerships, major gifts/individuals, comprehensive capital campaigns, annual funds, foundations, and events.  He understands the art and the science of development, and he will bring sophistication, strategy and planning into our organization from day one.”

A Texas native, Juan received his BA in Political Science/Pre Law and his MA in Counseling & Human Development from Clark College/Clark Atlanta University.  He subsequently earned his Master of Education (Ed.M.) in Administration, Planning, & Social Policy from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Education and Human Development from Vanderbilt University.  He is also a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).  Among many professional involvements, Juan is president of the Greater Atlanta chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and president-designate of Rotary Club of Midtown Atlanta.  He and his wife Henraya McGruder, an epidemiologist at the CDC, reside in Smyrna with their two children, Alex and Hailey.

Juan McGruder’s LinkedIn profile can be accessed here.  For further information on JA of Georgia, visit georgia.ja.org.

JA of Georgia was advised throughout the search process by BoardWalk Consulting, an Atlanta-based firm committed to “finding leaders that matter for missions that matter.”®

Allstate continues partnership with Junior Achievement of Georgia to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s economy

ATLANTA, GA- Allstate announced today the continuation of its partnership with Junior Achievement (JA) of Georgia, and its efforts to provide a dynamic learning experience designed to enhance students’ financial literacy and build skills for personal and professional success. Allstate has an interactive storefront in JA BizTown presented by Cisco, one of two simulations located within the JA Discovery Center at Gwinnett.

JA BizTown provides students the opportunity to experience their futures first hand. Here 6th grade students interact within a simulated economy and take on the challenge of fueling a business. The students not only discover the intricacies of being a professional and member of the community, but also the abundance of opportunities available within their city.

The experience begins in the classroom with JA provided curriculum that culminates with a day at JA BizTown. The simulation creates an opportunity where students are able to participate in an interactive economy and take on the role of employee and consumer. During the visit to JA BizTown, students receive job assignments and work in teams at their assigned business. By the end of the simulation each student completes a day’s work, develops a personal budget, and makes purchasing decisions.

 The interactive simulation provides sixth grade students the opportunity to not only learn about finances and careers, but allows them to transform into adults for the day, becoming the sole decision maker and taking ownership of their professional success.

“Thanks to partnerships with Gwinnett County Public Schools and the local business community, we are able to give students an authentic and relevant experience that leaves a lasting and measurable impact,” said Jack Harris, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Georgia. “Together we are shaping the next generation into individuals who are equipped to lead our community and play an integral role in our economy.”

The JA Discovery Center at Gwinnett opened in August 2015 and will serve more than 25,000 middle school students a year from Gwinnett County Public Schools. It is the second JA Discovery Center in the state, bringing the immersive facilities’ annual impact to more than 60 percent of metro Atlanta middle school students.

Atlanta teens receive personal finance skills with AT&T and JA of Georgia

ATLANTA, GA—JA of Georgia brought important financial literacy lessons to students in Atlanta as part of a contribution from AT&T and its AT&T Aspire initiative. Seventh grade students at Columbia Middle School experienced the 13-week JA Finance Park® program, which helps students build a foundation of personal finance skills through in-class learning and an experiential and authentic simulation.

JA Finance Park® begins in the classroom, with teacher-led lessons about topics like income, saving, debit and credit. The program culminates in an immersive half-day simulation onsite at the JA Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center. The simulation gives students the opportunity to apply classroom learning by creating a family budget based on hypothetical life situations assigned to the students, such as job, salary, and family situation.

“Many of these students haven’t been exposed to managing finances, either because they haven’t had those conversations with their parents or haven’t had access to financial literacy programs in school,” said Jack Harris, President & CEO, JA of Georgia. “At JA Finance Park®, we aren’t just telling students how to manage budgets; we’re giving them the opportunity to make decisions and dictate the outcomes themselves.

 At JA Finance Park students have the rare opportunity to experience their personal financial futures first-hand. The immersive simulation, combined with the relevant experience of the volunteers, enables students to develop skills to successfully navigate today’s complex economic environment, and discover how decisions today can impact tomorrow.

“It is important to give every student an equal opportunity to learn basic financial skills like budgeting, managing credit and understanding a salary,” said Diane Watson, AT&T Services. “Watching that moment when it ‘clicks’ for a student is what makes this such an important investment – seeing them understand the tradeoff for buying those basketball season tickets is that their family may not be able to buy groceries that month. Students walk away with a much better understanding of what sacrifices their parents make for them and what it means to be a financially responsible adult.”

Established in 2003, JA Finance Park® is one of Junior Achievement USA's most successful programs, and more than 1 million students across the United States have gone through the experiential learning program since it first began.

The partnership between JA of Georgia and AT&T is a continuation of their joint commitment to providing learning experiences that help young people in the community develop the competence, confidence and character to make smart academic and economic decisions. AT&T volunteers assist in the delivery of JA Finance Park®, as a part of the company’s Aspire Mentoring Academy program. Through Aspire Mentoring Academy, AT&T employees connect with students to help them discover their passions and potential. Aspire Mentoring Academy is part of AT&T Aspire, the company’s signature initiative to promote student success in school and beyond.

See what students and executives are saying about JA Finance Park®: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaPFDYRdSVY

About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T

AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; or address community needs. In 2014, nearly $127 million was contributed or directed through corporate-, employee-, social investment- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs. AT&T Aspire is AT&T’s signature education initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, employee volunteerism, and mentoring.