JA News

(Moline, IL) – As an extension of their digital and experiential learning resources, Junior Achievement is partnering with Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow., CNBC’s financial wellness and education initiative in partnership with Acorns, to host a “Summit for a More Equitable and Just Tomorrow” on December 8 at Noon CST.

Hosted by CNBC Senior Personal Finance Correspondent Sharon Epperson, this unique interactive event will give teens across America direct access to some of the country’s most knowledgeable experts on economic empowerment, especially as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Patrick Hurd, a junior at Bettendorf High School is one of 13 students across the nation selected to participate in the summit.  Hurd, along with the other students, will ask questions related to the topic.  The panelists will offer simple, straightforward strategies to help empower participants to strive toward promoting a more equitable and just tomorrow.

Panelists include:

• Sahil Bloom, Vice President, Altamont Capital Partners
• Rianka Dorsainvil, Co-Founder & CEO, 2050 Wealth Partners
• Yanely Espinal, Director of Educational Outreach, Next Gen Personal Finance
• Akbar Gbajabiamila, Host, American Ninja Warrior and American Ninja Warrior Junior and member, CNBC Financial Wellness Advisory Council
• and Special Guest Marc Morial, President & CEO, National Urban League

Hurd recently participated in Junior Achievement of the Heartland’s Connecting the Best with the Next series.  The virtual event paired teens with local entrepreneurs in celebration of National Entrepreneurship Month in November.  The students were able to ask questions and learn more about entrepreneurship in an effort to help teens find their own pathway to future success.  The series was sponsored by RSM US LLP and the Quad-City Times.

Following participation in the local series, Hurd was offered the opportunity to submit questions for the national summit and was selected.

“Economic empowerment is essential for creating a more equitable and just tomorrow,” said Dougal Nelson, President & CEO, Junior Achievement of the Heartland. “By partnering with CNBC on this virtual summit, our goal is to address many of the questions today’s teens have about economic disparity in our society and steps that we can take to eliminate barriers and create greater opportunity for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, religion, or disability.  We are excited Patrick has been selected to represent the Quad City region on this important topic.”

“Diversity, equity and inclusion have long been a top priority for us at CNBC,” said Satpal Brainch, President, CNBC Business News Worldwide. “This virtual summit with Junior Achievement will bring together well-respected voices from different backgrounds to help inform and educate the next generation on an important topic affecting so many people across the country.” 

Students, parents and teachers interested in participating in the virtual summit can learn more and register at JA.org/Summit.

About Junior Achievement of the Heartland

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 learning experiences are delivered in-person or virtually 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. Junior Achievement of the Heartland serves 24 counties in eastern Iowa, western Illinois and Grant County in Wisconsin. More than 30,500 kindergarten through high school students benefit from JA learning experiences each year. Visit www.jaheartland.org for more information.

About CNBC:

CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business content consumed by more than 557 million people per month across all platforms. The network’s 15 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 5:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC’s global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of new reality programming, CNBC’s highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.

CNBC also offers content through its vast portfolio of digital products such as: CNBC.com, which provides real-time financial market news and information to CNBC’s investor audience; CNBC Make It, a digital destination focused on making you smarter about how you earn, save and spend your money; CNBC PRO, a premium service that provides in-depth access to Wall Street; a suite of CNBC mobile apps for iOS and Android devices; Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri voice interfaces; and streaming services including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Samsung Smart TVs. To learn more, visit https://www.cnbc.com/digital-products/.

Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBCUniversal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/programming/cnbc.  For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit http://www.NBCUniversal.com