A former Iowa Future Farmers of America member who’s now an executive in one of the nation’s prominent high-tech companies has given $100,000 to help build an FFA Enrichment Center in Iowa.

Stephen Juelsgaard grew up on a farm near Gray, Iowa, which is in Audubon County and he was a member of the Future Farmers of America chapter in Audubon. He received a masters of science and a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Iowa State University. Juelsgaard says the FFA was one of the organizations that made an impact on his life and helped him grow as an individual.

Juelsgaard was a vet in southern California for three years, then he went to Stanford and got his law degree. He joined Genentech in 1985. Today he serves as the company’s executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer.

Juelsgaard is challenging other business leaders around the country who were FFA members in Iowa to give to the project. The FFA hopes to build a center in Ankeny with classrooms and meeting rooms.