Michael Goldstein Email Address

Executive Director, the Verto Fund

Year Up's mission is to provide urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.

Michael is an entrepreneur with a passion for urban education. He is currently leading a series of growth initiatives to expand Year Up Boston from 400 to 800 students by 2019. He began his career as Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Providence Summerbridge, where high school and college students run a summer school for urban middle school students. In addition, Michael founded and grew Youth Tech Entrepreneurs, a program where high school students run their schools’ websites and help desks, to an organization serving 35 school districts. Michael also co-founded LiNCBoston, an association for emerging non-profit leaders in greater Boston, and the Summerbridge/Breakthrough Alumni Network for its 20,000 alumni worldwide. In addition, Michael served as Executive Director of City Year Rhode Island and Development Director of MetroWest Jewish Day School. Michael’s career spans the business and non-profit sector. In Prague, he ran a branch office of an advertising agency and managed the launch of a holding company. He also helped create Magna International’s ncompass Initiative, a leadership contest for college students. Michael is active in the Jewish community. He created Hebrew Play (hebrewplay.net) as a CJP/PresenTense Fellow, which inspires families to play in Hebrew with their young children. He is on the board of Sulam (sulambrookline.org), a 4-day Hebrew immersion after school program that has expanded from 3 to 12 students in the past year. Michael has a BA from Brown University and an MPP from the Kennedy School at Harvard University, where he received the John E. Thayer award for highest academic achievement. Michael was recognized in 2002 by the Boston Business Journal and in 2007 by the Providence Business News in their respective “40 Under 40” awards for promising young business leaders. Michael is a long-time salsa dancer and dance teacher, and don’t get him started on the links between Jewish and salsa culture. Specialties: Here is a list of what I love to do: 1. How to launch an organization? How to overcome inertia and make stuff happen? 2. How to govern an organization? How to set up structures to enable people to succeed? 3. How to accomplish your goal? How to figure out what the goal should be and choose the path to get there? 4. How to sustain an organization? How to raise money, find champions, build buzz?