Dr JD LaRock of Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship: 5 Things That Local, State & Federal Governments Can Do To Create More Job Opportunities
An Interview With Eric Pines
Promoting career-connected learning to foster relationships between the workforce and education sectors, enabling them to collaboratively support the development of our young people.
Recently there has been a spate of massive layoffs particularly in the Tech sector. What are some things that Local, State & Federal governments can do to create new job opportunities? In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders who can share their ideas about this question. As a part of this interview, we had the pleasure to interview Dr. J.D. LaRock.
Dr. J.D. LaRock is the president & CEO of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a global nonprofit organization that provides high-quality entrepreneurship education to middle school, high school and young adult students from under-resourced communities. Previously, J.D. was the president and CEO of the Commonwealth Corporation, Massachusetts’ state authority for workforce development, a member of Northeastern University’s senior leadership team and an education policymaker at the federal and state levels. J.D., who chaired Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning, is a member of the Commonwealth Education Commission of the States (ECS) delegation, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, Chair of the Board of Trustees at North Shore Community College and a faculty member in Northeastern University’s Doctor of Law and Policy program.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?
My entire career has been all about expanding pathways to education and training programs. I have focused on providing the best opportunities in education and workforce development through my roles as President and CEO of the Commonwealth Corporation, Massachusetts’ state authority for workforce development, as a professor at Northeastern University, as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and in the administrations of Governors Charlie Baker and Deval Patrick.
Now as president and CEO of the global nonprofit Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, or NFTE, I get to bring all of this experience together to collaborate, convene, and help build the next generation of entrepreneurs, in the US and globally.
In short, I’m a scholar of education policy, higher education, and the future of work. Engaging with policymakers and thought leaders on platforms like the World Economic Forum excites me. I invite those involved in education, workforce, and business development initiatives to collaborate with us to prepare our workforce for the challenges and opportunities of this century.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
While I’ve had many interesting stories from my career, one of the most impactful has been the passing of NFTE’s founder, Steve Mariotti. Both Steve’s passing and our upcoming 40th anniversary have our organization thinking a lot about what’s on the horizon. Right now, we’re reflecting on our values, our legacy, our current momentum, and our promising future. In Steve’s honor, we set up a legacy fund to continue his dream of providing equitable access to entrepreneurship education for young people around the world, empowering them to own their futures.
We also know that the US education system is at a turning point, and how we educate our young people, including the methods and environments, is part of a bigger conversation. There’s a growing need for entrepreneurial thinking, and I think the time is ripe for innovation in education policy and the skills we provide to our students.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Having a clear sense of self, skills and deficiencies are invaluable leadership traits. I know what I know, and I also know what I don’t know. That means I have to hire the right people to compliment my skills and add value to our work. When you have a clear view of who you are, what your skillset is and how to find the right people for your team, you create cohesion across your organization.
- Learning how to collaborate with others to achieve a big goal is also quite useful. The work we do at NFTE cannot be done in silos, and I support my team collaborating across all avenues. Wherever I can, I look for ways for different teams to work together to accomplish our goals. My team knows I am driven by the pursuit of a goal rather than its achievement, and I encourage them to make big goals and find ways to work together to go after them.
- Finally, not being afraid to fail has served me well. Throughout my academic and professional careers, I’ve greatly benefited from embracing creativity, being proactive, and being comfortable with the unknown. What truly matters is to take initiative and put something forward and to take risks and make things happen, regardless of the scale. This last one can be the hardest and is one of the most important skills we teach our learners. It is okay to fail and, in fact, failing is not the end but simply part of the journey you take to your success.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
In the past year, we have ramped up our policy and advocacy work, particularly in Washington. With nearly 40 years of experience, NFTE is a leading expert in entrepreneurship education, and now we want to make a real impact on the policies around education and workforce development. We used our skill as a convener of people and organizations to form a coalition of entrepreneurship education organizations, dedicated to advocating for entrepreneurship education policies in Washington. We’ve had great success through our advocacy work on Capitol Hill and are looking forward to engaging with the presidential administration on this important issue, as well.
Having subject matter experts engage with policymakers on the issues that matter most is the best way to ensure that policies will actually make a difference. For example, in the most recent Congress, we worked with the House and Senate to update the language around entrepreneurship education in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA) and provide better guidance on implementation. While the bill ultimately didn’t pass at the end of 2024, we enhanced the understanding with policymakers on our issue and will keep working at it to advocate for the bill’s passage in the new legislative session in Washington.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. From your point of view, how would you rate the current state of the US employment situation?
I would rate it at a 6 out of 10. It’s not terrible, but we’re not doing nearly what we need to promote entrepreneurship across the country, especially in our young people. Research from Babson College shows that young adults are leading the charge in small business growth, with a rate of entrepreneurship nearly twice that of adults ages 35–64, heightening the need for youth education and support. However, the rate of failure for small businesses is nearly 50% within the first five years, and that number rises to two-thirds by year 10. Entrepreneurship education programs like those taught through NFTE help to build the pipeline of successful entrepreneurs by arming them with the necessary tools for success, fostering resilience by normalizing the experience of failure, and instilling a tenacious spirit to confront and conquer new challenges. Entrepreneurship education programs that support young people as early as fifth grade can yield enduring positive effects on the individual and the small business market in the US.
Can you identify a few areas of the US Labor market that are going really great?
We know from a recent World Economic Forum report that some of the fastest growing jobs are in the areas of big data, tech and AI. These are industries where technical skills are coveted, but as we continue to see these areas grow, we must also prioritize essential skills (like those taught through entrepreneurship education curricula) to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in these growing markets.
Can you identify a few areas of the US Labor market that should be prioritized for improvement? Can you explain why those are so critical?
Entrepreneurship is an area the US Labor market should prioritize for improvement. We know our young people want to start businesses, and our education system does not currently support this entrepreneurial thinking. At NFTE, our vision is for all young people to own their future and receive entrepreneurship education to chart that path.
Preparing young people for their futures is an increasingly urgent concern. In a 2022 report, UNICEF and PwC projected that an alarming 60% of the world’s 1.8 billion young people will lack the essential skills required for the workforce. As the skills gap continues to widen, policies must play a more active role in fostering the development of the next generation of workers. For high schoolers, work-based learning opportunities — both in and out-of-school — are a necessary part of the equation.
Thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Can you please suggest 5 things that local, state & federal governments can do to create more job opportunities? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I believe that workforce development and education go hand in hand, and to create more job opportunities, we must develop the elements that comprise a good education today. These include:
- Supporting project-based learning opportunities to teach our young people cooperation, creativity and innovation.
- Making education student-centered, meaning classrooms should start with students’ ideas to help them learn comfort with risk, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Promoting career-connected learning to foster relationships between the workforce and education sectors, enabling them to collaboratively support the development of our young people.
- Enhancing mentorship while young people are in school to provide avenues into the workforce that begin before they graduate.
- Requiring all students to learn both personal and business financial literacy to equip them with essential money management skills. Entrepreneurship education programs, such as NFTE, provide an excellent approach to financial literacy by taking abstract topics and offering real-world context for learners.
What role do you think the private sector, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations play in creating more job opportunities in collaboration with the government? Can you share any examples or success stories?
This is a great question because it highlights exactly what NFTE does. We successfully convene various sectors to create opportunities for our learners. By connecting with the private sector through partnerships, we enable volunteers to engage with our learners globally. Our programs work directly in both K-12 and postsecondary institutions, enabling us to make firsthand impact on our educational system, and finally we collaborate with other non-profits on policy advocacy and direct program support. NFTE believes that we achieve more when we work together. By linking these efforts to local, state, and federal governments, we can amplify the work each of these sectors is doing.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
NFTE knows that classroom educators are the key to our success. Indeed, teachers are the driving force behind many successful leaders, from the halls of Congress to the C-suites of major industries. I vividly recall a life lesson shared by Remelle Johnson, my sixth-grade teacher at P.S. 98 in Queens, NY. “Use the word three times, and it’s yours,” she would often say. This advice was relevant then and has remained pertinent throughout my life. Mrs. Johnson’s advice helped me learn thousands of words I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Her guidance also instilled in me the belief that we must take responsibility for our own success and growth. Mrs. Johnson and I share the belief that regardless of the circumstances we are born into, we have significant power and agency over our lives if we make the effort.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
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How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can learn more about the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship by visiting www.nfte.com. Follow me on LinkedIn here.
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at [email protected].
Dr JD LaRock of Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship: 5 Things That Local, State & Federal… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.