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Private jeweler Rebecca Shukan has been named director of the Diamond Council of America’s Jewelry Career Readiness Initiative, which works to get high school students interested in pursuing a career in jewelry.
New York--The Diamond Council of America has announced the addition of private jeweler Rebecca Shukan as director of the Jewelry Career Readiness Initiative, the program launched in 2014 to interest high school students in a career in jewelry.
Shukan joins the DCA after a decade working as a private jeweler in Los Angeles.
She is a graduate of the Gemological Institute of America and the University of Wisconsin, and has held leadership positions in the Women’s Jewelry Association of Los Angeles, the Junior League of Pasadena and the Pasadena Symphony.
As head of the Jewelry Career Readiness Initiative, or JCRI, Shukan will work on expanding the program to high schools nationwide and exploring partnerships in other areas, including veterans’ groups and women re-entering the workforce.
Commenting on the addition of Shukan, DCA President and CEO Terry Chandler said: “I am ecstatic to welcome Rebecca to Diamond Council of America. The JCRI is poised to fill the educational gap and bring fresh talent to our industry. Rebecca’s experience and drive make her the perfect person to lead DCA’s Jewelry Career Readiness Initiative.”
The DCA developed the JCRI in 2014 to help create qualified job candidates for the retail jewelry industry by using the DCA’s accredited distance education certifications in diamonds, colored gemstones and jewelry sales to supplement the career-readiness programs that exist in most U.S. high schools.
The Diamond Council of America became an affiliate of Jewelers of America earlier this year, relocating its headquarters from Nashville, Tennessee to the JA offices in New York in August.
Shukan will remain based in Los Angeles.
For more information about the JCRI, contact Shukan at rebecca@diamondcouncil.org or 646-658-5809.
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