Today, Claire Jecklin has been announced as the New Orleans Saints' 2024 Inspire Change Changemaker – an annual award given to local leaders who are making a difference in their community across the NFL's Inspire Change initiatives four pillars of education, economic advancement, police-community relations, or criminal justice reform.
Jecklin has worked with the New Orleans Career Center (NOCC) as the organization's CEO, since she founded it in 2017 and has been making a difference in the community nearly two decades prior to that with her background as a highly experienced classroom teacher and school leader.
The New Orleans Career Center is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization where high school and adult trainees gain career preparation and technical skills training to earn industry-based credentials for employment in high-wage, high-demand industry sectors. NOCC graduates have the skills, the knowledge, and the networks to compete and add value to careers and classrooms the moment they walk through the door.
Before becoming NOCC's Founding CEO in 2017, Jecklin served as Co-Principal of New Orleans Charter High School for Science and Math. A highly experienced educator and school leader for 17 years, Claire holds a bachelor's degree in english and a master's degree in education leadership. She chairs the Youth Committee of the City of New Orleans Workforce Development Board, and also represents the City of New Orleans as a member of the National League of Cities' Southern Cities Economic Inclusion cohort, and the America Achieves Good Jobs Economy Peer Learning Task Force. She also works heavily alongside the New Orleans Public Schools and Ochsner Health System and is a national advocate for career and technical education and workforce development.
Jecklin's vision in founding and developing an innovative career and technical education option for New Orleans has proven to be incredibly fruitful. NOCC has become a leading provider of career and technical education for hundreds of New Orleanians, helping them attain the skills they need to succeed in the workforce. As NOCC equips trainees to more fully explore their own interests and ensures they are poised for success in college, careers, and life, its primary areas of focus are Engineering, Health, Building Trades, Culinary Arts, and Digital Media. Under Jecklin's leadership, her team continues to transform lives by providing its students with necessary technical skills, meaningful work-based learning experiences, and impactful community and employer relationships.
Jecklin will receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation, paid directly to a non-profit organization of her choice.
For more information on Inspire Change and the Changemaker Award, visit NFL.com/Changemakers
