att Brown has been selected as the Junior Achievement (JA) of Alaska Volunteer of the Year for his outstanding support of JA in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. “Volunteers like Matt allow JA to reach students that we normally would not be able to serve in Alaska. The dedication that he and his team in Kenai have to promoting K-12 financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship in schools is a priceless investment in our youth and takes many hours of dedication and hard work,” says JA President Flora Teo.

In his role as a classroom volunteer, Brown spends hours teaching students about financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship. Brown works at Marathon and, as a volunteer from the business community, shares his knowledge and experience to encourage students to stay in school and follow their own career paths and maximize their potential. Of JA alumni students, one in five grow up to work in the same industry as their JA classroom volunteer, which speaks to the valuable role of volunteers and the business community in schools.

In his role as a member of the Kenai JA Community Committee, Brown works alongside members of the local business community to bring more volunteers in schools. While the committee is small, they do big work, reaching 500 to 700 students each year in elementary and middle school. “It takes a village, and for students in Kenai, JA would not be able to provide quality programming without volunteers like Matt,” says Teo.

Nominations for Volunteer of the Year are made through a statewide nomination process. Candidates must demonstrate above-average commitment to JA and promote the pillars of Junior Achievement: financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship.