Junior Achievement of Central Florida and Junior Achievement of the Space Coast Join Forces to Expand Workforce Readiness Education for Brevard County Students

ORLANDO, FL – August 3, 2026 – Junior Achievement of Central Florida is proud to announce it is combining with Junior Achievement of the Space Coast to greatly expand opportunities for Brevard County students – and those throughout Central Florida – to embrace Education for What's Next, Junior Achievement's suite of programs that empower students to become confident, capable, and connected.

Why Now

Florida's economy is changing faster than at any point in recent memory. The Florida Chamber Foundation has set a goal of making Florida a top-10 global economy by 2030, and the Foundation's Florida 2030 research consistently points to the same challenge: talent. Employers across the state report difficulty finding workers with the skills their industries now demand, and the Florida Chamber Foundation has repeatedly identified education and workforce alignment as the single greatest determinant of whether Florida meets its goal.

Nowhere is that more visible than on the Space Coast where aerospace, technology, and advanced manufacturing are expanding rapidly. The jobs being created here require financial literacy, entrepreneurial thinking, and career readiness – skills that are best built early and reinforced year after year.

Junior Achievement of the Space Coast has spent 50 years building those skills in Brevard students, developing relationships with schools, recruiting volunteers, and connecting classroom learning to real economic opportunity. That legacy is the foundation of everything that comes next.

Junior Achievement of Central Florida brings 65 years of its own experience serving students across the region along with the scale, resources, and program depth built over those decades. Together, two organizations with deep local roots and complementary strengths can now offer Brevard students a full workforce pipeline pathway – reaching students at every grade level and through age 25.

What This Means for Brevard County Students

As of August 1, the new organization – Junior Achievement of Central Florida & the Space Coast – will carry on the legacy of Junior Achievement education in Brevard while bringing new resources and programs to the area. Popular Junior Achievement programs like Stock Market Challenge and the Social Innovation Challenge will continue in Brevard County. These are signature programs with strong school and community support, and the combined organization is committed to sustaining them.

As Junior Achievement of Central Florida & the Space Coast builds capacity in Brevard County, it will evaluate opportunities to introduce additional Junior Achievement programs to the area. Among them is JA BizTown, one of Junior Achievement's most immersive elementary and middle-school experiences. In this simulated community, students run businesses, manage budgets, and see firsthand how an economy works. Junior Achievement of Central Florida & the Space Coast will begin exploring what it would take to bring that experience to Brevard students. The new organization will also assess the potential of bringing to Brevard County the 3DE by Junior Achievement program, a high school model that connects classroom learning to real-world business case challenges solved alongside local industry partners, all designed to make the high-school experience more relevant and more directly tied to careers. Any program expansion will be shaped in partnership with the local school district to ensure new programs best address the community's needs.

The popular Space Coast-area Junior Achievement events, such as the Hall of Fame and Golf Classic, will also continue, preserving the community traditions and business relationships that have sustained Junior Achievement in Brevard for five decades.

Leadership and Community Voice

"The synergy our new organization will create and bring to Brevard County and across Florida will give students the tools and experiences they need to thrive in the modern workforce," says Karen Revels, President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Central Florida & the Space Coast. "This is the perfect combination of two Junior Achievement organizations that each have long, proud legacies of service to local students. Together, we can do even more to create a true workforce pipeline pathway for young people all across Brevard County and throughout Central Florida."

Moses Harvin II, who served as Chair of the Board for Junior Achievement of the Space Coast, will join the governing board of the Junior Achievement of Central Florida & the Space Coast along with four other Space Coast Directors. "This opportunity gives us the ability to scale our programs with the resources and staff support that are needed to level up our impact in Brevard County,” says Moses. “I look forward to working as one team to benefit our students and ultimately our workforce.”

The current Space Coast Board of Directors will transition under Moses’s leadership to the Community Engagement Board in Brevard County to continue building partnerships, developing volunteers, and addressing the unique needs of the Space Coast community.

About Junior Achievement USA® (JA)

Junior Achievement – now represented locally across Central Florida by the new Junior
Achievement of Central Florida & the Space Coast – is the world's largest organization
Junior Achievement Central Florida & the Space Coast 2121 Camden Road, Orlando, FL 32803 407-898-2121 www.jacentralfl.org
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 Worldwide, of which Junior Achievement USA is a member, has been nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its global work preparing young people for economic
opportunity and fostering the entrepreneurship, employability, and cross-border
collaboration that underpin peaceful, prosperous societies. Additionally, Junior
Achievement has expanded its reach to 18-to-25-year-olds to provide young adults with
critical life skills, as well as to pre-K youth to ensure children get a solid head start. Today, JA
reaches more than 4.6 million students per year in nearly 100 markets across the United
States as part of 19.9 million students served by operations in more than 100 other countries
worldwide. For more information, visit www.JA.org.

Media Inquiries:
Karen Revels
President & CEO
krevels@jacentralfl.org
407-883-7902