Jeremy Race Named President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southwest New England

The board of directors of Junior Achievement of Southwest New England has appointed Jeremy D. Race to succeed Lou Golden, who is retiring as president and chief executive officer on June 30.

Mr. Race, a resident of Kensington, is the organization’s current chief operating officer and has been a member of the JA staff for nearly 14 years.

Mr. Race’s appointment was recommended to the board by the organization’s executive committee during a meeting last week.

“Jeremy cares deeply about the JA mission and brings great leadership ability, a strong strategic sense and an excellent understanding of the organization,” said Christine Bromberg, a partner in the law firm of Robinson & Cole, who is JA’s board chair. “Jeremy has been a key part of the of the organization’s successes in recent years, helping to grow its financial base, broaden its reach and launch many new, innovative, high impact programs.”

Under Mr. Golden’s leadership since 2002, the organization has more than tripled its revenues and dramatically increased the number of students served.

“We thank Lou for his exemplary service to JA,” said Ms. Bromberg. “He has established a high standard for quality, excellence and innovation that has benefitted the thousands of students we serve each year. The board is confident that Jeremy will build on the foundation of accomplishment that has been laid.”

Mr. Race, a native of Berlin, joined the JA staff as a district manager, working with volunteers and schools in a wide swath of eastern Connecticut. He later focused his efforts on northern and central parts of the state before moving to the organization’s development department.

In 2008, he was named director of development and promoted in 2012 to vice president, development. In that role, he worked closely with the organization’s New Haven regional board of directors.

Last year he became the organization’s chief operating officer, with responsibility for day-to-day operations.

“Preparing young people for future economic success has never been more important,” said Mr. Race. “I am tremendously proud to work with every individual who advances our mission. We have an incredibly committed staff and dedicated board and I am enthusiastic about the innovative ways JA will continue to help more students and build more communities. We’ve only just begun.”

He thanked Mr. Golden for “leaving JA in an incredible position. Under Lou’s leadership, JA has become more impactful, more innovative and more resourceful – all key elements in helping change the lives of Connecticut students.”

Junior Achievement is a global leader in providing cutting-edge, hands-on financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work-readiness education. JA volunteers come from all walks of life and use their personal experiences to make the JA curricula practical and realistic, helping to empower students to own their economic success. JA's unique delivery system provides the training, materials, and support necessary to enable volunteers to build students’ skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.

JA provides students from kindergarten through Grade 12 with positive adult role models who illustrate ways to build self-confidence, develop skills and find avenues of success in our economic system. JA programs supplement school curricula by providing important life skills such as how to manage money, succeed in the workplace, or start a business that creates jobs.

Mr. Race’s thorough knowledge of every facet of the organization - from delivering JA lessons in the classroom to working closely with volunteers, businesses and financial supporters – is seen as a tremendous asset and has already contributed to JA’s reaching a record number of students.

He is a 2001 graduate of Fairfield University where he received a bachelor of arts degree in history. In 2004, he received a masters of science in elementary education from Central Connecticut State University.

His community and professional activities include serving as a member of the New Britain Youth Network, where he chaired a number of task forces; a member of the Connecticut JumpStart Coalition board of directors; chair of Fairfield University’s Hartford Alumni’s annual Briefcase Breakfast; past co-chair of Capital Workforce Partners Ad-Hoc Committee on Demographic Workforce Trends and Opportunities; and a former member of the OIC of New Britain board of directors.

He received Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s “New Haven’s Finest Award” last summer, received the “Rising Star Award” from JA USA in 2011, and was recognized by Hartford Business Journal as one of Hartford’s 40 under 40 executives in 2009.

Last year, more than 2,500 volunteers - business professionals, parents, retirees, and college students – offered JA programs to more than 35,000 students in about 150 schools in communities throughout New Haven, Middlesex, Hartford, Litchfield, Windham, Tolland, and New London counties.