Zoree Jones, a second-generation JA student and a freshman at Patriot High School in Nokesville, Virginia (USA), is used to giving speeches. Over the last two years, she has delivered the winning speech at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Oratorical Contest; she won the Spotsylvania County (Virginia) Great Debate in 2015; and was awarded the Best Female Actor award at the Virginia Theatre Association Festival last year. At home, Zoree's parents and brother challenge her during their family speech competitions.
So it was no wonder that Zoree wowed the JA Worldwide Board of Governors when she addressed them about her participation in the 2016 JA of Greater Washington Entrepreneurship Summit, where she received the Rising Star Award. During the summit, Zoree served as CEO of her company, which developed a business plan for a product that would address the issue of food waste in the United States. She describes her experience below, after an introduction by Ed Grenier, President & CEO of JA Greater Washington, which was not captured on the video.
As a result of the Entrepreneurship Summit, Zoree is planning a career in social entrepreneurship, which she discussed with the board in a Q&A following her talk. As you can see, board members are not only eager to help Zoree in her social cause but also to find out whether she's hiring!
We were thrilled to discover that Zoree's mother, Angela Ingram-Jones, was also a JA student, back in the day. Entrepreneurship runs in the family!