WASHINGTON, June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Junior Achievement USA^® (JA) and ALPFA, Inc. (the Association of Latino Professionals For America) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Washington, D.C. The two organizations have agreed to work together on the shared goal of preparing young people to be work-ready and to provide them with a valuable means to explore career opportunities, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. As part of this partnership, ALPFA Chief Executive Officer Charles P. Garcia today joins the Junior Achievement USA board of directors. Additionally, ALPFA will encourage its membership to become involved as volunteers and board members with JA’s 115 local offices across the United States. Finally, Junior Achievement USA will increase staff capacity to help manage the partnership.

“Each year, more than 200,000 business professionals volunteer to teach JA programs,” said Jack E. Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. “This agreement with ALPFA will help JA bring even more powerful role models into the lives of the young people we serve. We look forward to working with ALPFA in the years ahead as we empower young people to own their economic success.”

“Recent studies predict that forty percent of employment growth over the next five years will be from Latinos,” said Garcia. “If corporate America wants to recruit these Millennials, it will need to reflect Hispanics throughout its leadership ranks. Today, this is simply not the case. Nearly 90% of Fortune 1000 corporate boards lack any Latino representation. By ALPFA introducing our most talented Latinos to serve on JA’s local boards with senior corporate leaders, we hope to change that.”

About ALPFA:
Founded in 1972, ALPFA (www.alpfa.org) supports over 48,000 Latino students, professionals, and entrepreneurs through its 43 professional chapters across the country and 144 student chapters at major colleges and universities. ALPFA’s mission is to empower and develop Latino men and women as leaders of character for the nation, in every sector of the global economy.

About Junior Achievement USA^® (JA):
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 4.5 million students per year in 115 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.8 million students served by operations in 120 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.