Gerald Chertavian, founder and exec. director of Year Up, a Boston-based nonprofit organization that trains and prepares at-risk, low-income young people for careers in business, speaks at the recent Forum for Social Entrepreneurs event. Photo by MARK CONNORS

Gerald Chertavian graduated from Bowdoin College and Harvard Business School with honors, but he says is greatest teacher in life was David Heredia, a 9-year-old Dominican boy who grew up in the projects of East Manhattan with little hope for the future. David would inspire Chertavian to launch Year Up, a Boston-based nonprofit organization that trains and prepares at-risk, low-income young people for careers in business.

Speaking at the Forum for Social Entrepreneurs on Oct. 10 in Boston, Chertavian noted that Heredia, whom he met through the Big Brothers organization while working on Wall Street, is now a successful animation artist in Southern California. But when Chertavian first went to meet Heredia, he said he was "literally shaking" because he lived in such a dangerous economically depressed neighborhood.

"He was a talented kid, but he had no context on how to enter into the mainstream of society," said Chertavian, the keynote speaker at the conference. "It didn't take all that much effort [to help Heredia]; he did it himself. And I thought, what if we could do this on a larger scale?"

Approximately 200 people attended the conference, held at Boston University's School of Management. Attendees  explored trends in social enterprise, a fast-emerging business concept that emphasizes social and environmental beneficial practices. The event was sponsored by the Boston chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE-Boston), the Boston University School of Management and the Deshpande Foundation. Raj Melville, a principal at Ambient Engines, and Ranjani Saigal, founder and editor of Lokvani.com, served as conference co-chairs alongside Boston University officials Paul McManus and Kristen McCormack.

Chertavian noted that when he attended Harvard Business School, only six students sat on the school's nonprofit club. Today, Harvard's Social Enterprise Club is the most popular on campus. Last year, more than 6 percent of Harvard Business School's graduates applied to work at Year Up.

"Something is changing," Chertavian said. "Certainly since 1990, social enterprise has exploded."

In the conference's afternoon panel, "Cultivating a Generation: Engaging Young Entrepreneurs," panelists emphasized the importance of engaging children early in primary school in order to cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurs. Panelists included: Preeta Banerjee, assistant professor of strategy at Brandeis University; Barton Kunstler, professor of management at Lesley University and author of "The Hothouse Effect;" Joshua Schuler, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program for inventors; and David Stolow, director of strategic development for Citizen Schools, an apprenticeship program for middle school students.

Stolow noted that Boston middle schools adjourn at 1:30 p.m. every day, providing plenty of time for after-school programs in entrepreneurship targeting youths. But Schuler called for reforms to public education, arguing for curriculum standards that integrate core business principles.

"It's as simple as the teacher picking up the phone and calling local business leaders and asking them to come speak and present in their classrooms," he said. "We need more of that."

"A vibrant business culture starts in the classroom," added Banerjee.

Schuler wrote four names on a blackboard, including: Dean Kamen, Carver Mead, Jerome Lemelson and Sarah Palin. While the first three individuals are prolific inventors who have contributed hugely to medical technology, electronics and computer science, they all —unlike Sarah Palin — are hardly household names in the United States.

Hence the need for the formation of the Lemelson-MIT program which provides grants, awards and publicity and recognition to inventors, Schuler said. The program also runs entrepreneurship contests at high schools and colleges and provides grants to develop promising prototypes.

"You would be amazed by what these kids come up with," Schuler said, noting a recent high school concept, a watermelon ripeness calculator.

"You never know where the next best idea is going to come from," added Kunstler.