Shannon Gerard is the Vice President of Education at Junior Achievement (JA) of Central Iowa, where she has dedicated over 6.5 years to advancing financial literacy education. In her current role, Shannon oversees a team that delivers JA’s impactful programs to over 38,000 students each year across Central Iowa. JA’s curriculum spans financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship, with programs available for students from kindergarten through high school, as well as workforce readiness for young adults up to age 25.
One of the highlights of Shannon’s work includes managing JA’s signature experiential learning programs, such as JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, where students engage in hands-on financial decision-making and career exploration. These programs, along with classroom lessons, high school competitions, job shadowing experiences, and summer camps, help students develop the skills needed to thrive in the real world.
As a proud member of the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition, Shannon sees firsthand how the group’s efforts enrich financial literacy education across the state. ” This group is focused on enriching and empowering young people to have bright futures and that is what JA is all about!” Shannon shares. “Financial literacy is often something we discover after our K-12 experience out of necessity, and Junior Achievement is here to introduce and help students re-write that narrative.”
Outside of her work in financial literacy, Shannon enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. She also loves cooking, doing yoga, and cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Shannon’s work with Junior Achievement continues to make a lasting impact, ensuring young people in Central Iowa are better equipped to make informed financial decisions and achieve their career and entrepreneurial goals.
For more information about Junior Achievement of Central Iowa, visit https://centraliowa.ja.org/.
Iowa Jump$tart Coalition 