Junior Achievement Adds Three Staff Members To Growing Team
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT ADDS THREE STAFF MEMBERS TO GROWING TEAM
Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South has added three new staff members to the nonprofit’s growing team.
- Julie Olsen has joined Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South as Director of Finance. With more than thirty years of business management and accounting experience serving both for-profit and non-profit organizations, she most recently served as Director of Finance for America’s Best Carpet & Tile. Previously, she served as Controller for Bridge Capital Asset Funding and, prior to that, served in a variety of finance, marketing and administrative roles for Madonna Learning Center and the Down Syndrome Association of Memphis and the Mid-South. A graduate of Illinois State University with a degree in marketing and business education, Olsen and her husband are proud to have called Memphis home since 1990 and have raised both of their children here. In fact, she first experienced the power of JA as a parent volunteer in 2000 when her son participated in JA BizTown. In her new role, she will work closely with JA leadership to guide the nonprofit’s finances as it continues to expand.
- Ivana Cherry has joined Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South as Education Specialist. Prior to joining JA, she served in a variety of education-related roles with Gestalt Community Schools and Memphis School of Excellence including business education teacher for students in 6th – 12th grade; teacher assistant for deaf and hard of hearing students; and four years as a high school track and field coach. With a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Martin and an MBA from Christian Brothers University, she is now pursuing a Doctor of Education degree (EdD) in Higher Education and Adult Learning. Ivana’s community involvement includes serving as a coach for the Ed Murphy Track Club. She is also a proud member of Brown Missionary Baptist Church and an alum of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Ivana first experienced JA back when JA BizTown was called Exchange City and, later, when she was preparing her middle school students for their simulation experience. In her new role, she will work alongside schools and JA staff to ensure successful implementation of JA’s full suite of programs.
- Kirby Rogers has joined Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South as Communications Manager. Prior to joining JA, she worked at Muddy’s Bake Shop for nearly a decade and held various roles including customer service representative, assistant shopkeeper, and marketing and community coordinator. Prior to that, she served as circulation desk associate at the Rhodes College library. A graduate of Rhodes College with a B.A. in psychology, Kirby grew up in Mississippi and graduated from Southaven High School. In her new role, she will manage all aspects of JA’s marketing and communication efforts including social media, website, collateral, events, development needs and other communications initiatives.
“We are so pleased to add these three talented individuals to our growing team,” says Leigh Mansberg, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South. “Their enthusiasm for empowering our region’s youth through financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship is both admirable and contagious. With each of them on our staff, we are even more equipped to make every child world ready!”
About Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South
Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South empowers children to be world ready and engaged members of their communities so that they may lead independent lives. This local nonprofit focuses on experiential learning opportunities centered around financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship for K-12 students across the Mid-South region. For more information on JA, visit www.jamemphis.org or call 901.366.7800.