Jake Castanza

Jake Castanza is a proud graduate of Boylan Catholic High School. He received his Bachelor’s from Western Illinois University and Master’s degree from Purdue University. In 2012, Jake returned to Rockford to begin his career as the Sr. Director of Mission Advancement at the YMCA of Rock River Valley. His fundraising efforts with the Y were record setting, raising millions of dollars for the community to support social service programs

Currently, Jake serves as Executive Director for Project First Rate where he works with thousands of individuals looking for a better career through apprenticeship programs. Jake has helped to produce over a billion dollars of capital investments for both building and highway construction resulted in hundreds of thousands of man-hours for working men and women.