young enterpreneur council

Considered one of today’s leading experts in education for

at-risk youth, Steve Mariotti changed career paths in 1982

when he decided to move from the corporate sector and

become a special education teacher in the New York City

school system. Mr. Mariotti’s first assignment was in the

East New York section of Brooklyn, and his last was in

the Fort Apache section of the South Bronx.

While teaching in this hard-hitting environment for six and one half years, Mr. Mariotti gained

insight into how to successfully motivate his tough students – teaching them how to run a

business. His perceptions and learnings inspired him to create a program to bring entrepreneurial

education to low-income youth. In 1987 the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) a

501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was formed.

Now, more than 20 years later, NFTE’s mission is to provide entrepreneurship education

programs to young people from low income communities. The program has a proven track

record of success. It is frequently used as a model for other programs to teach business

knowledge and the resulting business formation. NFTE has reached over 300,000 young people

since its founding and has programs in 21 states and 10 other countries.

Mr. Mariotti is the recipient of numerous awards including an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of

the Year Award, the Bernard A. Goldhirsh Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the National

Director’s Entrepreneurship Award from the Minority Business Development Agency of the

U.S. Department of Commerce, the Association of Education Publishers’ Golden Lamp Award

and Distinguished Achievement Award, the ACE/Currie Foundation Humanitarian Venture

Award, the USASBE Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year, the CEO Club’s Social

Entrepreneur of the Year, and America’s Top High School Business Teacher. He has been the

subject of many national media profiles on programs including ABC Evening News and 20/20.

In addition, he is the co-author of 28 books on entrepreneurship that have sold over one million

copies. NFTE is an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Mariotti has

attended The World Economic Forum and has been a frequent speaker at its Annual Meeting in

Davos as well as other business forums.

A native son of Flint, Michigan, Mr. Mariotti received his B.B.A in business economics and his

M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has also studied at Harvard University,

Stanford University, and Brooklyn College. He started his professional career as a treasury

analyst for Ford Motor Company before founding his own company, Mason Import/Export