NACCE Celebrates National Entrepreneurship Week with Regional Education & Business Leaders; Announces New Awards

Moorestown, NJ, February 13, 2023 –(PR.com)– The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) celebrated National Entrepreneurship Week (NEW) Feb 11-18 by taking part in a ceremonial resolution that acknowledges entrepreneurs and business leaders. The ceremony, hosted by Parts Life, Inc., of Moorestown, included officials from local and regional community colleges and businesses.

During the ceremony, NACCE announced a significant expansion of its Everyday Entrepreneur (EE) program, which provides access to capital for veterans and underserved populations. NACCE has secured an additional $250,000 to expand the EE program from 9 to 50 colleges over the next 12 months. Based on the success of the EE program from 2018 to 2022, an estimated 150 new businesses will be created nationwide.

NACCE also announced an agreement with Syracuse University designating the Institute for Veterans and Military Families as a spoke on the SBA Community Navigator Grant, expanding and scaling resources for veteran entrepreneurs. The Honorable Troy Singleton, NJ State Senator, District 7, read a proclamation during the observance. National Entrepreneurship Week is a congressionally chartered national observance held annually. NACCE is the country’s leading organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community colleges.

Local Leader
NACCE selected Parts Life, Inc. as the site for the NEW celebration to highlight the combined power of education, industry, government, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders working together to advance opportunities for all. “Parts Life President and CEO Sam Thevanayagam has nurtured a culture of innovation in his firm that has created opportunities for community college students to advance, for formerly incarcerated people, through training and support, to obtain gainful employment, and for veterans to become entrepreneurs,” said NACCE President and CEO Rebecca Corbin, Ed.D.

As part of the observance, community colleges students, community leaders, and entrepreneurs shared and documented stories of success that highlighted how higher education, infused with entrepreneurship and innovation, fosters diversity and equity, opening doors to new opportunities.

Regional Participation
Officials from throughout the region participated in the ceremonies, including: Michael Cioce, president of Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC); Amy Webb, The Moorestown Rotary; Karen Albanese, CFO Konrad Beverages; Angela Kariotis, director of Diversity and Inclusion, Brookdale Community College (BCC); Carol de Fries, vice president of Workforce & Economic Development, Community College of Philadelphia; Amanda Lalonde of Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Affairs (IVMF); Kristi Howell, the Burlington County Regional Chamber of Commerce; and entrepreneurs from Muse Piano Academy and Fearless Movement.

“NACCE’s mission is to engage with colleges and people to advance entrepreneurial thinking and action across the nation,” said Corbin, “We are committed to expanding NACCE’s work to impact 7 million students and engage with 1,100 colleges by 2026 through professional development, networking, resources, and effective storytelling.”

About NACCE
NACCE is an organization of educators, administrators, presidents, and entrepreneurs focused on vitalizing entrepreneurship in their communities and on their campuses. Its mission is to provide leadership and sustainable, scalable, resources to foster entrepreneurial thinking in one of the largest entrepreneurial ecosystems in North America. The association represents a dynamic community of technical and community colleges, including more than 4,500 faculty, staff, administrators, and presidents, serving 3.3 million students. For more information, visit www.nacce.com.

About Parts Life, Inc.
Parts Life, Inc. is a certified Quality Management Systems – Requirement for Aviation, Space, and Defense Organization (AS9100D) engineering service provider, manufacturer, and alternate source supplier for diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages (DMSMS) and obsolete replacement components on military systems and subsystems. Its value-added reverse engineering processes address missing or incomplete technical data needed prior to manufacturing. Services such as Rapid Obsolescence Planning and Execution and Reverse Engineering, Remanufacturing, Recertify, Repair, Replicate, deliver manufacturable data with source approval to manufacture replacement parts. The company’s electronic, electric, and electrical manufacturing capabilities include wiring harnesses and electronic test sets.