Speakers

Junior Achievement (JA) offers financial literacy, college and career readiness, and entrepreneurship education to K-12 students in Minnesota, North Dakota, and western Wisconsin. JA empowers students to make a connection between what they learn in school and how it can be applied in the real world - enhancing the relevance of their classroom learning and increasing their understanding of the value of staying in school.

Karyn Thompson has been with JA since 2006 & joined the organization after first being a JA volunteer. Karyn has seen first-hand that the power of the collective JA effort - to help youth dream about opportunities that they have not been exposed to within their current sphere of influence - helps them understand and conceptualize a future for themselves that can be anything they want it to be. JA is truly changing lives.

An annual tradition! Bring your (Rotary appropriate) jokes for some good laughs in celebration of April Fool's Day. Can't find a joke? Never fear; Peggy Leppik has pre-approved jokes for sale!

Dr. Carlton Jenkins has been honored to be the Robbinsdale Area Schools Superintendent since August 2015. Before becoming Superintendent in Robbinsdale Area Schools, he was the Chief Academic Officer in the Atlanta Public School system. Additionally, he spent four years (2010-14) as the Superintendent of Saginaw Public Schools, a district in Michigan with 7,500 students (15 schools, including 10 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 3 high schools). Jenkins also served four years as the Executive Director of Secondary Leaders (and as a high school principal) in the Beloit Public Schools system in Wisconsin. Prior to this, he served as a high school principal in the Columbus Public Schools in Ohio.

Carlton's experience also includes one year as a middle school principal, two years as an associate principal at a high school in the Beloit Public Schools, and one year as an associate principal at a high school in Madison, Wisconsin. His teaching career started in 1989 at Beloit Memorial High School. Jenkins earned a Master of Science degree in Educational Administration and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Vocational Visit at City Hall of Golden Valley

Jason Sturgis has been Golden Valley's Chief of Police since Jan 1, 2016. He joined the Golden Valley Police Department in 2004, starting as a patrol officer and serving as a firearms and use of force instructor, field training officer, and a member of both the West Metro SWAT Team and the Hennepin County Weapons of Mass Destruction Tactical Team. In 2009 he was promoted to patrol sergeant, and in 2012 he was appointed detective sergeant. He was promoted to patrol lieutenant in 2012 and to police commander in 2014.

Before coming to Golden Valley, Sturgis was a patrol officer with the Minneapolis Police Department from 1996-2004. He served as an infantryman in the US Army from 1992-1995, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He holds a BA in business administration from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, IA, a MA in criminal justice leadership from Concordia University in St. Paul, MN, and completed the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

John Emery is a U.S. Army veteran, a bike shop manager, beekeeper, and Chaska resident. He’s also a Muslim. Emery is working to dispel stereotypes as a speaker with the Islamic Resource Group. The Islamic Resource Group is a nonprofit based in St. Anthony, Minnesota that offers presentations and speakers. Their mission is to build bridges of understanding between Muslim Americans and the broader community through education.