@MOB00
Mike O’Brien is the Chief Executive Officer of iMentor. iMentor builds mentoring relationships that empower students in low-income communities to graduate high school, succeed in college, and achieve their ambitions. iMentor partners with high schools and provides every student in the school with a mentor. Students and mentors work one-on-one, in-person and online, to develop strong personal relationships, nurture a college aspiration, navigate the college application process, and build critical skills that lead to college success. Since 1999, iMentor has connected 11,000 students with mentors, through our partnerships with public schools in New York City and nonprofits nationwide. Since joining iMentor in 2003, Mike has worked across many functions of the organization, supporting mentor-mentee pairs, developing the first mentoring curriculum, and establishing strategic partnerships. In 2006, Mike launched the iMentor Interactive program, which expanded iMentor’s work beyond New York City for the first time by bringing iMentor’s effective mentoring model to communities across the country. iMentor Interactive pro¬vides iMentor’s curricula, technology tools, and consulting to non-profits nationwide so they can implement their own effective mentoring programs in the iMentor model. Mike became CEO of iMentor in 2007. Under his leadership, the organization has grown its annual enrollment from serving 400 New York City high school students to serving 2,400 local students and another 2,000 students nationwide. Mike is a member of the board of directors of Blue Engine. Blue Engine is a new national service model that recruits and supports teams of Blue Engine Teaching Assistants (BETAs), recent college graduates who partner with classroom teachers to increase academic rigor in public high schools in New York City, ultimately ensuring more students graduate college-ready. Mike is also the recipient of an Ashoka Fellowship, which recognizes leading social entrepreneurs who have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society. Mike began his career as a high school teacher in East New York, Brooklyn, where he also coached the boys’ basketball team and launched an after-school writing program. Mike is a graduate of Bucknell University.