Junior Achievement Virgin Islands appointed Wayne Archibald Ph.D. as its executive director, effective April 6. As executive director, Dr. Archibald will oversee all operations, functions and activities, including strategic planning, fundraising, stakeholder relationship management, program implementation and expansion of Junior Achievement K-12 programs.
Archibald was born on St. Kitts, where he lived until he completed high school. He migrated to St. Thomas where he enlisted in the U.S. Army for three years and served in the Virgin Islands National Guard for four years. After his military service, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Associate of Science in Physics at the University of the Virgin Islands. He later earned his doctorate in materials science and engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and he completed a one-year post-doctoral fellowship in mechanical engineering at the same institution.
Archibald worked in the semiconductor industry in the United States mainland before returning home to become a professor at the University of the Virgin Islands from 2010-2016. In 2017, he founded Green Solutions International SKN, a non-profit organization that operates within the Caribbean region in the areas of renewable energy and environmental policy.
“I am honored to join the dynamic team here at Junior Achievement. The organization is doing incredible work with the Innovation Camp and the Economics for Success program, and I look forward to further enhancing the program experience for more than 2,000 local students annually,” said Archibald. “Education is my passion, and I look forward to making significant contributions to the development of our children here in the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
Kirk Chewning, vice chairman of the board, said, “We are thrilled to have Dr. Archibald on board, who I know to be talented and thoughtful. I enthusiastically welcome him as our new leader. I am confident in his abilities and excited for the future of Junior Achievement.”
About Junior Achievement: Junior Achievement is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.
Its programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs to make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Junior Achievement’s core mission is to inspire and empower students to believe in themselves so that they can make a positive change in their lives and in the world.
to volunteer or to request a program, please reach out to the organization at getinvolved@jausvi.org or 725-1171.
To make a donation to Junior Achievement U.S. Virgin Islands, please contact write to donate@jausvi.org or call 725-1171.
