Dear NFTE Family and Friends,

It is with deep sadness that the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) announces the loss of our dear founder and youth entrepreneurship education pioneer Steve Mariotti. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, October 20, 2024, at age 71. He will be truly missed.

As a former entrepreneur and special education teacher in New York City, Steve dedicated his life to advocating for at-risk students. His vision and heart for service led him to establish NFTE, today a global nonprofit with programs throughout the United States and in 31 countries worldwide. NFTE launched in 1987 with the mission of providing entrepreneurial education to youth from marginalized communities and igniting the entrepreneurial mindset and talents that already existed within them.

To date, NFTE has reached more than 1.4 million young people and continues to impact the lives of tens of thousands more each year. Steve’s passion for education and entrepreneurship transformed lives and earned him numerous accolades, including being named America’s Top High School Business Teacher and Best Economics Teacher of the Year in New York State and winning one of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Steve’s legacy will continue to live on through the young entrepreneurs and thriving business founders he has uplifted and inspired and the tremendous community of current and former NFTE team members, board leaders, and supporters he built who stood alongside him to make NFTE and youth entrepreneurship a truly global movement.

To celebrate his remarkable contributions, NFTE is working closely with Steve’s family and will share more information with you soon. For those wishing to honor his memory, the family requests that gifts be made to NFTE’s Steve Mariotti Legacy Fund which will support initiatives for NFTE alumni and educators (www.nfte.com/give).

With compassion,

Dr. J.D. LaRock 
President & CEO
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)

Jane Walsh
Executive Vice President, Chief Advancement Officer
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)