Junior Achievement of Georgia Celebrates Outstanding Volunteers for Their Service by Announcing 3 Awards

ATLANTA, GA — Junior Achievement of Georgia (JA of Georgia) is celebrating 24 companies, organizations, schools and individuals for their outstanding commitment to volunteerism and student success during the 2025-26 school year.

For the first time, JA of Georgia is recognizing these partners through three awards designed to celebrate the organizations and individuals who help bring Junior Achievement programs to life for Georgia students. From recruiting hundreds of volunteers to creating meaningful student experiences and championing JA within their communities, these partners play an important role in helping young people prepare for success in a global economy.

JA Partner Milestone Award | Recognizes companies, organizations, and schools who recruited 100+ volunteers annually across JA of Georgia’s programs and regions. These partnerships help inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.

JA Volunteer Impact Award | Recognizes an outstanding individual whose exceptional dedication to volunteer service and advocacy with JA of Georgia goes above and beyond, inspiring others, enriching student experiences, and creating a meaningful impact on the next generation.

JA Volunteer Champion Impact Award | Recognizes an outstanding individual from a corporation or organization whose leadership, advocacy, and excellence in JA of Georgia volunteer recruitment go above and beyond to expand Junior Achievement's reach, inspire engagement, and create lasting impact for students.

Together, these organizations contributed thousands of volunteer experiences that helped Georgia students explore careers, develop essential skills and connect what they learn in school to the world around them.

From Left to Right: Lindsay Allward-Theimer, Dennis McGourik, Dr. Gina Kertulis-Tartar, Mallory Safley, Thurman Williams, & Emily Jourdain

Four of this year's award recipients were recognized in person during JA of Georgia's Fall 2026 Board Meeting on September 24: Dalton State College, recipient of the JA Partner Milestone Award for 900+ volunteers; Thurman Williams, recipient of the JA Volunteer Impact Award; and Dennis McGouirk and Mallory Safley, recipients of the JA Volunteer Champion Impact Award.

JA of Georgia will continue recognizing partners throughout the remainder of the year, celebrating the companies, organizations, schools and individuals whose time, talent and commitment help create meaningful opportunities for students across Georgia.

Assad Lazarus and Sachin Sachdeva Join JA of Georgia Board of Directors

We are excited to welcome two new faces to our Board of Directors!

Assad Lazarus, CDO & EVP, Public Sector, Purchasing Power

Assad is a senior executive with over 25 years of demonstrated success leading strategy and financial growth for diverse organizations within financial services, data, and technology businesses.  During his career, he has partnered with C-level leaders and Board of Directors to identify and pursue profitable new opportunities, products, and markets. In his current role as Chief Development Officer and EVP, Public Sector, Assad is responsible for leading Purchasing Power’s public sector division and spearheading strategic business development efforts to drive growth-oriented partnerships across the company.

Prior to joining Purchasing Power in 2020, Lazarus spent over 10 years with Equifax where he held a variety of executive positions leading vertical business lines focused on delivering financial, credit, identity, insurance, and analytical services to the consumer market. He also led product strategy, innovation and development for Equifax’s Personal Solutions division. In addition, Lazarus’ career includes over 15 years in the telecommunications and energy industries – with AT&T & Reliant Energy - where he held a wide variety of senior leadership roles in marketing, operations, product management, and strategy.

Assad has served on several non-profit boards, including the Trust for Public Land and the Atlanta YMCA.  He also actively serves as a fundraiser for the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation.  Assad earned his undergraduate degree in Applied Math-Statistics & Economics from State University of New York at Stony Brook, and his MBA in Finance & Marketing from Emory University in Atlanta.

Assad currently lives in Atlanta, GA with his son, Matthew. He has a passion for leadership, coaching youth sports, volunteering, playing golf, and travel.

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Sachin Sachdeva, Managing Director, COO of Client Experience Platform & Atlanta iHub, BlackRock

In his CEP role, Sachin Sachdeva he is focused on building new digital capabilities that support a holistic experience for institutional clients. In his Atlanta iHub role, he is responsible for supporting the growth of the office to ~1,000 people in the next 3 years while creating a culture of transformation and community engagement.

Sachin joined BlackRock from SSA & Company, a boutique operations consulting firm, where he was most recently the Financial Services Practice Lead. He managed engagements that helped clients increase efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction and improve earnings. Prior to BlackRock, he spent several years at Bank of America, including as Senior Vice President in Consumer Banking, leading various efforts to improve client satisfaction, retention and profitability of banking customers.

He has a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland and a MBA from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.