Oregon Teacher Named National Business Educator of the Year

Myrtle Beach, SC:  The National Business Education Association---2024 Convention

Joey Running, a business educator at West Albany High School, Albany, OR was recognized as the 2024 National Business High School Educator of the Year. In addition to her role as a secondary business instructor, Joey extends her teaching expertise to the community college level, demonstrating her commitment to education at all levels. Mrs. Running is a 1987 high school graduate from Cassadaga Valley High School in Sinclairville, NY.  She attended Jamestown Business College and St. Bonaventure University, graduating with a Bachelor's of Business Administration and Master's of Science Secondary Education degrees, and most recently, a degree in Economics and Entrepreneurship from the University of Delaware, recognized with the Harry Hutchinson Award.  While in New York, she taught business education at Cassadaga Valley, under the tutelage of Jean C. VanNess (Randolph), and Frewsburg High Schools supporting students in local competitions concentrating on workplace readiness and hands-on skills learned in classes.  After relocating to Oregon, she continued to teach business education at Central Linn High School and Linn-Benton Community College with students competing at the regional, state, and national levels in their Future Business Leaders of America chapter.

Her tenure at West Albany High School spans nearly two decades with an emphasis on the importance of supporting other educators teaching personal finance with current, engaging, up-to-date resources.  This involvement has led to advocating with her students for a personal finance course/higher education and career path skills semester courses as graduation requirements for Oregon students. She has been actively involved in the Oregon Business Education Association, Western Business Education Association, National Business Education Association (with the support of Mary Ann Lammers, Corvallis) and the Oregon Council on Economic Education, receiving Educator of the Year awards from each of these organizations.

Joey's impact extends beyond the classroom; she possesses a strong sense of community and passion for Personal Finance.  Her contributions to financial literacy have been recognized on a national scale.  She has served as a 2019 Educator Ambassador for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and has been a Next Gen Personal Finance Fellow since 2017. She has been featured in teacher spotlights for organizations such as NEFE HSFPP, Take Charge Today, Practical Money Skills, and was the first scholarship recipient of the Ted Beck Effective Educator Award, honoring former Jump$tart Chairman, Ted Beck, recognizing educators who conduct or utilize research or analysis to improve financial education in his/her own classroom for the greater good. 

Most recently, Mrs. Running was recognized by the Oregon State Treasury with this year's Oregon Financial Empowerment award.  This summer she will be serving as a visiting professor of graduate studies at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts offering graduate education credits to personal finance teachers in a partnership with Next Gen Personal Finance. This position allows Joey to continue her commitment to assisting other personal finance educators to be prepared with the most up-to-date methods and curriculum needed for this fast-changing content area.  She believes Personal Finance Foundations + Behavioral Economics + "Real World" Reinforcement = Financial Literacy Success.  She feels this recognition is about her students who drive her and shape their classroom experience.

When not in the classroom, she is busy with her family in Brownsville--husband, Mark; college-aged children attending Oregon Institute of Technology, Colton and Tegan, and stepdaughters, Sydney and Rory.

Business Teacher Named Oregon Economics Educator of the Year

Portland, OR:  Oregon Council on Economics Education

Bekki is a dedicated educator who employs highly effective methods to teach business economics and financial literacy to her students. She fosters engagement and practical learning through project-based approaches, such as the Stock Market Game and culminating personal portfolio projects. These initiatives not only prepare students with short and long-term financial planning skills to achieve their future goals but also empower them to navigate real-world financial responsibilities like taxes. Committed to ensuring every student receives a solid financial foundation, Bekki has volunteered her time with the Oregon Department of Education, contributing to the development of personal finance standards to be integrated into graduation requirements. By advocating for Senate Bill 3 implementation, she ensures that financial education is accessible to all students. Beyond the classroom, Bekki encourages students to apply economic principles to their lives through student-based enterprises, budgeting exercises, and financial reporting, fostering accountability and practical application. Bend chamber of commerce recognized the student store after its first year of operation for small business growth and excellence. Beginning with freshmen, she instills basic finance and economic concepts through experiential learning activities like market days, which analyze financial potential and outcomes, preparing students for success both academically and in their future endeavors. 

Bekki demonstrates exceptional collaborative skills by investing significant time during summer breaks to plan personal finance and economics curriculum alongside fellow educators from Central Oregon. She extends her commitment to excellence by disseminating these resources to benefit educators across the region and she mentors new business teachers in the region. Bekki engages in cross-disciplinary collaboration with colleagues in business, social studies, and mathematics. Her involvement in innovative initiatives, such as the "Math in Real Life" program and completion of YouCubed training, underscores her dedication to integrating content of multiple disciplines into her classroom practices, enriching the learning experiences and relevancy for her students.

As an advisor and personal finance teacher, Bekki has participated in the Oregon stock market game where students are challenged to invest in the stock market and learn risk free how investments work. Her students have also competed in virtual business challenges through knowledge matters competitions and have achieved top in the state in several areas. Caldera High school is in year three of operation and students in her program have competed in internationals the last two years. Bekki enjoys being a teacher, learning herself and growing in her profession. She is currently the only Business CTE educator in Oregon who is Nationally Board Certified and is working to help other CTE teachers achieve this level of professionalism.