BY FREDA MIKLIN
STAFF WRITER
Photo by Freda Miklin
On November 29, Gov. Jared Polis took a “hard hat tour” of the new Junior Achievement Free Enterprise Center, under construction at 6500 Greenwood Plaza Boulevard in the Denver Tech Center. Construction of the 26,000-square foot, two-floor facility is expected to be completed by year end.
Two state-of-the-art learning labs, the Daniels Fund JA Dream Accelerator and the Robert and Judi Newman JA Finance Park, will be used as a places of learning, discovery and inspiration where JA “will fuse the physical and digital worlds to deliver innovative, real-world, and inspirational learning experiences in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness (for) 20,000 students annually.” JA President and CEO Robin Wise told The Villager that the new JA Free Enterprise Center has students scheduled to use the facility starting in April 2023. Students will attend four-hour JA programs at no charge to them or their schools.
Wise showed Gov. Polis around the building and explained that the Daniels Fund JA Dream Accelerator is, “an interactive and responsive career exploration experience that will motivate high school students to develop a plan to pursue a meaningful career. This experience will bring careers to life by sharing stories of emerging entrepreneurs and Colorado Business Hall of Fame inductees tailored to each student’s interests and aptitudes.”
She also showed the governor where the Robert and Judi Newman JA Finance Park is being built to provide, “An immersive simulation providing teens the opportunity to become adults for the day. Recognized by Harvard University as a best practice for teaching financial literacy, students explore a mini-city, learning first-hand how to budget for housing, insurance, transportation, retirement investments, and more. Volunteer role models share their experiences, helping teens connect their learning to the real-world.”
The JA Free Enterprise Center will also be home to the Colorado Business Hall of Fame and have a 1,100-square foot conference center for teacher trainings, corporate events, and community use. The space is on the top floor of the building and contains an expansive outdoor area with views of Mount Evans and Pikes Peak. It even has a catering kitchen.
JA Board Chair Lori Davis, Managing Partner of the Denver office of Grant Thornton, told us that the Free Enterprise Center “is a huge accomplishment—a vision that Robin Wise had and presented to the board. We all jumped on it because we thought it was a great idea.” It succeeded because, “A lot of people believe in this organization and what it stands for.” JA has always been a part of her life, Davis shared, “Because my father had the job that Robin holds here, for Oklahoma City and Tulsa, from the time I was a child, so I’ve grown up with Junior Achievement.”
Gov. Polis pledged to come back and visit again when the new JA Free Enterprise Center opens, telling Wise, “I can’t wait to see it when it’s ready.”
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