Leadership

Bella Brown, National President, is a senior at Walter Payton College Prep. She is President of her school's Business Outlook Team, Mentor Coordinator for the I3 Small Business Competition, a Senior Grade Representative, the Student Liaison for her school's Alumni Community & Endowment, and an avid member of her school's Economic & Investment Team. With her sister, she founded a non-profit organization entitled Living Outside that destigmatizes homelessness through direct aid & conversation. Bella is a competitive dancer and in her free time, she loves binging a good TV show and spending time with her friends and family.

Robert Kirkwood, Chicago Chapter President and National Co-Vice President, is a senior at Lycée Français de Chicago. He previously served as Chief Technology Officer, during which he developed and implemented the JEC Connect family of apps and JEC’s cloud infrastructure. Robert is especially interested in the relation between finance, economics, and technology. His interest in investing led him to found JEC’s Investment Team, and he enjoys following financial markets. Robert is fluent in French and is learning German. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis and chess, cycling, cooking, and umpiring for a local youth baseball league.

Ashley is the JEC National Co-Vice President and JEC New York City President. She is a senior at Stuyvesant High School where she competes as a Varsity Extemporaneous Speaker on the Speech & Debate Team and a Varsity Player on the Girl’s Tennis Team. Coming from a family of immigrants and learning the importance of education, Ashley has been on many endeavors to encourage education equality through both in and out-of-school initiatives. Outside of school, Ashley loves to play pool and spend time with her family.

Andres De Marco, National Director of Finances, is a senior at the Latin School of Chicago, where he serves as a board member on the Latin Student Investment Fund, co-leads his school's Model UN team, the Latin American Student Organization, Business Club, the Worldly Roman, and is a member of the Golf team. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer for the Chicago chapter. Andres' primary interests are politics, economics, and finance. He loves keeping up to date on the latest political and economic news around the world, and he volunteers and interns at political and governmental offices that he is passionate about. Outside of school, he enjoys learning languages, cooking, traveling, and spending time with friends.

Neal Karani, National Director of Strategic Initiatives and Atlanta Chapter President, is a senior at Lambert High School, where he serves as an FBLA Region Officer and State Ambassador, Captain of the Varsity Economics Team, and President of the Economics Club. In the past, Neal has served as the JEC Atlanta Director of Strategic Initiatives, founding and directing the Center for Youth Economic Research and the Atlanta Junior Economist during his tenure. Aside from his academics and his work in JEC, Neal enjoys participating in both business and economics competitions, placing first in the Intuit Social Innovation Challenge and third at the World Economics Cup. He works as an Economic Development Intern at the Chamber of Commerce and as a Legislative Fellow at the Georgia General Assembly's House of Representatives. Through these roles, he hopes to promote economic equity for all entrepreneurs, and has created a platform to provide them with resources. In his free time, Neal enjoys reading Classical Philosophy, debating his friends, and cooking for his family.

Arhan Barve, National Director of Events, is a junior at Lambert High School in Suwanee, GA. During the 2023-2024 school year, he was involved with the Atlanta Youth Economic Council and the Atlanta Junior Economist. Currently, Arhan is the Vice President of the Lambert Economics Club, and represented his school at the 2024 National Economics Challenge Finals, winning Fourth Place. He also attended the Georgia Governor's Honors Program for Social Studies and Economics. Arhan is passionate about the intersection of Business and Economics and aims to drive positive change in his community. In his free time, he enjoys watching crime TV shows, spending time with family and friends, and listening to music.

Tessa McGuire, National Director of Marketing, is a senior at Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago. She is interested in the world of business and is specifically drawn to the intersection of health economics and public policy. At Payton, she is an avid member of the Economics and Investment Team, helping to lead her team to a state championship in the David Ricardo Division. Outside of JEC, she loves playing competitive softball, captaining both her school and club teams. One of her favorite experiences was winning the Illinois Little League State Championship when she was younger. She has a passion for the classics, helping to lead her school's Mountain Top Coalition to promote the classics for underrepresented groups. Additionally, she is Co-President of Operation Gratitude, which aims to have a positive impact on all those who serve our country. In her free time, she enjoys biking, swimming, and spending time with friends.

Teddy Kaczmarek, Director of the International Junior Economist, is a senior at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. He previously served as the Chief Editor of the Chicago Junior Economist during the 2023-2024 school year. Outside of JEC, Teddy runs his school’s Serving our Unhoused Neighbors (SUN) Club which he co-founded to educate students about homelessness, fundraise for unhoused Americans, and create service opportunities for high school students. He is also a key member of his school’s math team and participated in the M3 Math Modeling Challenge. He is interested in applied math, operations research, and biomedical engineering. Teddy spends his free time playing soccer, practicing his piano skills, and hanging out with friends and family.