DECA (organization)

American nonprofit organization

For other uses, see DECA.

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|

DECA

Formation| 1946; 79 years ago (1946)
Type| Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO)
Legal status| Nonprofit
Location|

* 1908 Association Drive
Reston, Virginia, 20191–1591
United States

Membership| 297,000+

President

| Lori Hairston

Executive Director

| Frank Peterson
Staff| 25
Website| www.deca.org

Formerly called

| Distributive Education Clubs of America

DECA Inc., formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit career and technical student organization (CTSO) with more than 297,000[1] members in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, DC; Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Vietnam. The United States Congress, the United States Department of Education and state, district and international departments of education authorize DECA's programs.

DECA is organized into two unique student divisions each with programs designed to address the learning styles, interests, and focus of its members. The High School Division includes over 292,000 members in over 4,000 schools.[2] The Collegiate Division (referred to as Delta Epsilon Chi until July 1, 2010[3] ) includes over 5,400 members in 200+ colleges and universities.[2]

The organization's mission statement is as follows:

DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. The four components of the organization's Comprehensive Learning Program are that DECA integrates into classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business, and promotes competition. DECA prepares the next generation to be academically prepared, community-oriented, professionally responsible, experienced leaders.

Dr. William Morrison served as executive director from 1992 to 2014. Patrick Anderson served as executive director from 2014 to 2018. Briggs Marett served as the executive director in 2018. Braden Page formerly served as president.[4] Frank Peterson is currently serving as the executive director.

## Governance and partners

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According to DECA's bylaws,[5] the organization is governed by four primary bodies:

[6]Executive Director \- The executive director is responsible for implementing the board's policies, serving as the fiscal agent and primary spokesperson of the organization, and employing such staff as necessary to plan and execute the board's policies. The executive director is Frank Peterson.

[7]Board of Directors \- An eleven-member Board of Directors establishes policies relative to the interpretation and implementation of the constitution and bylaws. The current President of the board of directors is Scott Jones and the current President-Elect is Steven Mitchell.

[8]National Advisory Board \- DECA's National Advisory Board (NAB) is composed of business partners that provide strategic advice for the organizations, professional insight on content and crucial financial support for programming. The current chair of the NAB is Mike Brown from M & M Productions.

Congressional Advisory Board \- DECA's Congressional Advisory Board (CAB) is a bipartisan group of United States Senators and Congressmen and women representing varied political philosophies, but all supporting career and technical student organizations as an integral part of delivering career and technical education to ensure that America's youth are college and career ready.

## Conferences

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The International Career Development Conference (ICDC) is available to all DECA members. Although only qualifying members may take part in the competitive events series, the conference also offers workshops, academies, and networking for students who wish to further their business skills or gain knowledge about business. DECA ICDC is generally held in April or May of each year and 23,000+ members, advisors, and business professionals attend the conference. The location of the conference rotates between three cities: Anaheim, California; Atlanta, Georgia; and Orlando, Florida.[9][10]

Competition hierarchy:

* Regional (in some areas, this is known as Area Competition or District Competition)
* State Career Development Conference (SCDC)
* International Career Development Conference (ICDC)

Other conferences include:

* Association Fall Leadership Conferences
* Association Career Development Conferences (CDC)
* Central Region Leadership Conference (CRLC)
* Emerging Leader Summit (ELS; formerly WROTC & SOLT)
* Sports and Entertainment Marketing Conference (SEM)
* The Ultimate DECA Power Trip
* Western Region Leadership Conference (WRLC)
* Collegiate DECA Engage
* Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference (CICDC)

## High School Division Competitive events

[edit]

Winners of Indiana DECA SCDC 2022

[11]DECA's High School Division allows members to participate in ten different types of competitive events:

* Principles of Business Administration Events
* Team Decision Making Events
* Individual Series Events
* Personal Finance Literacy Events
* Business Operations Research Events
* Project Management Events
* Entrepreneurship Events
* Marketing Representative Events
* Professional Selling and Consulting Events
* Online Events [12]

Competitive events fall into six different career clusters:

* Business Management & Administration
* Entrepreneurship
* Marketing
* Finance
* Hospitality & Tourism
* Personal Financial Literacy

## Collegiate Division Competitive events

[edit]

Purdue Collegiate DECA Membership

[13]DECA's Collegiate Division allows members to participate in four different types of competitive events:

* Individual Case Studies
* Team Case Studies
* Prepared Business Presentations
* Corporate Challenges

Competitive events fall into five different career clusters:

* Business Management & Administration
* Entrepreneurship
* Marketing
* Finance
* Hospitality & Tourism

## Executive officers

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DECA's Executive Officer Teams consist of one President and four vice-presidents for both the high school and collegiate divisions. A new team of officers is elected every year at the International Career Development Conference by voting delegates from around the globe. The Executive Officer Teams serve as brand ambassadors for the organization during their term by attending conferences where they give speeches and present workshops.

[14]2025-2026 High School Executive Officer Team

President: Asher Leventhal (NV)

Central Region Vice President: Cullen Watanuki (IL)

North Atlantic Region Vice President: Hannah Heidari (RI)

Southern Region Vice President: Mason St. Jean (TN)

Western Region Vice President: Praveena Mahendran (WA)

[15]2025-2026 Collegiate Executive Officer Team

President: Shrey Patel (TX)

Vice President: Peighton Harak (OK)

Vice President: Tucker West (OK)

Vice President: PB Branson (MO)

## References

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1. ^ "About DECA Inc". DECA, Inc.
2. ^ a b "About – DECA Inc". Retrieved September 4, 2022.
3. ^ DECA announces expanded focus and programs; new mission
4. ^ "Nicole Rodrigues: Leading The PR Agency Of The Future". Mirror Review. September 28, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
5. ^ https://www.deca.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/about_deca_inc_bylaws.pdf Archived December 28, 2022, at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
6. ^ "Staff | DECA Inc". www.deca.org. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
7. ^ "Governance". www.deca.org. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
8. ^ "Partner | DECA Inc". www.deca.org. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
9. ^ "Conferences | Collegiate". www.deca.org. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
10. ^ "Conferences". www.deca.org. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
11. ^ "Competitive Events Program". www.deca.org. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
12. ^ "DECA Competitive Events".
13. ^ "Competitive Events | Collegiate". www.deca.org. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
14. ^ "High School Executive Officers | DECA Inc". www.deca.org. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
15. ^ "Collegiate Executive Officers | DECA Inc". www.deca.org. Retrieved July 14, 2025.

## External links

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* Official website

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States