November 18, 2010

Governor Markell to Lead Board of Jobs for America's Graduates

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Honorable Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware, has been elected Chairman of the National Board of Directors for Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG), a national non-profit dedicated to helping resolve our country’s dropout problems in education and employment. Delaware provided the original model for the JAG approach, now used across the country.

Markell is the second Delaware Governor to lead this organization and the 10th Board Chair in JAG’s 30-year history. He joined the JAG Board in 2009 and was formally installed at the organization’s 30th Anniversary National Leadership Awards celebration today at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Eight other Governors serve on the Board of Directors.

“Jack is an effective collaborator and problem-solver – someone people listen to on both sides of the aisle. His enthusiasm and commitment to Jobs for America's Graduates for many years and his leadership role among the Governors makes him an outstanding choice to head JAG into the future,” said Governor John Baldacci of Maine, the current Chair of the Board of Directors.

Governor Markell brings innovative public and private sector jobs experience to his role as JAG Chairman. Before becoming Delaware State Treasurer, Markell worked in the private sector, helping lead the wireless technology revolution as the 13th employee at Nextel (a name he coined), where he served as Senior Vice President for Corporate Development. He was also in a senior management position at Comcast Corporation, a consultant with McKinsey and Company and a banker at First Chicago Corporation.

Delaware Model Adopted

JAG works principally at the state level, and the State of Delaware played the role of establishing and testing the JAG Model in 1979-80. In 1979, Governor Pete du Pont launched Jobs for Delaware Graduates. That program came to serve as the model for the JAG national organization, which was founded a year later in 1980. Later, Governor Tom Carper, also of Delaware, played an integral role in furthering expansion of the organization across the country through a network of local state organizations and as Vice Chair of the JAG Board.

In its bipartisan efforts over the past 30 years, JAG has helped nearly 750,000 students through its model programs, providing individualized middle school, high school, early college, and employment support. It is recognized as one of the nation’s largest and most successful programs, helping young people who face academic and career barriers. This year, about 42,000 young people across the country are in JAG-accredited programs in 32 states. More than 90 percent of them will successfully graduate from high school.

In his weekly message to the state on November 12, Governor Markell lauded both the personal and societal impact that JAG has demonstrated. “Helping kids who might be inclined to drop out of school to commit, instead, to their education, so that they can succeed at work and contribute to society, makes an incredible difference. Government can spend a lot less money when people are working instead of waiting for a chance to work.”

Markell will lead a Board of 50 leaders from the corporate, government, and non-profit worlds, including leadership from JPMorgan Chase, Verizon, AT&T, Bank of America, G.E, Honeywell, Microsoft, and IBM. Vice Chairs of the JAG Board who will serve with him are Governors Mike Beebe of Arkansas and Mitch Daniels of Indiana. Besides Markell and du Pont, the JAG National Board has previously been led by Governors from Arizona, Iowa, Maine, Montana, and Virginia, as well as by author Julie Nixon Eisenhower. Two of those Chairs now serve in President Obama’s Cabinet (Secretary Tom Vilsack of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano).

Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG) is a state-based national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing dropouts among young people who are most at risk. Founded in 1980, JAG has consistently delivered compelling results – helping nearly three-quarters of a million young people stay in school through graduation, pursue postsecondary education, and secure quality entry-level jobs leading to career advancement. More than 800 JAG Model Programs are now in use in 32 states, making a proven difference in communities and in the personal and career lives of program participants, including a 90 percent-plus graduation rate.