The Future Founders Foundation recently recognized 12 Chicago entrepreneurs and business executives for their dedication to the 2011-12 Future Founders youth entrepreneurship program.
These volunteers, along with more than 150 others, mentored our Future Founders students as they brainstormed scalable business ideas and turned them into complete business plans. They also served as judges during our semifinal and citywide business plan competitions and recruited their peers to get involved in the program.
“We are grateful to have such talented mentors involved in Future Founders as they inspire students to consider entrepreneurial careers and show them what it takes to be successful,” said Scott Issen, President & CEO, Future Founders Foundation.
Two awards are presented each year to our top volunteers in recognition of their contribution to the program.
The Future Founders Rookie of the Year award is presented to new volunteers who made a tremendous contribution to the 2011-12 Future Founders school year.
Future Founders Rookie of the Year Award Recipients:
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Paul Caswell, Weave the People
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Michael Cole, Microsoft
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Seyi Fabode, Power2Switch, Inc.
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Andrew Follett, Demo Duck
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Chuck Hamman, sleepyhead
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Renita Manley-Garrett, Revamped Image Consulting
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Chris Wegert, Microsoft
The Future Founders Champion Award is presented to volunteers who have made a significant impact on the lives of our young entrepreneurs. These volunteers have been committed to Future Founders for multiple years and are champions of our effort to expose students to careers in entrepreneurship.
Future Founders Champion Award Recipients:
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Kristen Amato, K. Amato
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Lindsay Brehm, United Airlines
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Shawn Pucylowski, FLEx Lighting
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Kianna Robinson, Kellstadt Graduate School of Business - DePaul University
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Sarah Ware, The Carter Ware Group, Inc.
Congratulations to all of the recipients!
For more information or to get involved, please contact Patrick Smith or complete our Get Involved form.
Future Founders gives motivated high school students in Chicago’s underserved neighborhoods the opportunity to learn about and experience entrepreneurship from the city’s top entrepreneurs. The goal of Future Founders is to expose students to entrepreneurial careers, have them create business plans and/or assist them through classroom programming developed by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
Future Founders is generously supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation, AT&T, Baxter International Inc.: Science@Work, BMO Harris Bank, CME Group Foundation, Ford Motor Company Fund, Microsoft, Motorola Mobility Foundation and Smart Bet Charity. The program was co-founded by the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC), NFTE and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and is run in partnership with the Illinois Technology Association, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, University of Illinois at Chicago, Carminati Consulting and the SME Education Foundation.
Future Founders is a program of the Future Founders Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization that expands entrepreneurship and career exploration programs for low income students in Chicago. We inspire teenagers to explore new careers and connect them with successful mentors from various professions. We operate two career exposure programs to empower underserved students to consider careers they never imagined and help them to create roadmaps to achieve these career goals. Since 2005, our programs have served over 1,800 students.
