Junior Achievement of Arizona has announced that Arturo “Art” Pérez, community affairs manager at U.S. Bank, has been chosen from among more than 150,000 U.S. volunteers as one of 12 recipients of the organization’s most prestigious national award for volunteerism, the Gold Leadership Award.

Junior Achievement’s Gold Leadership Award honors volunteer excellence, presented in recognition of leadership in supporting and expanding JA’s student impact, resources, operational excellence and sustainability, a press release explained.

The Gold Leadership Awards honor the recipients’ JA volunteer service during the 2023-2024 school year.

Katherine Cecala, president of Junior Achievement of Arizona, said in the release that the local business community’s support for JA is critical to its mission of inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in the global economy. 

“Art is a remarkable example of that spirit of dedication and service to others,” Cecala said. “In a very real way, he helps Arizona JA students get the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.”

Pérez has volunteered for more than a decade and has been a dedicated board member for the last eight years. During his time with JA, he strategically developed rural outreach efforts and grew employee volunteerism among his U.S. Bank colleagues.

Pérez is an ambassador for the Junior Achievement of Arizona mission, increasing awareness of the organization’s programs, fostering relationships with local organizations, and publicizing volunteer opportunities across his personal and professional networks to help JA in creating a more diverse volunteer community and board of directors, according to the release.