The Thillen Education Foundation's "Pathway to a Million" campaign surpassed its original goal of $1,000,000 in its first 18 months of existence.
GREENSBORO, GA, March 14, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Dave Thillen has been inducted into Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Mr. Thillen is the founder of the Thillen Education Foundation in Greensboro, Georgia. Collaborating with his wife, Elaine, to provide much needed services to area youth, his organization serves in partnership with the Greene College and Career Academy, a program within Greene County High School, a local and established Title I school. A community-based organization that works closely with over 100 volunteers, the foundation serves to provide coaching, career advice, scholarships and financial assistance to students with a mission of ending generational poverty in Greene County, Georgia. The foundation also focuses on promoting inclusion, diversity and equity by hosting events and activities that actively engage the youth within the community. Relying on the support of corporate sponsors and private donations, the Thillen Education Foundation's "Pathway to a Million" campaign surpassed its original goal of $1,000,000 in its first 18 months of existence.
Having come of age in the inner city of Chicago, Mr. Thillen was the youngest of five siblings and the only one to graduate from high school. Driven to attend college for a better life, he was accepted into Wheaton College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. Continuing his studies, he earned a Master of Science in mathematics at Northern Illinois University. Knowing first hand that the way out of poverty is education and mentorship, Mr. Thillen lives his passion for helping others through his Career Coaching Program and the Thillen Education Foundation to raise the trajectory of all the poverty students in Greene County High School which has an annual enrollment of approximately 500 students.
A former Business Unit Executive for IBM, Mr. Thillen spent the first six months of his career in Chicago, where he worked in software development. Following this period, he served for two years as an instructor and gymnastics coach at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, fulfilling his military obligation. Returning to IBM, Mr. Thillen was transferred to Jacksonville, Florida, then Atlanta, Georgia, where he was exposed to marketing and marketing management. He remained in Atlanta being promoted between staff and line management until retiring in 1998.
After concluding his career with IBM, Mr. Thillen became active with Habitat for Humanity. As part of his commitments, he began refurbishing and installing donated computers inside all of these habitat homes. Next, he provided coaching services to the children residing in those homes, including the development of personalized career plans. This earned Mr. Thillen recognition by the Greene County High School in 2019, when he was asked to begin implementing the "Thillen Plan" for every enrolled student, which has evolved into the Career Coaching Program. One year later, he and his wife established their own nonprofit to provide financial assistance to help these students take the next step after high school on the way to launching their careers, thereby ending their generational poverty.
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