Dear Friend of J&A,
A Letter from Nick Juárez
J&A’s first government project was for the Department of Housing and Urban Development: developing a registry of minority building contractors and subcontractors as a resource to assist the Office of Equal Opportunity for recruiting purposes in federally-funded projects. On the private sector side, we signed on with one of the largest advertising agencies, McCann Erickson, and the Ford Motor Company, to market Ford’s products to the expanding Latino population. Next up? Strawberries. J&A consulted with a California agro-business to provide services in the area of Spanish-language communications in strawberry growing. During this same period, funding for the Great Society Programs of the Johnson Administration was reduced or cut completely, offering opportunities for J&A to further our technical know-how internationally, particularly in the Latin American and Caribbean region. In addition, J&A was able to promote our mission of helping populations access relevant and sustainable development through improved health services and education. The firm’s initial projects in family planning and nutrition quickly expanded to include reforming educational systems and, ultimately, to technical assistance in all aspects of sustainable development, with a special emphasis on gender integration.
J&A has provided over four decades of successful and uninterrupted services to the development community, working in over 60 countries and forging partnerships to build local capacity for sustainable development. Today, the firm is working on three continents. For example, J&A has been working in various capacities in Jamaica for the past 20 years and Guatemala for the past 35 years, and is now implementing the largest educational projects in these respective countries. Our work is built on relationships of mutual respect, trust and commitment. At J&A, we are proud of our continued partnership with USAID and other federal government agencies and are dedicated in helping to fulfill the U.S. government’s mandate to improve lives around the world.
Best,
Nicandro F. Juárez, Founder and President of J&A
41 Years of Service
Over the years, J&A has worked with numerous U.S.-based international development partners and local research facilities around the world to improve quality of life. Beginning in 1973, on behalf of USAID, J&A performed evaluations of social awareness campaigns supporting education and reproductive health in Latin America. In the 1980s, J&A led the expansion of a family planning program in Guatemala, and provided technical assistance in the operation and monitoring of a contraceptive social marketing project in Peru. Throughout the 1990s, J&A conducted evaluations of the basic education projects in Jamaica and Nicaragua, and provided technical assistance to improve educational quality in South Africa. Read Full Article »
Jamaica Basic Education Project
The Jamaica National Building Society again underlined its reputation as one of Jamaica’s leading corporate supporters of education through its donation of books to be used by children at Camp Summer Plus 2012.
Guatemala Educational Reform
REAULA focuses on achieving a more democratic and prosperous Guatemala, building on successes from the 2004-2009 period of USAID support to Guatemalan education, and on the Government of Guatemala’s priorities. As a prime contractor for the USAID/Guatemala Educational Reform in the Classroom project, J&A provides technical assistance to improve access to the quality, equity and efficiency of basic education by increasing teacher effectiveness, improving classroom-learning environments, fostering effective first- and second-language acquisition and reading, extending access to under-served populations, women and indigenous groups, and expanding parent and stakeholder participation in student learning.
Read Full Article »
Curious About Our History?
Test Your “Development” IQ
1. The “Era of Development” could be said to have begun with a speech given by _________ on January 20, 1949.
2. According to the USAID, it is estimated that by 2016 there will be how many mobile phones in Africa? a) 10 million b) 500 million c) 1 billion
3. More mobile phones means: a) less poverty, b) more education, c) decreased corruption, d) better healthcare, e) all of the above.
4. The United Nation’s eight Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved by 20 __.
5. Wages rise a) 30% b) 10% c) 20% for every year beyond 4th grade a girl remains in school.
6. What percent of the U.S. Federal Budget is spent by USAID on Foreign Aid? a) 1% b) 4% c) 10%?
Partnerships For Improving Quality of Life Worldwide
JUÁREZ & ASSOCIATES is a minority-owned and independently-operated small business providing applied research, evaluation and management consulting services to industry, government and community organizations throughout the United States and the developing world. The firm, founded by Nicandro Juárez in 1971, has offices in Los Angeles, Washington DC; Kingston, Jamaica; and Guatemala City. J&A’s track record includes 40 years of experience serving as a prime contractor or subcontractor on numerous domestic and international projects. Our governmental clients include the Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and United States Agency for International Development.
J&A 40th Anniversary Celebration
Events were held in Los Angeles, CA and Washington, DC as part of J&A’s 40th Anniversary Celebration last year. In Washington, DC, we hosted a panel presentation on “Cross sector approaches in education enhancing youth development and reducing gender inequity in Guatemala and Jamaica” followed by a reception held at the Carnegie Endowment Conference Center and attended by over 75 J&A clients, partners, alumni and friends.
