Junior Achievement of Arizona Volunteer Receives Top National Honor

Junior Achievement of Arizona (JA) is proud to announce that Arturo “Art” Pérez, community affairs manager at U.S. Bank, has been chosen from among more than 150,000 U.S. volunteers as one of 12 recipients of the organization’s most prestigious national award for volunteerism, the Gold Leadership Award.

Junior Achievement’s Gold Leadership Award honors volunteer excellence, presented in recognition of leadership in supporting and expanding JA’s student impact, resources, operational excellence and sustainability. The Gold Leadership Awards honor the recipients’ JA volunteer service during the 2023-2024 school year.

“Our local business community’s support of JA is critical to achieving our mission, to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in the global economy,” said Katherine Cecala, president of Junior Achievement of Arizona. “Art is a remarkable example of that spirit of dedication and service to others. In a very real way, he helps Arizona JA students get the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.”

Pérez has volunteered for more than a decade and has been a dedicated board member for the last eight years. During his time with JA, he strategically developed rural outreach efforts and grew employee volunteerism among his U.S. Bank colleagues.

Pérez is a passionate ambassador for the Junior Achievement of Arizona mission, increasing awareness of the organization’s programs, fostering relationships with local organizations, and publicizing volunteer opportunities across his personal and professional networks to help JA in creating a more diverse volunteer community and Board of Directors.

Junior Achievement’s entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work readiness programs are delivered nationwide—typically in classrooms during the school day, by volunteer role models from the local business community.

About Junior Achievement of Arizona

Junior Achievement of Arizona (JA) is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization that equips Arizona students to succeed in work and life by giving them the knowledge and skills they need to manage their money, plan for their future, and make smart academic, career and economic choices. Since 1957, JA has taught kids, kindergarten through high school, about financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. The organization’s hands-on, age-appropriate programs are delivered by more than 7,500 corporate and community volunteers. Despite educational obstacles during the pandemic, JA reached approximately 190,000 students in the 2023-2024 school year. Follow @JAArizona on social media or visit jaaz.org/resources for more free online educational tools.

About Junior Achievement USA® (JA)

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA learning experiences are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Additionally, Junior Achievement is expanding its reach to 18-to-25-year-olds to provide young adults with critical life skills, as well as to pre-K youth to ensure children get a solid head start. Today, JA reaches more than 4.6 million students per year in 99 markets across the United States as part of 12.5 million students served by operations in more than 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.