By Kathy Chouteau
Mitzi Perez, a Digital Arts teacher at Kennedy High School in Richmond, was honored as a Junior Achievement of Northern California 2022 Educator of the Year at the organization’s Business Hall of Fame luncheon April 29 at San Francisco’s Exploratorium.
Perez joined six fellow educators as honorees at the luncheon, which is an annual fundraising event “to honor outstanding volunteer and education partners within Northern California who have demonstrated a passion for Junior Achievement and our mission,” per the organization via West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Chris Hurst’s April 29 Community Message.
Junior Achievement’s mission is to empower students toward greater economic success.
Perez remarked that as a Richmond teacher, she believes it’s “incredibly important for students to see themselves in the professions they want to pursue” and that Junior Achievement has a history of providing that representation for students.
The Educator of the Year honoree also shared that her students “are able to explore career paths that they did not deem possible before” due to Junior Achievement “being that bridge for us.”
Learn more about the work of Junior Achievement of Northern California here.
