Steve Mariotti
Steve Mariotti | |
|---|---|
Mariotti in 2011 | |
| Born | August 14, 1953 Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | October 20, 2024 (aged 71) Union City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupation(s) | Nonprofit founder and consultant, author, documentary film executive producer |
| Known for | Founder of the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship |
| Relatives | Lowell B. Mason (grandfather) |
Steven John Mariotti (August 14, 1953 – October 20, 2024) was an American educator, activist, and businessman. He was the founder and president (1988–2005) of the nonprofit Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), and the author of books and textbooks related to entrepreneurship education. Mariotti was inspired to found NFTE by his early career as a special ed teacher in New York City, as chronicled in his 2019 memoir, Goodbye Homeboy: How My Students Drove Me Crazy and Inspired a Movement, BenBella Books, co-authored with Debra Devi, with a foreword by Wes Moore. After retiring as NFTE president in 2015, Mariotti served as Senior Fellow for Entrepreneurial Education at the PhilaU Center for Entrepreneurship at Philadelphia University (2016–2018), and Senior Research Fellow for Entrepreneurship at Rising Tide Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey (2018–2020). In 2020, Mariotti executive-produced the PBS docu-series Trauma to Triumph: The Rise of the Entrepreneur. In 2021, he founded the nonprofit Center for Financial Independence to provide social entrepreneurs with mentorship and fundraising training.