Junior Achievement, Orange County’s leading nonprofit for financial education and empowerment of disadvantaged youth, has released the list of business professionals who will serve on the organization’s Advisory Board for the 2021-‘22 year. The 26 - member board includes top executives and advisors across the region.

Those selected to serve for the 2021-2022 term year include:

Executive Committee
Michael Shepherd, Managing Partner, The Shepherd Group (Chair)
Courtney Williams, First Vice President, Pacific Premier Bank (Vice-Chair)
Mary Garrett, Partner, Ernst & Young
Caroline Harkins, Retired, Bridge Bank
Alan Hermann, OC Office Managing Partner, Grant Thornton
Steve Krenik, Vice President, US Bank
Diana McCutcheon, Partner, Deloitte
Laura Urish, Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Nano Banc

Members
CJ Bibolet, Vice President, Commercial Banking, City National Bank
Dennis Cole, ACCESS Director, OC Department of Education
Andrew DeCaminada, Group Manager, Automobile Club of Southern California
Andrew Fuller, Managing Director, Creative Planning
Rick Goodman, Senior Vice President, Citizens Business Bank
Ben Lankenau, Director, Acquisition, McCarthy Cook & Co.
Jason Pfeiffer, Vice President, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Emily Ramos, Product Lead, Capital Group
Howard Hirakawa, Vice President, Pacific Life Insurance Company
Todd Hollander, Executive Vice President, Union Bank
Shant Ohanian, Bank of the West
Derek Poirier, Senior VP, ABD Insurance and Financial Services
Irma Rivera, VP & District Manager, Comerica Bank
Christina Stauffer, Senior Consultant, The Schaus Group
Karen Stout, Partner, Leadership Capital Group
Guy Thier, Chief Information Officer, Cutera
Matt Trujillo, President, American Virtual Monitoring
Lynn Sullivan, EVP, Chief Risk Officer, Banc of California

Honorary Member:
Al Mijares, Orange County Superintendent of Schools

In addition to establishing strategic direction and advising Junior Achievement of Orange County, Board members focus much of their work on fundraising and special events. Among them: JA Titan, a virtual student CEO competition that introduces high school-aged youth to the world of entrepreneurism; fundraising events tailored specifically for high school girls and boys; JA Day, an annual event at Star View Elementary where Board members volunteer to teach kids on various aspects of financial literacy; and Stock Market Championship, a simulated game that brings professionals together each year for a fun, spirited competition to see who can generate the greatest return on fictitious stock investments.

“With public schools challenged by the pandemic in ways we never dreamed, the need for the resources and learning materials to teach students financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness has never been greater,” said Michael Shepherd, OC Board Chair. “Junior Achievement is uniquely equipped to help meet that need.”

About Junior Achievement of Orange County

Serving communities across the OC and the Inland Empire, Junior Achievement of Orange County is based in Costa Mesa, California. The 501(3)(c) operates as a district office of Junior Achievement of Southern California, headquartered in Los Angeles. JA SoCal seeks to inspire and empower thousands of young people each year through its programs focused on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and workforce readiness.