Dream big and get things done.
Thais comes to us from BizWorld, having formerly spent the last eight years as BizWorld’s CEO, where she grew the organization to become the largest teacher-led entrepreneurship education non-profit in the world, serving over 850,000 students worldwide. She launched BizWorld’s innovative YES! Program to support young entrepreneurs to gain access to tools, mentorship, and capital needed to make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality.
Thais holds an unwavering commitment to making economic opportunities and entrepreneurship education accessible to all students, particularly those from traditionally underserved and underrepresented backgrounds. She started her career in the non-profit world, focusing on micro-enterprise development. For eight years, she led the growth of innovative programming and the organizational expansion at Women’s Initiative for Self Employment. As the lead developer of the successful business propulsion program “SuccessLink,” she set a new national standard for entrepreneurship support services that became a national model. Thais worked for the Mexican Consulate as part of The Mexican Communities Abroad Team, where she helped implement and develop health, education, and business trade programs. Her background also includes journalism work in both TV and print, covering the tech industry. She resides with her husband and three daughters in Seattle.
Mike Portegello is an Assurance Partner at Ernst & Young LLP, where he brings more than 30 years of international and domestic experience in public accounting serving publicly traded companies with operations in both the US and abroad. Currently, he serves as the Northeast Region Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) Leader to provide services that help companies navigate the various aspects of a growth-oriented enterprise. SGM is a global network of EY professionals advising the full spectrum of dynamic, fast-moving and groundbreaking companies around the world, including VC-backed/private equity companies and their investors, large private and family enterprises, IPO-bound companies, and public companies in the Russell 3000 and 2000 indexes.
Throughout his career, Mike has worked with clients in New York and California, as well as internationally. He has served US registrants and foreign private issuers on SEC matters including initial public offerings (IPOs), public and private debt offerings, quarterly and annual filings, acquisitions, divestitures, and stock registrations.
Previously, he provided overall management and led high performing teams to deliver audit services to New York State and Connecticut area clients. He continues to work closely with multinational organizations as well as high growth phase companies in the software/technology, media and entertainment, and leasing industries.
Prior to this role, Mike served as Strategic Growth Markets Leader for New York, leading a multidisciplinary team of dedicated professionals in providing perspective to and advising our emerging, IPO-bound, entrepreneurial clients on accelerating their growth. In addition, he has served as a Co-Director of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year New York program.
Mike graduated Suma Cum Laude from St. John’s University and received his MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at NYU.
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Fill out this form to receive a free sample of our curriculum and to receive occasional email updates on how to bring BUILD to your community.