Startup Generation helps young entrepreneurs find their purpose and future. Our 'secret sauce' nurtures entrepreneurial thinking through authentic startup practices, gamification, teamwork, cutting-edge assessment tools, coaching and a community of practice with powerful results. We specialize in helping students in middle school and high school realize their startup ambitions, developing competencies valued by consumers, employers and higher education.
Jim Gerry, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder | jim@startup-generation.com Jim is an entrepreneurship evangelist and technology professional with over 30 years experience in education including 10 years leading ... and growing entrepreneurship programs at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. With degrees in mathematics (BA) and business (MBA) he has over 10 years experience teaching high school mathematics and computer science, he served in various technical and management positions with AT&T and Lucent Technologies and over 12 combined years as CIO for two schools. Jim's interests include working with students in technology, robotics, aviation and social good ventures.
Carl Heine, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder | carl@startup-generation.com
Carl is a curriculum developer and instructional game designer with over 30 years experience in educational program management and ...
curriculum design, including 10 years leading and growing entrepreneurship programs at IMSA. Together with Jim Gerry, he co-authored the
chapter on entrepreneurship in the Second Handbook of Gifted Education (Prufrock Press). He is managing partner of Information Fluency, a company that helps users locate
credible information for school, work and life--which, conveniently, is one of the major deliverables in entrepreneurial thinking. He is the co-author of "Teaching Information Fluency"
from Scarecrow Press. While at the University of Chicago, Carl earned his PhD in education studying flow with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, researching the effects of mathematical talent and instructional experiences on mathematical achievement.
Ferdi Serim, Chief Knowledge Officer | ferdi@startup-generation.com
Ferdi Serim helps people demonstrate mastery of skillsets to prove they’re ready for what’s next in “real life” by incorporating the power...
of digital learning communities focused on talent development. He has worked in many venues: Board Member of the
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN); Bureau Chief for Literacy, Technology & Standards, and State Ed
Tech Director for the New Mexico Public Education Department; and jazz musician. Ferdi walks the talk: his students' Internet achievements are documented in the
Scientific American, Los Angeles Times, the Learning Channel and other media.
Ferdi pioneered the use of the Internet to improve learning, developing one of the first online professional development projects funded by the National Science Foundation.
He is the author of four books: NetLearning: Why Teachers Use the Internet; From Computers to Community: Unlocking the Potentials of the Wired Classroom; Information
Technology for Learning: No School Left Behind, and Digital Learning: Strengthening and Assessing 21 st Century Skills, from Jossey-Bass. Currently he serves as Chief
Technology Officer for Startup Generation, making sure educators are supported in helping every learner be “ready for what’s next”.
Michael (Mike) Archibeque, Chief Strategic Partnerships Officer | mike@startup-generation.com
Michael is committed to providing tools, guidance, and collaboration that can be life changing for our students, educators, parents, and ...
businesses. He is devoted to creating new employment pathways for students and workers based on skills and competencies while strengthening our workforce
and building the bridge between Education & the Workforce.
Michael is also the CEO/President of MA Strategies, LLC, a Program, Project, & Education solutions services company, providing consulting services
that benefit Federal, State, and Local Government and Educational entities. Michael brings more than twenty years’ experience in
the management of highly complex programs, projects, and educational initiatives, addressing the integration of information systems and bridging the gap
between Education and the Workforce. Michael has diligently worked with Business and Industry leaders in identifying college, career, and military readiness
competencies and skills necessary to prepare our students for college and career, with a high emphasis on validating, evaluating, and improving a
student’s learning.
As a former Chief Information Officer for the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED), Michael was responsible for all education information technology
activity to include education application and systems development and implementation, infrastructure, maintenance and support, contracts/agreements,
project management, hardware/software agreements, and operations planning and support.