Moline, IL – Junior Achievement of the Heartland announced today that Dougal Nelson has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization. Junior Achievement (JA) is the world’s largest and fastest-growing 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.
“We are excited about the appointment of Dougal Nelson,” stated Mike Vondran, Board Chair of the Junior Achievement of the Heartland Governing Board of Directors. “Dougal, has strong management skills and brings a great deal of expertise and enthusiasm for our work,” said Vondran.
“I am proud and honored to be a part of a prominent organization like JA with such an important mission,” commented Dougal Nelson. “JA educates and inspires young people to value free enterprise, business, and economics to improve the quality of their lives. I will work hard to ensure that more and more students experience JA’s high-quality programs so they can gain the skills relevant to success in their future careers and in their lives.”
Dougal Nelson has extensive experience in management, sales, and business development in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining the Senior Management Team at JA of the Heartland in November 2016 as Vice President of Development, he held leadership roles at Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, and Isabel Bloom LLC. He is a Quad City native and Western Illinois University Alum. Nelson and his wife, Pam, reside in Moline.
About Junior Achievement
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 programs 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. Today, JA reaches more than 4.8 million students per year in 109 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.2 million students served by operations in 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.
Locally, Junior Achievement of the Heartland serves 24 counties in eastern Iowa, western Illinois and Grant County in Wisconsin. More than 57,000 kindergarten through high school students benefit from JA programs each year. Visit www.jaheartland.org for more information.
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