Local Business Leaders to be Honored for Achievements and Contributions to Atlanta Business Community

Ed Bastian and Kathy Waller will join the prestigious group of individuals previously inducted into the JA Atlanta Business Hall of Fame

ATLANTA– Junior Achievement (JA) of Georgia and Atlanta Business Chronicle are pleased to announce that Ed Bastian, Chief Executive Officer, Delta Air Lines, and Kathy Waller, retired Chief Financial Officer, The Coca-Cola Company and Executive Director, Atlanta Committee for Progress, will be inducted into the JA Atlanta Business Hall of Fame on Saturday, February 25, 2023. They will join the group of 99 influential Atlantans previously inducted for their significant contributions to Atlanta’s economic and civic vibrancy.

Celebrating its 33rd year, the JA Atlanta Business Hall of Fame, a black-tie gala to benefit JA of Georgia, is held to honor dynamic business and civic leaders who have shaped Atlanta into the robust city it is today.

“We are so honored to be inducting these two extraordinary people,” said John Hancock, President and CEO, JA of Georgia. “Mr. Bastian’s leadership of Delta Air Lines, particularly in the past few years, has served as a model for leaders around the country and the world. His leadership of the world’s number one airline, coupled with his many civic commitments in Atlanta, speaks to his incredible leadership capacity. Similarly, Ms. Waller’s story is one of inspiration for so much accomplished in a pioneering business career and for so much given to our community. As a native Atlantan and Douglas High School graduate, she epitomizes the best of this place and remains one of our most relevant and uplifting leaders.”

Ed Bastian has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines since 2016. He leads the team of 80,000 employees across the globe, all who are focused on building the worlds’ premier international airline. Bastian has been with Delta for 24-years total, working his way from Vice President and Controller to Chief Financial Officer to President, and now CEO. Bastian has guided the company through some of its most challenging times – most recently the COVID-19 pandemic – while remaining committed to its people-focused culture and spirit of innovation. During his time as CEO, Delta has become the world’s most awarded airline and maintains a transcendent presence in its headquarters of Atlanta. In 2018 Fortune magazine named Bastian one of ‘The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders’, and his values-based leadership strategy can be summed up in his own words as ‘taking care of our people.’ Before joining Delta, Bastian held senior finance positions at Frito-Lay International and Pepsi-Cola International. He started his career with Price Waterhouse, where he became an audit partner in its New York practice. Bastian currently serves on the board for the Woodruff Arts Center and has chaired the boards of the Atlanta Metro Chamber and the Atlanta Committee for Progress. He grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Throughout her 32 years at The Coca-Cola Company, Kathy Waller’s journey accomplished a full circle: her first position at the company was as a senior accountant with the primary responsibility for preparing the then-CFO for his financial reporting to the Board of Directors. In 2019 she retired as Coca-Cola’s Chief Financial Officer. During her decades-long career, she held leadership roles of increasing seniority, ultimately becoming the first woman and first Black person to be a CFO at a Fortune 100 company. In 2007 Waller was selected as a founding member of the company’s Women’s Leadership Council where she led female executives in senior roles through the ranks of the company and towards better understanding and empowering themselves. Waller is currently the Executive Director of the Atlanta Committee for Progress and serves on the boards of The University of Rochester (her alma mater), Spelman College, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, The Woodruff Arts Center, and Achieve Atlanta. She has corporate board roles at Delta Air Lines, Beyond Meat, CGI Inc., and Cadence Bancorporation.

The JA Atlanta Business Hall of Fame will feature a cocktail reception, silent auction, seated dinner, and laureate induction ceremony. The 2023 gala will be held at Flourish Atlanta in Buckhead. Proceeds from the event will benefit JA of Georgia and its efforts to empower the next generation to build a better future for themselves and their community. To learn more, click here.

Hawks and Chase Partner With Junior Achievement to Launch “Power Forward: How to Advance Your Career and Finances” Program for Metro Atlanta High School and College Students

Program to Provide More Than 1,000 Students With Invaluable Hands-On Financial Literacy Learning Experience

ATLANTA – This week the Atlanta Hawks and Chase, the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co, and the official bank partner of the Hawks, launched the multi-pronged “Power Forward: How to Advance Your Career and Finances” program in partnership with Junior Achievement of Georgia (JA). This initiative, aimed towards high school and college students, will consist of three separate curriculums for three different target groups in metro Atlanta. The overall program is designed to educate students in the areas of financial health and literacy, the basics of business finance, and to build their knowledge around the financial services industry.

 “The Hawks are excited to partner with Chase and Junior Achievement to launch a program for high school and college students that focuses on two very important topics: financial health and critical thinking. The information that will be provided is priceless, this collaboration will help to propel program participants forward and prepare them for a bright future,” said Andrea Carter, Hawks Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility. “It is important to us that we leverage our partnerships to impact the community around us in a positive way. Working with both Chase and Junior Achievement to bring a much-needed curriculum to the classroom will hopefully inspire students to take their financial journeys seriously.”

 The first program, which was introduced this week and will last until July, is a Professional Development Webinar Series, geared towards first year college students with previous learning experience from JA led programs. The customized curriculum will feature financial literacy workshops hosted by Chase and the “Peek Behind the Curtain” series where Hawks and Chase team members will speak extensively about what they look for in potential candidates for job opportunities at their respective organizations.

 “It is incredibly important that our leaders of tomorrow are prepared today to achieve their own personal financial health and goals, and feel confident to pursue careers in the financial services industry as well,” said Mark Adams, Chase’s Georgia and North Florida market director for Consumer Banking. “Through Junior Achievement and the Atlanta Hawks, Chase is excited to work directly with students in metro Atlanta to help them navigate their personal and professional financial journeys.”

 The second program will begin in the fall and be conducted in-school with a curriculum focused on consultancy. Seniors from Banneker, Northview, Osborne, Norcross, and Parkview High Schools will be presented with a real-world business challenge and divided into small groups to work as a project consulting team for the with the support of both Hawks and Chase employee volunteers. This project will span nine weeks. The third program is an in-school extended case study, beginning in the Spring of 2022. The curriculum will be built around the core competency of critical and analytical thinking. More than 500 juniors from South Atlanta, Martin Luther King Jr., McNair, Savannah, and Parkview High Schools will be challenged with an engaging and relevant business case study that will enhance learning, refine students’ higher-order skills, and provide opportunities for students to create connections to the Hawks and Chase brands by learning from their employees throughout the process. This project will span six weeks.

 Junior Achievement of Georgia is dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make educated academic and economic choices. The organization offers multiple programs, including in-class programs, JA BizTown, JA Finance Park and 3DE by Junior Achievement, all of which focus on entrepreneurship, personal financial literacy and workforce readiness. JA of Georgia serves 175,000 students statewide in an average year.

 “We are thrilled to be launching our partnership with the Atlanta Hawks and Chase, and are looking forward to the exposure and opportunities it will provide for our 3DE students,” said John Hancock, Junior Achievement of Georgia President and CEO. “Giving high school students a chance to interact with professionals from both of these companies will help them to further expand their future goals and hone in on what it will take to achieve those goals.”

 In 2020, the Atlanta Hawks and Chase announced an integrated multi-year partnership with several pillar programs focused on increasing financial health in Atlanta’s communities, and creating economic opportunity for local residents. This partnership has since produced two “Chase Chats”, a series of small group sessions focused on financial health through impactful conversations, that have featured guests like NBA Legend and Hawks co-owner Grant Hill and Atlanta Hawks icon, Dominique Wilkins.

 Visit Hawks.com/community to learn more about Atlanta Hawks community efforts.

Junior Achievement of Georgia Breaks Ground on New JA Colonial Group Discovery Center of Savannah

Facility to impact 15,000 Coastal Empire students annually in partnership with local companies and school districts

Savannah, GA – Junior Achievement (JA) of Georgia ceremoniously broke ground on the new JA Colonial Group Discovery Center of Savannah on Friday, February 19. The event signified the start of the renovation and retrofitting of 25,000 square feet of space on Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong campus. Together with presenting partners Colonial Oil, Inc. and Georgia Southern University, JA welcomed supporters and partners for a look at the existing space and how it will evolve in the coming months to begin serving students this fall.

“It’s this space that’s going to transform the lives of 15,000 middle school students a year throughout the whole costal region,” said Camille Russo, Vice President, Marketing, JA of Georgia. “It’s going to transform them by exposing and immersing them in financial literacy, entrepreneurship and career readiness, and by allowing them to really experience what their future could look like.”

 JA Discovery Centers blend key components of education to create state-of-the-art learning facilities where students apply concepts they learn in the classroom in a 360-degree authentic and experiential experience. Upon arrival students become a part of a simulated version of their hometown within the JA BizTown® and JA Finance Park® programs. Then students work alongside their peers and adult volunteers as they develop a greater understanding of financial concepts, build 21st century skills, and foster their entrepreneurial spirit.

 “There is tremendous alignment between the missions of our organizations,” said Dr. Kyle Marrero, President, Georgia Southern University. “This gives us the opportunity to work every day for the betterment of our own organizations, but also to develop the next generation of leaders who will shape our communities, inspire innovation, create solutions and impact countless others.”

 The facility will have representation from various local and national businesses –Georgia United Credit Union, Publix, South State Bank, Thomas & Hutton, and United Way of the Coastal Empire have committed to date – that will provide students a glimpse into possible career paths, as well as an opportunity to be an employee of the business for the day.

 “We’ve been avid supporters of JA’s mission over the years, due in large part to the alignment of our missions,” said Christian Demere, CEO, Colonial Group, Inc. “I think the businesses in Savannah are beneficiaries of their work with our students because these are the people that will become the employees, leaders and contributors in our community. We are very excited for this opportunity to further that mission and strengthen the foundation JA is cultivating in our youth.”

 Currently JA Discovery Centers serve more than 88,000 students a year across three locations - the JA Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center in Altanta, the JA Discovery Center at Gwinnett and the Mike and Lynn Cottrell JA Discovery Center at North Georgia in Cumming. The fourth facility, in Dalton, is under construction and will open in 2021, bringing the total impact to more than a third of middle school students in Georgia.

 To find out more about getting involved, please contact Camille Russo at crusso@georgia.ja.org or 912-344-5440.