Our Mission
Our Mission is to educate and inspire young people to succeed in a global economy.
Since its inception in 1919, Junior Achievement USA has been steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that every child has a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system. The practical business knowledge and personal economic skills taught by Junior Achievement help improve the quality of students’ lives, facilitate workplace readiness, and encourage entrepreneurship.
Through a network of 140 affiliate offices in all 50 states and 113 international members throughout the world, Junior Achievement USA delivers more than 22 richly diverse, integrated, and sequential economic education programs for school children in grades preK-12. Throughout its history, Junior Achievement USA has developed meaningful and productive relationships with its partners, including schools, administrators, teachers, parents, volunteers, community members, and businesses.
Junior Achievement of El Paso, Inc. is a member of JA USA and a part of the global organization that operates in 123 countries and reaches 9.7 million students. For more information please click on the link below: Click Here
Locally, Junior Achievement of El Paso, Inc. has been serving El Paso County since 1967, with effective hands-on financial literacy programs that reach out to young people with a diversity of racial and ethnic backgrounds in both urban and rural settings. Last year we served thousands of students within the Greater El Paso Area.
Since 1967, JAEP has served over 111,107 young people in the El Paso area. The JAEP office serves anywhere between 4,500 to 10,000 students per year. In 2018-2019, JAEP provided programs for over 7,062 students in the El Paso area. JA programs are delivered by our dedicated and trained volunteers. The JAEP office currently has a volunteer base of over 588 individuals who implement JA programs throughout the city.
Board of Directors 2019-2020
Executive Committee
Board Chair
Mike Gallegos, Group Rental Manager
Enterprise Holdings Inc. – Enterprise, National & Alamo Rent-A-Car
Vice President
Michael Morales, VP of Credit Ops
WestStar
Treasurer
Yvonne Santillan, El Paso / New Mexico Border District Manager, Vice President
Wells Fargo Bank
Education Liaison
Carlos Vega, Private Client Advisor
HUB International Insurance Services
Secretary
Kristy McGee, CRPC
Senior Vice President, Investments and
Senior Portfolio Manager
Heritage Premier Financial Services of Raymond James
Prospective Member
Omar Chavez, Registered Client Services Associate
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Daniel Sonnen, Wealth Advisor
Lauterbach Financial Advisors
Board Members
Renzo Ames, Remarking Sales Manager
Enterprise Holdings-National Car Rental/Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Grisel Arizpe, Senior Engineer
El Paso Electric Company
Ruben Batista, VP of Sales
Clear Channel Outdoor
Juan Cabrera, Superintendent
El Paso Independent School District
Steve Carbajal, Manager- Client Services
ADP
David Medina, General Manager
L&F Distributors
William McClain, SVP Refining Manager
Marathon
Joe Meza, Director of Professional Business Services
Prudential
Matt Osberg, SVP Corporate Finance
Helen of Troy
Lettie Ramos, Vice President of Mortgage Lending
GECU
Sustaining Members
Ceci Davila, Vice President of Operations
GECU
Nathan Hirschi, Senior Vice President-CFO
El Paso Electric Company
Nick LaMantia, Manager
L&F Distributors
Don Margo, Area President
HUB International Insurance Services
Imelda Moreno-Acosta, CPA
SBNG Certified Accountants
David Ortwein, Director of Operations
VIVA Capital Funding, Inc.
Howard Smith, Vice President of Marketing
Pizza Properties
Your JA of El Paso Staff
Elizabeth Terrazas, President
eterrazas@jadesertsouthwest.org
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Dianica Jaquez, Education Manager
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Bianca Menchaca, Development Associate
bmenchaca@jadesertsouthwest.org
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