How Does Junior Achievement Turn Dallas Students Into Entrepreneurs?
Published on: Dec 12, 2019
Updated on: October 28, 2026. Originally aired on the People. Process. Service. podcast on December 12, 2019.
Junior Achievement turns Dallas students into entrepreneurs through hands-on K-12 programs in entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. On this episode, then-President Jan Murfield said JA company program students are 2.5 times more likely to start a business. Today JA Dallas serves nearly 100,000 students a year and opened a new JA Discovery Center in 2026.
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What has changed since 2019: Chris LaTurno has led Junior Achievement of Dallas since May 2024. JA Dallas reports serving 99,661 students last year with 3,124 volunteers and more than 200 school partners. A new JA Discovery Center opened in Richardson ISD in August 2026, and JA USA's 2026 alumni report found 59 percent of surveyed alumni had started or owned a business.
Who is Jan Murfield and what does she do at Junior Achievement of Dallas?
Jan Murfield was President of Junior Achievement of Dallas when this episode aired in December 2019. Chris LaTurno was named President of JA Dallas effective May 1, 2024, and leads the organization today. Her passion for nonprofit work and teaching financial literacy led her to the role, where she oversaw programs reaching tens of thousands of local students each year. On the People. Process. Service. podcast, she joined host Tyler Kern and Frontline Source Group Founder, President, and CEO Bill Kasko to discuss why early exposure to entrepreneurship changes the trajectory of a young person's life.
What is Junior Achievement and what does the organization teach?
Junior Achievement is the world's largest nonprofit dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through hands-on training. Rather than teaching these subjects only in theory, JA uses practical, experience-based programs that let students work through real scenarios. That hands-on model is what makes the lessons stick.
How does JA teach entrepreneurship?
Through programs such as the JA company program, students build and run a business from the ground up, learning how products are made, priced, and sold, and how a team shares responsibility for results.
What does work readiness mean at JA?
Work readiness programs introduce students to careers, workplace expectations, and the skills employers look for, so the jump from school to a first job is less of a shock.
How does JA build financial literacy?
Students practice budgeting, saving, and making spending decisions in realistic scenarios, building money habits many would not otherwise learn until much later.
Why is Bill Kasko personally connected to Junior Achievement?
Bill Kasko's enthusiasm for the topic comes from his own experience. As a kid, he went through the Junior Achievement company program, the same hands-on entrepreneurship track JA still runs today. That early experience shaped his path toward building and leading a company, and it is part of why Frontline Source Group continues to champion youth entrepreneurship and financial literacy in the Dallas community.
How much more likely are Junior Achievement students to start a business?
On the episode, Murfield shared a striking figure: kids who go through the Junior Achievement company program are two and a half times more likely to start their own business than the general population. She framed the impact in human terms, describing the value of reaching students in underserved communities and teaching them the fundamentals of budgeting, and said the difference this makes in the lives of these kids is enormous.
What does the latest research say about JA alumni?
Junior Achievement USA released a 2026 alumni report built on a survey of Gen Z and Millennial JA alumni conducted with research firm Ipsos. As summarized by Junior Achievement of Arizona, 59 percent of surveyed alumni said they had started or owned a business, 87 percent continued their education after high school, 87 percent took part in job or skills training, and 90 percent said JA strengthened their critical thinking. Those results line up with the entrepreneurship effect Murfield described on the episode years earlier.
What has changed at Junior Achievement of Dallas since this episode aired?
A lot has grown since 2019. Here is where JA Dallas stands in 2026.
Who leads Junior Achievement of Dallas now?
Chris LaTurno was named President of Junior Achievement of Dallas effective May 1, 2024, according to the North Dallas Gazette. He previously led the Dallas Division of the American Heart Association as regional senior vice president.
How many students and volunteers does JA Dallas have today?
According to JA Dallas figures published in its 2026 Dallas Business Hall of Fame program, the organization served 99,661 students last year with 3,124 volunteers who gave 458,594 contact hours. It partners with more than 200 schools across Dallas, Collin, Kaufman, and Denton counties and has reached more than 1.36 million students since 1954.
What is the new JA Discovery Center?
In August 2026, Junior Achievement of Dallas and Richardson ISD opened a JA Discovery Center in the former Greenwood Hills Elementary, as reported by Dallas Innovates. Fifth-graders run stores, open bank accounts, pay taxes, and repay business loans in JA BizTown, and JA Finance Park, where seventh-graders build a personal budget, is set to open next spring. The center expects to serve more than 5,000 Richardson ISD students in its first year and about 7,000 a year at full capacity.
How many volunteers does Junior Achievement of Dallas need?
Volunteers are essential to Junior Achievement's success. In 2019, Murfield said the Dallas organization needed 5,000 volunteers that year to serve 55,000 students across the greater Dallas area. By its 2026 figures, JA Dallas now serves nearly twice as many students, so the need for volunteers has only grown. JA looks for people who want to give back to the community and genuinely enjoy working with kids. Entrepreneurs and professionals of all kinds are needed, even for a single one-hour class.
Why does Junior Achievement matter for students in underserved communities?
The program makes a measurable difference in children's lives. As discussed on the episode, students who enroll in Junior Achievement programming improve their odds of attending college after high school, and they build financial literacy skills many would not otherwise encounter early. For students in underserved communities, learning to budget and understand how businesses work can open doors that would otherwise stay closed.
How can Dallas professionals get involved with Junior Achievement?
Dallas-area entrepreneurs and professionals can support Junior Achievement in several ways, and most take a single day or less.
What volunteer options does JA Dallas offer in 2026?
According to JA Dallas, current options include JA Career Days (one to three hours sharing your career path at a school), JA In a Day (a five to six hour classroom takeover for kindergarten through fifth grade, in person or virtual), and full-day shifts at JA BizTown (grades 4 to 6) and JA Finance Park (grades 7 to 12). Volunteers can also record videos, help at events, or coach young entrepreneurs.
How else can businesses support JA?
Leaders can champion financial literacy education across their own networks and encourage their teams to volunteer. Frontline Source Group encourages the Dallas business community to give time to programs like JA. Learn more about Frontline on the About Us page.
Why does this conversation about youth entrepreneurship still matter in 2026?
The themes Jan Murfield raised have only grown more urgent, and JA's own growth shows the demand: from 55,000 students in 2019 to nearly 100,000 a year now. Financial literacy and work readiness remain gaps many students face before entering the workforce, and Dallas employers continue to feel the effects when young talent arrives underprepared for the realities of business. Early, hands-on exposure to entrepreneurship, budgeting, and career skills shapes the next generation of founders, managers, and professionals. That is why Frontline Source Group, now 22 years in business, continues to champion programs like Junior Achievement that build workforce readiness from the ground up.
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People. Process. Service. features conversations with community leaders, entrepreneurs, and workforce experts, and takes its name from Frontline's registered service mark. Listen to this episode and the full series on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, read the original episode recap on MarketScale, or browse all episodes on the Frontline podcasts page.
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Employers can share a hiring need through the employer request form. Candidates who want to be considered for roles can apply through the How to Apply page. To learn more about the firm and its community involvement, visit the About Us page.
Frequently Asked Questions: Junior Achievement and the People. Process. Service. Podcast
Who is Jan Murfield?
Jan Murfield was President of Junior Achievement of Dallas when she appeared on this December 2019 episode, leading programs that teach K-12 students entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. She joined host Tyler Kern and Frontline Source Group Founder, President, and CEO Bill Kasko to discuss youth entrepreneurship. Chris LaTurno has led JA Dallas since May 2024.
What is Junior Achievement?
Junior Achievement is the world's largest nonprofit dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through hands-on training. Its experience-based programs let students work through real scenarios in budgeting, business building, and career preparation.
How much more likely are Junior Achievement students to start their own business?
According to Jan Murfield on the People. Process. Service. podcast, kids who go through the Junior Achievement company program are two and a half times more likely to start their own business than the general population.
Who leads Junior Achievement of Dallas today?
Chris LaTurno was named President of Junior Achievement of Dallas effective May 1, 2024. Jan Murfield was President when she appeared on this People. Process. Service. episode in December 2019.
How many students does Junior Achievement of Dallas serve today?
JA Dallas reports serving 99,661 students in its most recent year with 3,124 volunteers and more than 200 school partners across Dallas, Collin, Kaufman, and Denton counties. It has reached more than 1.36 million students since 1954.
What is the JA Discovery Center in Richardson?
The JA Discovery Center opened in August 2026 in the former Greenwood Hills Elementary in Richardson ISD. It hosts JA BizTown for fifth-graders, with JA Finance Park for seventh-graders opening next spring, and expects to serve about 7,000 students a year at full capacity.
What did the 2026 JA alumni report find?
JA USA's 2026 alumni report, based on an Ipsos survey of Gen Z and Millennial alumni, found 59 percent had started or owned a business, 87 percent continued their education after high school, and 90 percent said JA strengthened their critical thinking.
Why is Bill Kasko passionate about Junior Achievement?
Bill Kasko went through the Junior Achievement company program as a kid, the same hands-on entrepreneurship track JA still runs today. That early experience shaped his path toward building and leading a company, which is part of why Frontline Source Group continues to support youth entrepreneurship in Dallas.
What is the People. Process. Service. podcast?
People. Process. Service. is a Frontline Source Group podcast featuring conversations with community leaders, entrepreneurs, and workforce experts. The name reflects Frontline's registered service mark and brand philosophy. Browse all episodes at frontlinesourcegroup.com/podcasts.html.
How can Dallas professionals volunteer with Junior Achievement?
JA Dallas offers JA Career Days (one to three hours), JA In a Day classroom sessions (five to six hours), and full-day shifts at JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. Professionals can also record videos, help at events, or coach young entrepreneurs. Sign up at jadallas.org/get-involved.
Who is the CEO of Frontline Source Group?
Bill Kasko is the Founder, President, and CEO of Frontline Source Group, which he founded in Dallas in 2004. He is a Junior Achievement company program alum and joined this People. Process. Service. episode. Read his profile at frontlinesourcegroup.com/bill-kasko-staffing-services.html.
Why does youth entrepreneurship education still matter in 2026?
Financial literacy and work readiness remain gaps many students face before entering the workforce, and employers feel the effects when young talent arrives underprepared. Early hands-on exposure to entrepreneurship and budgeting builds the foundation for the next generation of founders and professionals, which is why Frontline Source Group continues to support programs like Junior Achievement.
